There are two things that pretty much guarantee my interest in a book I haven’t yet read:
1. Fairy tale retellings.
2. Ron Koertge.
I have yet to read anything by Koertge that I’ve disliked — poetry or prose, adult or young adult. And his latest, LIES, KNIVES AND GIRLS IN RED DRESSES, is no less than what I’d expect from a fairy tale book by Ron Koertge.
Cleverly blending the classic, gruesome, Grimm-style folklore with a few modern references, each poem in Koertge’s short collection is a mini retelling of a fairytale. Spanning from classics like “Little Red Riding Hood” and “Cinderella” to lesser known tales like “The Little Match Girl” and “Diamonds and Toads,” each poem takes on a distinctive, artful voice to carry the short narrative.
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