Grimmworld The Witch in the Woods by Michaelbrent Collings

Hello, everyone.  I hope you are having a great day.

I've talked about the neighborhood in which I grew up being called "Peanut Butter Hill."  Once you bought your house all you could afford to eat is peanut butter. Looking at it today, it is laughable, my house payment is ten times what my parents paid. Anyway, it was nice, safe, pretty and family oriented.  Like most kids, we had our suspicions about a certain house.  It was on the corner, with a darkly wooded yard.  The couple that lived there was probably in their 50's, we thought they were well over 100.  The woman, she committed the greatest sin of all; she had gray hair and wore it in a bun.  As far as we were concerned, it was confirmed... the lady down the street was a witch.  We avoided her house at all costs, only observing from a distance - mostly yard work.  They were definitely planting all kinds of poisons and child-eating plants. It was the perfect place for a witch to operate, in a neighborhood filled with young children.

I recently read Grimmworld The Witch in the Woods by Michaelbrent Collings. What if things that you thought were just childhood stories were actually true?  That is the premise for this book.  Willow and Jake Grimm are twins.  Their lives were thrust into turmoil when they move to a new area as their parents accept jobs at a top secret Think Tank.  The town, New Marburg, is far different from anything they've experienced.  The police are charming robots, older people fight with swords made of lasers, their car parks itself, their house walls won't hold pictures and terrible storms with lightning abounds. When they go to their new school, they are surprised to find it all very low tech; except for the cafeteria which moves between floors.  Their class is taught by a horrible woman who detests them and treats them terribly.  Willow and Jack count themselves as lucky to make two friends, a boy and girl, who they are surprised to learn are the children of their disliked teacher.  One day, after a particularly violent storm, the twins find their school has been transformed into a castle and they and their friends have been transported to another world.  Grimmworld is the place from which Grimm's fairy tales originate; where they are real.  While exploring this bizarre place, they discover that their friends have become Hansel and Gretel! Willow and Jack must save them from being eaten by the witch and find a way back home.

I usually don't read fantasy, but I couldn't resist this storyline. I was enraptured by this book.  The writing is absolutely wonderful.  This is a children's/young adult's book, recommended for 8-11 year old readers.  Forget that!  This is a novel for adults too...a creative thriller about children.  Besides the stellar writing, the story pulls you in, rich in details and description.  You will feel transported to each setting; so vivid you will feel the darkness of the woods, smell the cinnamon of the witch's house and see the children as they experience it all.  I simply cannot say enough good things about this book.   It will leave you wanting more.  Amazon lists this as volume one, I will be the first to buy each additional book, anxious to rekindle the deep affection I already feel for the Grimm twins.  

Now for the bad news, this novel isn't available until March 5, 2024.  I strongly suggest you preorder it for your children and yourself. In case you forget, I'll remind you in a couple of months.  The enchanting Grimmworld The Witch in the Woods is spellbinding and should not be missed!

Many thanks to the author Michaelbrent Collings and Cameron, his assistant.  This book was the highlight of my week and I am in awe.  Thank you!

The Puzzle Master by Danielle Trussoni

Hello everyone. I hope you're having a great day.

With four kids (girls), going on a vacation was always a real adventure for my parents.  My dad had his routine shtick he did asking why we packed so many shoes; which became a huge issue when we threw them all in the trunk loose and then had a flat tire.  It was 4 am...in the cold...with no winter coats...and to get to the spare everything (including each and every shoe) had to come out of the trunk, while we stood on the side of the road ... and it started to snow.  We never had a flat tire before, but had two others on that trip. Naturally, my dad blamed it on the shoes. My mom, on the other hand, wasn't concerned about the trunk; she concentrated on keeping us occupied in the car.  She wanted to reduce the likelihood of my sister complaining that my hair blew into her "airspace."  Anything to keep NASA junior quiet. (It is still quite a feat.)  One of the things Mom did was to bring puzzle books. You know the kind, the ones with paper one step down from newsprint.  They featured connect the dots, crosswords, mazes, and lots of word searches. Don't laugh! It was a time before phones and thumb-orific handheld video games. Those puzzle books led to my obsession with the backs of cereal boxes and finding my way to the bee in the center of the maze, or finding the 47.5 spoons hidden in the picture.

I recently read The Puzzle Master by Danielle Trussoni.  This is the story of Mike Brink.  He suffered a brain injury while playing football.  The result was savant syndrome, a rare medical condition.  Mike became able to read 18,000 words a minute with complete retention.  He could decipher patterns, allowing him to solve the most complex puzzles.  Having turned this unusual situation into a positive, he became a famous puzzle maker.  Mike is contacted by a psychiatrist who is treating a woman in prison, Jess Price.  Jess is serving a thirty-year murder sentence but perplexes all as she hasn't spoken a word since her arrest.  One day Jess draws a puzzle that her doctor doesn't understand.  Could it explain what happened during the murder?  The doctor contacts Mike to help solve the mysterious drawing.  This set of events takes Mike on a wild ride, meeting a slew of interesting characters.  The locations change often as fate the of many hangs in the balance, building the suspense as the story crests to a jaw-dropping ending.

This is a new author for me. Where have I been? I have been missing out!  This book is a edge-of-your-seat thriller.  The writing is wonderful, crisp and concise.  The 362 pages are all plot and no tangents, no meandering. Despite the fast-moving story, the characters are well developed.  Likeable or not, they are often surprising.  The settings are different and engaging, told with just enough description. The storyline is rich with puzzles, ancient traditions, and religion.  I found myself mesmerized, ignoring everything and everybody around me. This heart pounding thriller is a roller coaster, and a ride not to be missed.

Many thanks to the author Danielle Trussoni, Random House and publicist Alexis, for bringing this book to my attention.  Not only was it an honor to read, but I've found a new author to follow.