I have mixed feelings about this book after finishing it. I really liked the idea of taking a fairy tale (several fairy tales?) and extending it, combining it with other stories. While I know that the original stories are much darker than their Disney counterparts, I thought the violence in this was a little bit over-the-top, especially for a kid's book. I suppose, to be fair, the author does warn the reader - repeatedly. Which is also kind of annoying. But generally, a nicely woven tale.