Jackson Pearce began her fairy tale retelling series with Sisters Red, and that series continues with Sweetly, which asks what Hansel and Gretel’s modern lives would be like. Probably doesn’t need much more of an introduction than that.
The day that Gretchen Kassel turned eighteen, she and her nineteen-year-old brother Ansel were kicked out of their house by their cruel stepmother. Now on their own, they break down in the small South Carolina town of Live Oak, where a kindly young candymaker named Sophia Kelly takes them in at her woodland cottage, which also functions as a candy shop. It’s clear from the start that Live Oak holds secrets, and the townspeople believe Sophia is at the center of it all. As Gretchen and Ansel get closer to Sophia, Gretchen begins to suspect something dangerous about Sophia’s past…something that might connect her to the witch that Gretchen and Ansel encountered as children.
Sweetly might be the closest thing to a horror book that Jackson Pearce has written. After all, if any fairy tale lends itself well to horror, it’s Hansel and Gretel. Sweetly is not straight-up horror that intends to frighten the reader, but there is always a sense of foreboding, even during the friendlier, happier moments. Live Oak, a Southern town filled with old plantations and superstitious tradition, is always cast in a gray, cloudy, sleepy light, with all the townspeople watching their backs, except for Sophia, who somehow always seems determined to carry on with her candy shop.
The candy shop is the only warm place in the entire town, covered floor to ceiling with chocolates and candies that seem to have magical properties. But Sophia’s determination to carry the shop on, despite the insistent stories about what her candies make people do, leaves the reader with a sense of dread.
Sophia runs a chocolate festival every summer, during which several girls have gone missing and never returned to the town, leaving people to believe that Sophia’s magic candy made them leave their loved ones behind. Of course, as the proverbial “witch” with the house full of candy, how could one not suspect Sophia? The fact that she lives on the edge of a dark forest doesn’t help either.
Throughout the book, Gretchen grapples with the mystery of what kind of monster she and Ansel encountered as children, and she has to learn to confront that monster. I like how even after she makes the decision to confront the monster, she sometimes feels doubtful and scared about her ability to do so. Even if she knew about witches out there and prepared for a while to meet one, she would still be scared of it, as any of us would.
The characters are the best part of the book. Gretchen is a traumatized young woman just trying to forget her past but has to learn to confront it. Her brother Ansel is always loyal to her, never turning his back on her even after he develops feelings for Sophia. Samuel Reynolds, Gretchen’s love interest whose previous lover was taken by witches, is a grizzled town outcast who is driven by his mission to save other girls but gives Gretchen a safe place. Sophia, as the retelling’s witch, is an enigma wrapped in a mystery, sweetness mixed with madness mixed with desperation.
I like how there is nothing pretty or fairytale about this story: it is dirty, bloody, horrific, and always with something sinister waiting. Gretchen is not a sexy badass ready to take on the witches: she is still a frightened child who finds her courage with a little help. All the characters come out of the story covered in bloody scratches, sweat, and dirt, bruised from gun recoils, horrified rather than glorified from what they saw. There is a happy ending, but they’re never going to be innocent again.
There is not much truly noteworthy or groundbreaking about Sweetly. Thematically, it’s less interesting and relatable than Sisters Red, but more so than Cold Spell. It’s a good adaptation of Hansel and Gretel where you can get the sinister vibes of something waiting in the woods without being kept up at night.
The Library Key 