Title: BREADCRUMBS
Author: Anne Ursu
Publisher: Walden Pond Press (A HarperCollins Children’s imprint)
Release Date: September 27, 2011
Number of Pages: 313
Source of Book: ARC requested from publisher
Goodreads Summary:
Once upon a time, Hazel
and Jack were best friends. They had been best friends since they were
six, spending hot Minneapolis summers and cold Minneapolis winters
together, dreaming of Hogwarts and Oz, superheroes and baseball. Now
that they were eleven, it was weird for a boy and a girl to be best
friends. But they couldn’t help it – Hazel and Jack fit, in that way you
only read about in books. And they didn’t fit anywhere else.
And then, one day, it was over. Jack just stopped talking to Hazel.
And while her mom tried to tell her that this sometimes happens to boys
and girls at this age, Hazel had read enough stories to know that it’s
never that simple. And it turns out, she was right. Jack’s heart had
been frozen, and he was taken into the woods by a woman dressed in
white to live in a palace made of ice. Now, it’s up to Hazel to venture
into the woods after him. Hazel finds, however, that these woods are
nothing like what she’s read about, and the Jack that Hazel went in to
save isn’t the same Jack that will emerge. Or even the same Hazel.
Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snow Queen,” Breadcrumbs is a story of the struggle to hold on, and the things we leave behind.
BREADCRUMBS is a beautifully told tale of friendship, faith, hope, and magic. It’s starts off in the real-world as we get to know more about Hazel’s friendship with her neighbor Jack. And then something happens, and Jack changes, and then disappears. The second part of the book takes place in the woods as Hazel steps into a fantasy world that she didn’t know was there. Overall the style was really unique in the way the narrator seemed to
speak directly to the reader with asides at times, so I felt more
involved and a part of the story. There are chapters interjected that
tell what’s happening in the fantasy world and the stories are
interwoven seamlessly.
Hazel believes in magic and fantasy. She also believes in her friendship with Jack because he’s pretty much her only friend in her new school, so when he changes toward her and that ends, she doesn’t know what to do. But when she finds out that Jack has disappeared into the woods, she knows she needs to save him. She has so much faith in her friendship with Jack that she is willing to do whatever she can to save her friend. The fantasy elements of classic tales that occur in each successive chapter in the woods are engaging and meaningful.
This story is about belonging and believing and doing what’s right even when no one believes in you. It’s about trusting your instincts and staying true to who you are. It’s about starting a journey and learning from the outcomes. One of the most significant lines to me was a moment of understanding for Hazel, “This is what happens on journeys-the things you find aren’t necessarily the things you had gone looking for.” It’s all of those things wrapped up in beautiful prose and a masterful way of telling this fantasy story. This fantasy story is like a breath of fresh air wrapped in a warm blanket. This one comes out next week and will be a wonderful addition to a middle grades collection. It releases in one month, so get your pre-orders in now.
I liked Ursu's other books, so I'll definitely take a look at this one.
Oh, I got to read the ARC of this too and I thought it was the most beautiful story! Such a blending of fairy tales that it was a completely new story altogether. I so loved Anne Ursu's storytelling style and Hazel, I put her right up there with Evie from the Paranormalcy series as far as bravery goes! My review is coming later in September, but I adored this book! Great Review!
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