The Sisters Grimm: Book Nine: The Council of Mirrors (Sisters Grimm, The)

by Michael Buckley

Hardcover, 2012

Status

Available

Call number

813.6

Publication

Amulet Books (2012), Hardcover, 352 pages

Description

Hoping to save their family and the citizens of Ferryport Landing from the evil plans of Mirror, Sabrina and Daphne Grimm seek counsel from the other magic mirrors, who advise them to join forces with the Scarlet Hand.

User reviews

LibraryThing member Homeschoolbookreview

The Sisters Grimm are Sabrina, age twelve, and Daphne, who is eight. This is the ninth and final book in “The Sisters Grimm” series. The premise for the story is that fairy tale characters are real beings known as “Everafters” and that years ago Wilhelm Grimm brought them all to America,

established a city named Ferryport Harbor in New York state on the Hudson River for them, built a magic wall around it to protect them, and appointed his descendants to watch over them. However, war has broken out between a group of rebels known as the Scarlet Hand, led by the Magic Mirror, who want to leave, and its opponents, led by Prince Charming, who seek to follow Wilhelm’s original plan. Some of the main characters include the Big Bad Wolf (Mr. Canis), Red Riding Hood, the Titan, Briar Rose (Sleeping Beauty), Snow White and the seventh dwarf, Puck, Pinocchio and Gepetto, the Wicked Queen (Bunny Lancaster), Morgan le Fay, Baba Yaga, Grendel, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, King Arthur and his knights, Robin Hood and his men, the Queen of Hearts, and many others.
In previous books, the Magic Mirror had captured Sabrina and Daphne’s parents, Henry and Veronica, and their little brother Basil to use the baby in his plot to escape. During this time, the two girls lived in several foster homes until they were located by their Granny Relda Grimm and brought to live with her at Ferryport Landing. Mirror fails in his plan for Basil, so after the parents escape with the baby he captures Granny Relda and decides to kill all the Grimms so that the magical barrier will collapse. In the meantime, Sabrina has gathered the other magic mirrors and seeks their advice on how to deal with their enemy. They tell her to join forces with the Scarlet Hand against Mirror, in exchange for offering all the citizens of Ferryport Landing their freedom. What will happen? Can they free Granny Relda? And will any of them survive the battle? Not having read the first eight books of the series (The Fairy-Tale Detectives; The Unusual Suspects; The Problem Child; Once Upon a Crime; Magic and Other Misdemeanors; Tales from the Hood; The Everafter War; and The Inside Story; there is also A Very Grimm Guide with extra information about Fairyport Landing, the characters, and the series itself, which might be very helpful in explaining the plot), I was admittedly at a disadvantage picking up the story in book nine.
As a result, some things were a bit confusing, especially at first. Numerous plot devices in the book are dependent upon understanding events that had happened in earlier books, certain individuals are identified by a number of different names so that keeping who’s who straight can be difficult at times, and several characters seem to have switched back and forth between the two sides with relative ease. At the same time, the tale is told in a very exciting manner that moves along quickly and readily keeps the reader’s attention. As to language, there are a few childish slang terms, such as kicking or saving someone’s butt, and the ubiquitous “OMG” (someone may claim that it means only “Oh my gosh,” but we all know what it really means). One character is reported to have gone through several failed marriages and another is said to have been uncomfortable with her “husband’s ex;” also one individual is called a “harlot” (does someone really think that these things are appropriate for a children’s book?) And towards the end, a lot of destruction and death occur. In fact, the publisher’s blurb says, “This final chapter is the end of the road for several beloved characters.” For kids who have seen an average of 8,000 murders on television by the time they finish elementary school, this may be no big problem, but sensitive children, especially on the younger range of the given reading level, could be affected adversely. My conclusion is that while this isn’t a terribly bad book, it doesn’t have anything particularly worthy to commend it as a truly great book.

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LibraryThing member altonalibrary

This is the last book in a series of 9 books which cover about 1 year in the life of two young girls who lost their parents two years ago. After spending 1 year in foster care, they are reunited with a grandmother they have never met in the city of Ferryport Landing where book number 1 begins. Like

with the previous books, The Council of Mirrors starts with a blurb that will be repeated in the last ⅙ of the book. THEN the first chapter starts two weeks earlier.

Sabrina is now 12 and Daphne is now 8. Ferryport Landing was originally named Faerie Port Landing and began when the Brothers Grimm brought a boatload of real life Everafters to New York (right outside of NYC) from Europe. See, they didn’t write fairy tales, they were chronicling the real lives of the Everafters. There is a forcefield around the city that doesn’t allow the Everafters to leave AS LONG AS a Grimm descendent is also living there... That is why the grandmother was not known by the girls - their father had had enough and refused to be part of the keeping of the Everafter chronicles.

At the start of this book, Sabrina and Daphne are trying to save their grandmother from The Mirror created by the Evil Queen (aka Bunny) who made him then asked him “Who’s the fairest of them all?” She also created 20 or so other mirrors who are now helping the girls. First, as the other mirrors call him as he was the prototype, has escaped the mirror and is currently residing in the body of Grandma Relda.

