Review: Rags and Bones by Melissa Marr

Image from Goodreads

Title: Rags and Bones
Author: Anthology – Melissa Marr
Publisher: Headline
Publication Date: Oct 2013
Source: Review Copy
Rating: 3/5

Synopsis from Goodreads

There are some stories that will always be told, tales as timeless as they are gripping.

There are some authors who can tell any story.

In RAGS & BONES, award-winning and bestselling authors retell classic fairytales and twisted tales in the way that only they can. With magic and love, they bring these stories – whether much loved or overlooked – back to life.

Read ‘Sleeping Beauty’ as only Neil Gaiman can tell it. See ‘Rumpelstiltskin’ through the eyes of Kami Garcia. And learn of Rudyard Kipling’s ‘The Man Who Would Be King’ from the inimitable Garth Nix.

REVIEW BY LOUIS – YEAR 8

Rags and Bones is an anthology of fairy tales re-told/re-imagined with twists and turns, making a refreshing change from the typical Princess in tower rescued by Prince. These are not however, the well known fairy-tales most I hadn’t heard of before. For me this only makes the book more exciting because I didn’t know what I was going into.

I will be honest and say this is not the sort of book I would choose to read off of a shelf. But it surprised me because I actually loved it. I only wish that I could relate to characters more with anthologies because I always feel like time for the stories and characters are cut short.

My least favorite story in the book was The Cold Corner because I found the whole plot to be uninteresting. It takes too long to actually get into the story and it is not very engaging for the reader.

My favorite story is The Soul Collector. It has an exciting beginning and is instantly is engaging. To find a character who is a murderer in a fairy-tale is rare even when the murderer is the main character because fairy-tales are supposed to be innocent children’s stories????? Or so I believed. This story kept me hooked all the way through. The first person narration made it feel as if I was right there with the main character. It felt as if the character was speaking directly t me, telling me her life story. It has an exciting plot and changed my perception of fairy-tales.

I would have liked to see more well-known fairy-tales included in the anthology. I didn’t feel as if the stories within the anthology were really fairy-tales due to the setting.

There are some mature parts of the book and a few swear words (but it is fine as everyone age of 11 would have heard these words before – one of the downfalls of modern society perhaps). It doesn’t make the stories any less exciting though.

Rags and Bones provides a great introduction to authors I wouldn’t have previously considered reading, I am definitely seeking out other books by them now