The Sisters Grimm: The Unusual Suspects. Michael Buckley. Illustrated by Peter Ferguson. 2005. 292 pages. [Source: Library]
First sentence: "Let's get this party started, already" Sabrina complained under her breath as she rubbed the charley horse in her leg. She and her seven-year-old sister, Daphne, had been crouching behind a stack of Diaper Rash Donna dolls for nearly three hours. She was tired, hungry, and more than a little irritated. For a week, they had been on this "stakeout" and it was beginning to look as if they had wasted another perfectly good night of sleep. Even Elvis, their two-hundred-pound Great Dane, had given up and was snoring on the floor next to them. Of course, how Sabrina wanted to spend her time wasn't really considered, she had learned, especially if there was a mystery afoot.
Premise/plot: The Unusual Suspects is the second in this mystery-fantasy series by Michael Buckley. This line from the opening chapter sums up the series (and this title) quite nicely. "In most towns, the police do not rely on an old woman, two kids, and
a sleepy dog to solve crimes, but Ferryport Landing was no ordinary
town. More than half of its residents were part of a secret community
known as the Everafters. Everafters were actually fairy-tale characters
who had fled Europe to escape persecution. Settling in the little river
town almost two hundred years ago, they now used magical disguises to
live and work alongside their normal neighbors. Ogres worked at the post
office, witches ran the twenty-four hour diner, and the town mayor was
the legendary Prince Charming. The humans were none the wiser--except
the Grimms. As fantastic and thrilling as it sounded to live among
fairy-tale characters, it wasn't a dream come true for Sabrina Grimm.
Being the last in a long line of Grimms (descended from the famous
Brothers Grimm), she and her sister had had the family responsibility of
keeping the peace between Everafters and humans thrust upon them no
less than three weeks ago. And it wasn't an easy job."
Our story begins roughly three weeks after Fairy-Tale Detectives
concluded, the two sisters are still adjusting to their new home. Still
adjusting to living with 'the big, bad wolf' in his disguise as Mr.
Canis. Still adjusting to their new stepbrother of sorts, the
infamous Puck. But even more change is on the way: the two must begin
attending school OR they'll be taken back into foster care and into the
care of the dreaded Ms. Smirt. Changing schools is difficult for most
kids, but it becomes even more challenging in Ferryport where some of the staff are Everafters...and some of the students are children of Everafters.
Sabrina had been to a lot of schools in the last year and a half, and they all had a few things in common. Every one of them had a couple of grouchy teachers, a bully, a bully's punching bag, a weird cafeteria lady, a bathroom that everyone was afraid to go into, and a librarian who worships something called the Dewey Decimal System. None of those schools, however, had a teacher-killing monster scurrying through its hallways. And they said New York City had everything. (90-91).
Even
with all of the new adventures and mysteries to solve, Sabrina cannot
and will not forget her most important mission: she's determined to find
her missing parents and the Everafters responsible for their
disappearance. But is her anger and frustration even more dangerous than
she knows??? Find out in this second exciting installment of The
Sisters Grimm.
My thoughts: I am enjoying rereading this series. It has been over a decade (closer to fifteen years) since I first read this series. It is so enjoyable! I love the humor. I love the characters. This series started long before Once Upon A Time (the show) began. It is a super fun concept or premise. While it is highly unlikely the series would ever be adapted into a television show, I still think it would be fun.
© 2022 Becky Laney of Young Readers
