Lies, Knives, and Girls in Red Dresses
Written by Ron Koertge
Illustrated by Andrea Dezsö
Published in 2012 by Candlewick Press
Source: Public Library
Genre: YA and up
I don’t see, but I know things.
Nature does that sometimes – curses and blesses,
takes away and gives. I’m blind but I see.
- from “Thumbelina, The Mole’s Story”
I love fairy tale retellings. Earlier this year it seems like retellings were the only things I was reading. In Lies, Knives, and Girls in Red Dresses, Ron Koertge retells some of the most popular fairy tales in free prose giving them a facelift.
The cleverness of some of Koertge’s stories reminds me of why I like retellings so much. A good retelling gives readers an old story in a fresh way. The Ever After for Cinderella’s stepsisters was sober reading while the modern-day story of Red Riding Hood in what I imagine to be a Valley-Girl voice was hilarious. This book also reminded me that not every retelling works. There were some retellings that missed the mark for me. Not every retelling needs to be clever or funny but it needs to add something or what’s the point?
I picked Lies, Knives, and Girls in Red Dresses up because it was recently listed as a Publisher Weekly Best of 2012 book. While I’m glad I read it, I don’t feel the need to buy my own copy. My rating: 3 out of 5 stars.
