innae's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this re-telling quite a lot. A very enjoyable read, even if you knew how the story was to end.
skundrik87's review against another edition
4.0
A very unique retelling of the "pied piper". It was too short though. It was good enough that you wanted the story to keep going.
williamsdebbied's review against another edition
5.0
What can I say? I simply love this author's fairy tale retellings. I especially enjoy the elements of paganism that permeate the stories. This one, Breath, is based on The Pied Piper of Hamelin. Salz suffers from cystic fibrosis at a time in history when no one survived this disease for long. Thanks to his grandmother's care, Salz is still alive and kicking at the ripe old age of 12. When a mysterious disease sickens the farm animals, and later the people of Hameln, Salz, along with many of the younger children stay healthy. Salz finally convinces the town leaders to hire a piper to draw the rats away from the city because he believes that the rats caused the sickness. When the town leaders do not [b:pay the piper|122104|Pay the Piper A Rock 'n' Roll Fairy Tale|Jane Yolen|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171837316s/122104.jpg|1528] as promised, even more trouble ensues. While the ending is not a particularly happy one, it is hopeful.
evamadera1's review against another edition
2.0
Unlike "Zel," this book was weird from the get go. The only reason I kept reading it was because it was a fairly easy read and I had already invested some time in reading it.
Some spoilers below:
In no particular order, here are the things I found a problem with in the book. I never really identified with any of the characters. Napoli "explained" the psychotropic LSD effects but not really. Instead, the characters affected acted in creepy, disturbing ways that did not really make sense. The grandmother's death was also extremely creepy.
I did not enjoy this book at all and definitely cannot recommend it.
Some spoilers below:
In no particular order, here are the things I found a problem with in the book. I never really identified with any of the characters. Napoli "explained" the psychotropic LSD effects but not really. Instead, the characters affected acted in creepy, disturbing ways that did not really make sense. The grandmother's death was also extremely creepy.
I did not enjoy this book at all and definitely cannot recommend it.
gorjessina17's review against another edition
4.0
This was a really interesting book. I thought it was very well written, considering it was taking place from a child's perspective during a long ago period in history.
I will admit spending a lot of time angry at the townspeople for not figuring out what was going on, though I will admit that they didn't have the background science knowledge to necessarily figure it out back then (I don't want to include spoilers, so I won't say what exactly was going on, though I did figure it out very early on in the book).
I thought the inclusion of the piper was a bit odd, though the author does make it flow naturally into the storyline. Also, it took me a LONG time to figure out what was going to happen with that, so I got a kick out of it when I realized what was happening. I do enjoy a good plot twist, even an odd one. ;) (Update: After checking out other reviews, I guess this was supposed to be a reimagining of the Pied Piper fairytale, so I guess that part makes WAY more sense now. Oops!)
All in all, a good read. A bit graphic for youngsters, so I'd recommend it for high school and up.
I will admit spending a lot of time angry at the townspeople for not figuring out what was going on, though I will admit that they didn't have the background science knowledge to necessarily figure it out back then (I don't want to include spoilers, so I won't say what exactly was going on, though I did figure it out very early on in the book).
I thought the inclusion of the piper was a bit odd, though the author does make it flow naturally into the storyline. Also, it took me a LONG time to figure out what was going to happen with that, so I got a kick out of it when I realized what was happening. I do enjoy a good plot twist, even an odd one. ;) (Update: After checking out other reviews, I guess this was supposed to be a reimagining of the Pied Piper fairytale, so I guess that part makes WAY more sense now. Oops!)
All in all, a good read. A bit graphic for youngsters, so I'd recommend it for high school and up.
assimbya's review
5.0
The story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin does not sound as though it would make a good novel, let alone one so beautiful as this one. But Donna Jo Napoli, with her characteristic attention to historical detail and emotional reality, creates a moving story about a character whom it is easy to care for. Brief and breathtaking.
More...