Two and Twenty Dark Tales -- Part 1
Two and Twenty Dark Tales -- Part 2
My overall review of the collection at the bottom!
Little Miss Muffet:
This one was very unusual. It is about a family that has a secret that involves spiders. The ending is super creepy. This story left me confused with many questions. 2/5
Sea of Dew:
So at one point in my life, when I was approximately 4 years old, I had this whole rhyme memorized. My parents would recite it to me as I drifted off to sleep. So, this story was very morbid for me. It took a nursery rhyme that I was very familiar with and definitely made it dark. Now although this may sound like I disliked it, I didn't. I thought the writing was done well and re-imagining these characters as survivors on a lifeboat was a very interesting take. I like stories involving survival, especially in very bad conditions. Also, there were many clever references to the original rhyme, involving the moon and such.The ending was just so very morbid. 4/5
Tick Tock:
This one was just straight up creepy. It is a common story of babysitter and unruly children, but these 4 children are so completely creepy, from their clothes to their actions. This story was very well written. It is an instance of a scary story with no explanation. There are so many open ends. 4/5
A Pocket Full of Posy:
This story did not go where I thought it would, knowing the original references in this rhyme. Although, another classic monster is used. A boy wakes up to find blood on him and an empty memory of the night before. I thought this was written well, but I'm not that fond of the way it ended up playing out. 3/5
The Well:
This story features the familiar characters of Jack and Jill, only they are nothing like the childhood images you have in mind. They are no longer chipper, sing-songy siblings. Instead, a virus has killed pretty much everyone in the world except these two. It was interesting how the well comes into play. This one was very disturbing, although I think that's what it was going for. 2.5/5
The Wish:
This one deals with the simple idea of wishing on a star...to be dead. I thought this one was well written, but it was a little too predictable and teen angsty for my likings. 2/5
A Ribbon of Blue:
The main character in this one is a teen girl with Cerebral Palsy. I thought it was a very interesting read. I loved the way her handicap was dealt with. I thought her grandmother having emphysema was a nice addition to the story, as well. The carnival really gave good imagery. The fortune teller was interesting and I really liked the way the story played out. 4/5
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OVERALL REVIEW:
This was a well put together collection. There was a good amount of variety between the stories. Some were very dark, while others just slightly twisted the original rhyme. I would suggest this book to anyone familiar with the original Mother Goose nursery rhymes who is prepared to see some wholesome characters in very creepy and scary situations.
By averaging my reviews for each individual story, the mean rating for a story in this collection is 3.175/5. So, I'll give this collection, as a whole, a 3/5.
-PAUL
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