A review by narjarules
Hazel and Gray by Nic Stone
3.0
Like the Brothers Grimm version, readers will experience themes related to family, obedience, child captivity, and death.
In this modern retelling, Hansel and Gretel are rewritten as the teenaged couple, Hazel and Gray. While the dark themes also shift from family abandonment and cannibalism to reflect those of modern American society such as sex-trafficking and child abuse.
The nearness or familiarity of the modern themes could be jarring to readers unfamiliar with the dark themes from many Brothers Grimm tales. The juxtaposition of teenage consensual sex with the violence of sex-trafficking might also hit too close to home.
In this modern retelling, Hansel and Gretel are rewritten as the teenaged couple, Hazel and Gray. While the dark themes also shift from family abandonment and cannibalism to reflect those of modern American society such as sex-trafficking and child abuse.
The nearness or familiarity of the modern themes could be jarring to readers unfamiliar with the dark themes from many Brothers Grimm tales. The juxtaposition of teenage consensual sex with the violence of sex-trafficking might also hit too close to home.