The Goose Girl

I quite enjoyed Shannon Hale's Goose Girl. I was expecting a sweet story, but it isn't really, though it does get sweet in places. And in fact, as you might expect as it is based on (or at least inspired by) a Brothers Grimm story, it gets quite grim in places. There is treachery, violence, murder, and other nastiness aplenty. To balance that, there is also courage, friendship, steadfastness, and kindness. The main character, Ani, has to deal with tough times and grow up fast. Hale crafted a plot which twists and turns and several times went where I did not expect (which I like).
To sum up – good story, well told.