Although not all my reviews are spoilery, which I do not consider this one to be, here is a little warning just in case.

Review Written: 16th February 2012

Sweetly by Jackson Pearce

There are no words to describe this book other than really amazing. It is one of the best teen books I have read in a while. If I liked Sister’s Red, I adored Sweetly.

Different from other teen books which tend to go down either the vampire or angel route, there is a tie in with two fairy tales. Sister’s Red has a similar set up but I suggest you read that one first to get a feel of Pearce’s writing. On first glance, Sweetly is based on just Hansel& Gretel. The main characters, Ansel & Gretchen (nicely done) leave their stepmother and escape the town that holds so many bad memories for them. The book starts “Twelve Years Ago” when Ansel, Gretchen and Gretchen’s twin are being chased through the forest by a ‘witch.’ Only Ansel and Gretchen escape the forest alive. Back in the present day, they travel, or rather the car breaks down near a small town called Live Oak, South Carolina which doesn’t take kindly to strangers. However, they are welcomed to stay with Sophia, a young woman who owns a chocolatier in the forest. Every year, Sophia holds a ‘chocolate festival’, but tragedy strikes when girls go missing. Gretchen wants to find out why.

Enter love interest Samuel. Sam has the whole misunderstood bad boy thing going on. I like him. He’s not cliché like a lot of ‘bad boys’. I like Gretchen too. Her love for reading adds a connection for me and she’s an active character, not one that just sits there, whines and then states she is going to give up her life for the guy she has known all of two minutes!! Anyway, you’ll find out just how active she is when you read the book but I don’t want to ruin any surprises.

Talking of surprises, there are many in this book. Surprise on who the ‘villain’ is, what the witches are and why the girls disappear every year (which leads nicely on to the second fairy tale, Little Red Riding Hood, not the main fairy tale on focus but I noticed similarities). The book is very fast paced so when I started reading, I didn’t put the book down until I had reached the last page. The ending has been nicely left open so if there was to be a sequel, it would work very well. Never-the-less, I am looking forward to seeing how Jackson Pearce tackles The Little Mermaid for her next novel in what appears to be a fairy-tale series.

NEXT REVIEW: R J ANDERSON'S ARROW