Sweetly

8/10 stars.

Sweetly is a modern telling of Hansel and Gretel, yet it is also quite different from the classic story. I liked the development of the characters, especially Gretchen and Sophia. Gretchen even organizes her books the exact same way that I do (she organizes them by the color of the covers).  Hansel and Gretel was and still is one of my favorite fairy tales, and so I was elated when I saw how closely Sweetly resembled it. There were moments when this book caught me off-guard (in a good way!), and moments where events I couldn’t have predicted happened.

Books that mirror other classic works always intrigue me, and this one was done well. While there are parts that are almost identical to Hansel and Gretel,  Sweetly is a book all its own. It has love, mystery, and much more. Since it is in a first person point of view, told by Gretchen, we really understand everything she feels, including the guilt of her sister disappearing 12 years ago.

I would have been interested to hear some parts of the story from Sophia's point of view, and Ansel's as well. I think that it would be interesting to see what they were thinking at certain moments in the story, though Gretchen's narration was wonderful!

The description of the candies in the chocolatier shop were lovely as well, I could really imagine Sophia, Gretchen, and Ansel making all of the magical chocolates. 

If you like Hansel and Gretel, this book is a must read! If you don't, you ought to give it a try anyways, though I would recommend that the reader be at least 13 or 14.