Book Review: The Sisters Grimm by Menna van Praag

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Synopsis:

The critically acclaimed author of The House at the End of Hope Street combines love, mystery, and magic with her first foray into bewitching fantasy with a dark edge evocative of V.E. Schwab and Neil Gaiman.

Once upon a time, a demon who desired earthly domination fathered an army of dark daughters to help him corrupt humanity . . .

As children, Goldie, Liyana, Scarlet, and Bea dreamed of a strange otherworld: a nightscape of mists and fog, perpetually falling leaves and hungry ivy, lit by an unwavering moon. Here, in this shadowland of Everwhere, the four girls, half-sisters connected by blood and magic, began to nurture their elemental powers together. But at thirteen, the sisters were ripped from Everwhere and separated. Now, five years later, they search for one another and yearn to rediscover their unique and supernatural strengths. Goldie (earth) manipulates plants and gives life. Liyana (water) controls rivers and rain. Scarlet (fire) has electricity at her fingertips. Bea (air) can fly.

To realize their full potential, the blood sisters must return to the land of their childhood dreams. But Everwhere can only be accessed through certain gates at 3:33 A.M. on the night of a new moon. As Goldie, Liyana, Scarlet, and Bea are beset with the challenges of their earthly lives, they must prepare for a battle that lies ahead. On their eighteenth birthday, they will be subjected to a gladiatorial fight with their father’s soldiers. If they survive, they will face their father who will let them live only if they turn dark. Which would be fair, if only the sisters knew what was coming.

So, they have thirty-three days to discover who they truly are and what they can truly do, before they must fight to save themselves and those they love.

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My Review

This story follows four sisters, Goldie, Liyana, Scarlett and Bea, each with different elemental powers, different personalities and different lives. It is told from 5 different viewpoints, the four sisters and Leo. Each narrator has their own distinct voice that allows you to identify them.

Goldie is earth, she cleans rooms in a fancy hotel, stealing from them to help support her ten-year-old brother Teddy. Bea is air, she studies philosophy, her mother is in a psychiatric hospital and she feels alive only when she’s soaring through the air. Liyana is water, she’s an artist who lives with her aunt Nyasha, and wants to introduce her to her girlfriend Kumiko. Finally, there is Scarlett. She is fire, she lives with her grandmother Esme, after losing her mum Ruby in a fire a decade ago. The final narrator is Leo, whose main story is connected with Goldie. His mission is to ensure she never reaches Everwhere but as the novel progresses we see him grow and struggle with what he has to do.

The different narrators did make the novel a little difficult to read at times, and I found that I had to read a little at a time in order to fully absorb the story.

The story follows the girls as it gets closer to their 18th birthday. They are destined to go back to Everwhere, a magical place they spent their childhood, but lurking here are the Lumen Latros, fallen stars turned soldiers who are destined to end the lives of the Grimm girls.

One con that I have to this novel is that it seemed to take a long time to get to Everwhere and I wanted it to get there quicker. Everwhere’s descriptions are beautiful, and van Praag’s prose is lyrical and atmospheric so I wish we got to see more of it.

The other issue that I had was that once they got to Everwhere, and we are introduced to Wilhelm, he wasn’t as sinister or scary as I expected him to be.

The story is promising and entertaining, I really liked how they come together as sisters and each perspective allows you to learn what makes each character tick. Beautifully written and atmospheric, you will know exactly who each character is and feel for them.  I would be interested to read more books by Menna van Praag.

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