LoveReading4Kids Says
Spindle-sharp, with wolfish wit, and the sophisticated allure of fresh-spun gold, Annet Schaap’s Girls is an absolute delight. With a feast of familiar fairy tales re-written and repositioned for our age, this packs potent punch.
Flipping several stories on their head and inside out, among them Rumplestilskin, Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, and Bluebeard, there’s a wry matter-of-factness to the tone (kudos to Laura Watkinson who translated Girls from its original Dutch), with witty one-liners adding edge. “Ah, men promise all kinds of things…” remarks the mother character in Frog. Meanwhile, Blue unpacks the patriarchy with cutting verve: “She has everything. She is allowed to do anything. To clean his shoes, to brush his coat”, while the “he” of this statement remarks, “What is it with you women? Why can’t you just leave things well alone? Eve and the apple, Pandora and the box. You simply can’t resist, can you?”
Centring female aspiration, and the impulse to realise it, Girls is written in a lucid style that’s impactfully offset by strange goings-ons and juicily clever possibilities and outcomes. This captivating collection pulsates with agency, wit and the wonder of forging your own way through the forest, or through anywhere else, for that matter.
Joanne Owen
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Girls Synopsis
A collection of dark, funny retellings of 7 classic and familiar fairy tales, giving young adult readers a new perspective for navigating everyday challenges.
These are no damsels in distress, but young women of flesh and blood - who certainly don't need rescuing. In these 7 famous fairy tales turned into enchanting, inspiring and sometimes hair-raising stories for today's world, you'll find girls with their own dreams and desires, bravely facing problems that are both relatable and daunting and fighting to overcome them.
- A miller's daughter with a special gift decides marrying a prince wasn't such a good idea after all.
- A determined girl gives up on trying to kiss a frog.
- A fearless heroine comes face-to-face with a not-so Big Bad Wolf.
- A monstrous princess, held captive on a deserted island, yearns to break free and find her true place in the world.
- Two sisters, abandoned by their father, wander lost in the big city, until they meet a pair of very helpful old ladies.
- A young maid finds something terrible in a locked room while she is cleaning the Reverend's house - then the Reverend arrives home.
- A forgotten young girl learns to finally let go of her sleeping big sister and live her own life.
From the author of the international bestseller
Of Salt and Shore, and translated by the award-winning Laura Watkinson, these reimagined fairy tales are funny, feminist and achingly true to life.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781782693796 |
| Publication date: |
7th November 2024 |
| Author: |
Annet Schaap |
| Illustrator: |
Annet Schaap |
| Publisher: |
Pushkin Children's Books an imprint of Steerforth Press |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
192 pages |
