The Unusual Suspects by Michael Buckley

This novel is fairly fast moving. It is the second in the series of the 'The Sisters Grimm', which explores the idea that descendants of the Grimm Brothers are able to interact with fairy tales characters. These characters have all been exiled to a small town and aren't terribly happy about it. Their crimes are sorted by the Grimm sisters, under the supervision of their grandmother and with the help of Puck, of Midsummer fame.

The main character is the eldest sister, who is entering adolescence and struggling to connect with her family and deal with the absence of her parents. Her parents have been kidnapped and she is convinced that the fairy tales creatures are to blame. All of them. So, she knows who is to blame with the latest crime in her small town - the fairy tale characters. What follows is a fairly predictable tale where the fairy tale characters become more sympathetic the more she gets to know them, and apologises to everyone and they all live happily...no. That is the useful thing about this book. There is no 'happily ever after'. There is resolution, but it comes through communication and toleration, with a fair bit of self evaluation and bearing with others.

The bad characters are really bad. And they are pretty gross too. The good characters are trying hard to help, getting it wrong, being ticked off with others for very little reason or being seriously annoying. But they're good because they are fundamentally loyal to each other. The themes of honour, loyalty, teamwork and so forth get played out and considered.

The bad guys are beyond reason and indeed the last illustration of the book (by Peter Ferguson) is really freaky. It is one of the most alarming illustrations I have ever seen in a book. The bad guys really are psychotic. This is one of the weaknesses of the book. Evil isn't that easy to recognise and we often turn out to be the bad guys, even in small ways. This book buys into the idea that we're all pretty good, sometimes corrupted by pressures but in completely understandable ways and this makes us a tragic figure. The bad guys are 'them' and you can't connect with them in any meaningful way: they are morally and rationally operating on a completely different plane. But in reality, we're all bad and those who choose to do evil often choose just to be selfish: it's pretty basic and doesn't involve bodily functions.

Part of the usefulness of this book lies in the way it demonstrates our need for each other. The main character isolates herself from the group, but in doing so her relationships suffer and her capacity to draw useful conclusions suffers because her capacity for thinking things through is enhanced. This is quite complex for the age group and could be a useful basis of discussion of how we operate as individuals and connect together.

This book could suit an early adolescent. The worldview is a bit bleak. The kidnapped parents loom large and there's no one to really help. The grandmother is well meaning but not overly competent. They don't get hurt, but not because of anything other than sheer luck and pluck. It's a less safe world than Harry Potter.

I would give this 3 stars out of 5.