Grim [Hardcover]

Anna Waggener (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2012

A fantastic debut from the winner of the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards novel contest.

When Erika wakes up after a horrific car crash, she finds herself somewhere between earth and heaven, between life and death. She doesn't want to accept help from Jeremiah, who she's not sure she can trust, even as she finds herself drawn to him, following him into a grim city of souls. She's not sure who wants to help her and who wants to hurt her. And she's desperate to get back to her children.

Shawn's never thought about having to shoulder the responsibility of caring for his young sister Megan and his reckless older sister. And he never imagined that the three of them would find themselves in a haunted wood, sometimes chased, sometimes assisted, never sure where they're headed.

With Grim, the terrifically talented Anna Waggener delves into the place where myth becomes reality, where family can distort you as easily as it cares for you, where death and eternity meet.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Grim

"Waggener won the 2008 Scholastic Art and Writing Award for an early version of this debut novel. It's easy to see what the judges liked—brooding atmosphere, fresh descriptions, and an unusual and compelling rogue, Jeremiah." —Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Anna Waggener was born in Thailand and has spent many summers eating ripe-to-bursting mangoes. At college in Minnesota she spends her winters buried under the snow, studying English and human rights, and writing. She was the 2008 winner of the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards novel writing category, and Grim is her first novel.

Product Details

• Age Range: 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Press (June 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 054538480X
• ISBN-13: 978-0545384803
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,938,484 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Anna Waggener was born in Thailand and has spent many summers eating ripe-to-bursting mangoes. At college in Minnesota she spends her winters buried under the snow, studying English and human rights, and writing. She was the 2008 winner of the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards novel writing category, and Grim is her first novel.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars a powerful novel September 14, 2012

By James

Format:Hardcover

Grim is a very rare combination for YA fiction. It is subtle, lyrical, and complex, a beautiful and sometimes wrenching account of the ties that bind in a family. It is also riveting and fantastical, charged with mysterious characters and mythic overtones. Grim is a challenge to the genre, I think, to be better than it is, and Waggener is the author to take it there.

4.0 out of 5 stars Imaginative fantasy world February 28, 2013

By Laura Lanik

Format:Hardcover

Erica is the mother of three and dies in a car accident on the road home. She wakes up confused and startled to find herself stuck in between, in limbo, a place between Heaven and Hell. She doesn't feel dead and she doesn't know what this strange place is. Her guide on the other side is named Jeremiah and it is his job to lead her to the city of souls. The city of Souls is a desolate place where the seraph angels rule the middle kingdom. Erica is a lowly human who looks like the Kings former mistress and Jeremiah's mother.

Erica is desperate to see her three kids, Becca, Shawn and Megan. She tries to sneak into their dreams to see them. She eventually persuades Jeremiah to bring them to her except no living human has ever passed through middle kingdom before. What will be the consequences?

Anna Waggener takes the reader on a journey into a creative afterlife that is unique and imaginative. There are three story lines in Grim that converge into an unpredictable ending with many twists and turns along the way. Waggener keeps the reader guessing. Grim has many narrators but the story is easy to navigate as it is highlighted with breaks in the text and shaded pages. I really enjoyed the imaginative fantasy world that Waggener created in Grim and think that while this book is labeled YA, it is bound to be a book that adults read and enjoy too.

Grim is a dark look at the afterworld and it's mythical and mysterious qualities. It is complex and entertaining and has a very different feel to it than typical young adult novels. There is an adult narrator among the young voices competing for dialog in the text. The prose is lyrical and is well-written. Grim is an intelligent book that gives you a lot to think about.

Waggener wrote the first draft of Grim when she was in high school and completed the rewrites and editing during the time when she was in college. She is now working on her second book.

3.0 out of 5 stars An intriguing tale that brings out some dark feelings. December 28, 2012

By Dark Faerie Tales

Format:Hardcover

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: An intriguing tale that brings out some dark feelings.

Opening Sentence: I love my youngest child more than the other two, and God bless them but they all know it.

The Review:

Anna Waggener's Grim is an intriguing tale, one that brought out dark feelings (at least for me). The cover is a little eerie using somber tones. Waggener wrote this at a somewhat young age, and I was amazed at the level of talent she had already. Waggener's creativity speaks volumes, and it is evident throughout the pages of Grim.

Erika is a mother of three children, who finds herself in the afterlife after a tragic accident. Upon awakening, she quickly realizes that the tragic accident wasn't the original cause for going to the afterlife. Here, Erika meets Jeremiah, the sixth son of the king of the land. There are many similarities between Erika and Jeremiah's own mother. Within the war raging in the afterlife, Jeremiah and his brothers are at each other's throats. Erika agrees to aid Jeremiah, but for a chance to see her children, but at what price.

Erika is a mother, through and through. She was very well written and it was evident that Erika was based on someone close to Waggener. There are many realistic characteristic traits that make Erika a believable character. Because Erika wanted to see her children in the afterlife, it created many problems, which caused an interesting story arc. But I also feel that this is where the story started to slow down a bit, trying to explain many threads at such an early stage of the book.

The other point of view in Grim is through the eyes of the children. A little bit confusing, but we found out a little bit about the personalities of Rebecca, Shawn, and Megan. The transitions between the children were a little hindering, causing some confusion for me. I thought their initial introduction was strong, but it felt muddled through after a while, like there were too many elements to keep up with.

Waggener's world is different. The afterlife is a large vast place and Grim's version was a little more attainable to the imagination than others. I found many elements to be refreshing, and others not so much. Erika's perspective was the most interesting and the one that I connected with. I didn't feel so connected with the other view points, which caused me to disconnect with the story.

Waggener's writing style was unique. The voice of the story followed the thoughts of each character. There were a few pages, with a black background, with a mystery voice. It isn't apparent until the end what part it plays, and in the beginning it was really confusing. But despite my personal preferences, I wanted more. I wanted to learn more about Jeremiah and his story. I didn't think I got enough of him, and he could easily have been the most intriguing character in Grim.

Grim is dark and complex, at times confusing, but in the end, the threads of the story tied together nicely. Waggener still delivered a tale that I enjoyed, and I think you will too.

FTC Advisory: Scholastic provided me with a copy of Grim. No goody bags, sponsorships, "material connections," or bribes were exchanged for my review.