The Grimmtastic Girls Book Tour Stop with My Personal Reviews and a Giveaway!

About the Books: The Grimmtastic Girls

Book #1

Title: Grimmtastic Girls #1: Cinderella Stays Late | Authors: Joan Holub & Suzanne Williams | Publication Date: March 25, 2014 | Publisher: Scholastic Inc. | Pages: 192 | Recommended Ages: 8 to 12 Summary: The authors of the hit Goddess Girls series put a fun and girly twist on another super-popular theme: fairy tales! Once upon a time, in faraway Grimmlandia... A Grimmtastic girl named Cinderella is starting her first week at Grimm Academy on the wrong foot. Cinda's totally evil stepsisters are out to make her life miserable. The Steps tease Cinda, give her terrible advice about life at the academy, and even make her look bad in front of her new friends, Red, Snow, and Rapunzel! But when Cinda overhears the Steps plotting a villainous deed that could ruin Prince Awesome's ball, Cinda, her new friends, and a pair of magical glass slippers have to stop them--before the last stroke of midnight!

 

****My Review of Cinderella Stays Late****

I adored this book - a SUPERB start to the series :) We all love the classic fairy tales, but it is awesome when you can find something that puts a spin on them and that is EXACTLY what the authors of this book did!  Cinderella becomes Cinda, the Stepsisters become The Steps, and all of our faves are there including Red, Snow and Rapunzel!  And of course who can forget Prince Awesome????  A totally new and magical take on the old stories and perfect for YA readers but I am 37 and enjoyed it immensely :)

In the books the girls are enrolled in the Grimm School in Grimmlandia, a magical place where they learn not only about magic and fantasy but balls and etiquette. Every page is fantastical and once I started reading it I was unable to put it down, and it is perfect for a quick read as it took me 2 hours to get through it :)  I really enjoy the way the book focuses on the girls themselves rather than being the old princesses who must find a man and marry and have kids and be queen ... instead we get to see them being young and learning magic, making friends and discovering themselves. I can honestly say I have never read a series like this that was based on the fairy tales :) I loved the first book and cannot wait to read the 2nd by next week and hopefully the 3rd and 4th later this year! I will be saving these books for my daughter when she is old enough to read them :D

**I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review***

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Book #2

Title: Grimmtastic Girls #2: Red Riding Hood Gets Lost | Authors: Joan Holub & Suzanne Williams | Publication Date: March 25, 2014 | Publisher: Scholastic Inc. | Pages: 192 | Recommended Ages: 8 to 12 Summary: Red Riding Hood might have a terrible sense of direction, but her grimmtastic friends are always there to help! Once upon a time, in faraway Grimmlandia... Red Riding Hood is thrilled to try out for the school play. Acting is her dream, and she's great at it--too bad she has stage fright! After a grimmiserable audition, Red decides to focus on helping her friends Cinda, Snow, and Rapunzel save Grimm Academy from the E.V.I.L. Society. But when Red gets lost in Neverwood forest and runs into Wolfgang, who might be part of E.V.I.L., she needs her magic basket and a grimmazingly dramatic performance to figure out what's going on!



 

****My Review of Red Riding Hood Gets Lost****

I was lucky enough to read the first and second books right in a row and I must say I fell in love on the first few pages of the first book!  I may be 37 years old but I love fairy tales and mythology and magical things and this series has it all :)  The setting of the books reminded me of the Harry Potter novels which are a favorite series of mine.  What I liked about these books though was that each book centers on a different character even though the others are still there :)  Red Riding Hood was one of my favorite stories as a child so this book especially was great for me!

I enjoyed the way the authors completely immerse the reader in the "life" of Grimmlandia and came up with their own slang and sayings to match it!  Red is a great character, again much better than the old princesses and heroines who have no character or personality outside of the world they make with their princes.

I just love to see the names the authors come up with to use that still encompass the "old" versions of the fairy tales but also breathe new life into them.  Red, Wolfgang, Cinda - they are all modernized versions :)  I would be proud for children to read these books, I truly believe they will be a huge hit in the genre of childrens books!  I laughed a lot when reading these - especially the part about "Red" being someone who gets lost all the time!  Just another example of the play on the old fairy tales and her getting lost in the forest and comes across the Big Bad Wolf :)

By the end of this book I am DYING to know who is really a part of the E.V.I.L. society so now I can't wait until the next books in the series to find out more :)

All in all I would say this series thus far is GRIMMTASTIC!!!!!


**I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review***

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About the Authors: Joan Holub & Suzanne Williams

  Joan Holub has authored and/or illustrated more than 130 children's books, including Little Red Writing (illustrated by Caldecott Honoree Melissa Sweet) and Zero the Hero. She lives in NC and is online at www.joanholub.com

Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads

      Suzanne Williams is the author of nearly 50 books for children, including the award-winning picture book Library Lil (illustrated by Steven Kellogg). She lives near Seattle, WA and is online at www.suzanne-williams.com

Author Blog | Goodreads

    Co-authors Joan and Suzanne have written the Goddess Girls, Heroes in Training, and Grimmtastic Girls series. Though they live in different states and hardly ever get to see each other, they spend lots of time together in Grimmlandia.

Facebook (Grimmtastic Girls) | Facebook (Goddess Girls Books)

Online Author Visits

 

$50 Book Blast Giveaway

Prize: $50 Amazon Gift Card or PayPal cash (winner’s choice) Contest ends: April 23, 11:59 pm, 2014 Open: Internationally How to enter: Please enter using the Rafflecopter widget below. Terms and Conditions: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. A winner will be randomly drawn through the Rafflecopter widget and will be contacted by email within 48 hours after the giveaway ends. The winner will then have 72 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, a new draw will take place for a new winner. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of eligible entries received. This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. This giveaway is sponsored by the authors, Joan Holub & Suzanne Williams and is hosted and managed by Renee from Mother Daughter Book Reviews. If you have any additional questions – feel free to send and email to Renee(at)MotherDaughterBookReviews(dot)com.

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