Most of the Everafters have been following him for the last few years as part of a group called The Scarlet Hand. It has torn families apart as Beauty is helping the Grimms but the Beast and their daughter are with The Scarlet Hand. Cinderella (aka Cindy) has been helping the Grimms but her human husband has caused problems for them. Prince Charming has been married to three different princesses, but still really loves Sleeping Beauty. They have never married because of issues in her past from the REAL story before Bunny (the evil queen) rewrote the story making herself into the evil queen worried that her daughter is prettier than she is. 6 of the dwarfs live in the subways of NYC but Seven has been taking care of Prince Charming.
In the end, of course the girls are able to save the day, though many of the Everafters do NOT live happily ever after as they are killed, but Grandma Relda is saved and Mirror learns about love.

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LibraryThing member altonamiddle

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LibraryThing member atms

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LibraryThing member TnTexas

My biggest gripes with the story were the major plothole/inconsistency at the end that was never clearly addressed and the scenario in the very last epilogue - two huge problems that I just couldn't ignore. I suppose the plothole/inconsistency (no mention of what happened to the Scarlet Hand

Everafters; based on earlier events in the series, they would have been released from the castle) was hinted at in the final epilogue, but I feel like it really should have been dealt with more directly. As for someone not knowing something in the final epilogue, that made no sense at all to me.

Despite those problems though, I did enjoy reading the book with my kids and thought that overall it this was a good, satisfying ending to a fun series. I especially loved the way the author decided to resolve the problem with Mirror. It may not have been very realistic; but this was a children's series after all. I'm glad it ended on a positive note rather than a dark one.

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LibraryThing member summers1630

**spoiler alert**

First of all, I would like to say that I have read and enjoyed books 1 through 8 of the Sisters Grimm series. Most of the characters were likeable, the scenarios were entertaining, and the battle was, if nothing else, interesting. That being said, I was disappointed with the

conclusion, in particular the ending. The battle/war scenes were well written, but some of the plot twists, such as the death scene after the wedding, were predictable. The ending, though predictable, could have been written better. Through cheesy dialogue (and a good-alway-triumphs-over-evil feeling that was so overdone I felt sick to my stomach), the story ended happily as we all knew it would.

But then the epilogues.

The first epilogue was difficult to read. Not just because it wasn't the ending we all knew was going to happen eventually (though that may have been a small part of it), but also due to the fact that Sabrina's whole personality had changed. She wasn't the sort-of-troubled, independent girl that we had followed from "The Fairytale Detectives". Instead, she was a secretive adult who was sacrificing everything she was to marry some guy she didn't even love. Some guy who didn't even know what an everafter was. Where was the "the queen of sneaks"? Where was the girl who had risked her life to fight the Scarlet Hand? Where was the girl who had endured Puck and his pegasi army?

Apparently, she got lost on her way to the altar.

And towards the end, when everyone's favorite flying boy appears, it seems like the future was changed a little TOO much, because all the maturity future Sabrina promised doesn't exist. It's as if Puck heard about Sabrina's extreme personality change and decided to remind her about the good old days when he used to throw glop grenades at her and turn her green.

The first epilogue was less substance and more "where everyone is now", but the entire premise felt forced and just plain wrong. By tweaking the ending of the book a little, deleting the first epilogue, and rewriting the second, Michael Buckley could have concluded the series on a much stronger and believeable note.

Now to discuss the second epilogue...

It starts off as the first epilogue: an update on the characters lives. But it also had Sabrina complaining about being an adult...and a a parent. She mentions a nameless danger (possibly a new book opportunity-Sisters Grimm: The Second Generation), and then finds out that her daughter has sprouted wings. Apparently, Puck has also hopped aboard the denial train, as Alison and Emma know nothing about everafters or even being a Grimm. It's like Daphne and Sabrina meeting Relda for the first time, only in Council of Mirrors, there is no excuse. Puck and Sabrina have intentionally let their daughters be ignorant to their heritage (something that hurt and troubled the original sisters Grimm) for no reason.

All in all, "The Council of Mirrors" was a good book with some glaring errors, which I can only attribute to either laziness or boredom on Mr. Buckley's part. If you are a fan of the series, you should definitely read this, because whether we like it or not, this is canon. However, you may not be fully satisfied at the conclusion.

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LibraryThing member Jellyn

I had to read it to finish up the series. There's lots of action and deaths tossed here and there and I just couldn't care much and it didn't hold my attention well. And it does still give me the impression of a book designed for boys, just with girl main characters. Which is fine, but not to my

taste.

The editing started to suffer near the end. Typos crept in, and some things didn't make sense. Boys cannot be cows, for one example.

Mostly just relief that it's done now.

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LibraryThing member CurrerBell

I just finished Book 9, The Council of Mirrors, and I am rating this final volume and writing this review not on the basis of the single volume but as a rating and review of the series as a whole, regarding which I have mixed feelings. My mixed feelings are, I give the overall series probably 4****

for personal reading but a complete thumbs-down for classroom use.

Here's my take on it.

First of all, I never read any of these books as they were coming out. I had this mistaken notion that the series was "Nancy Drew meets Lemony Snicket" and (in all respect to her fans) I just don't care for Nancy Drew, but then I don't that much care for mysteries in general. And as to Lemony Snicket, I found the whole thing very tiresome until the last couple of installments when things really started wrapping up to a very good conclusion.

I'm glad I reconsidered, because The Sisters Grimm was definitely worth reading for my own personal enjoyment.

Now, as to The Sisters Grimm for personal reading enjoyment, I give the series overall 4****. I give the first seven books all 5*****, the eighth book 3***, and the final book three-and-a-half***. The first seven books are out of this world, especially for the relationship between the two semi-orphaned sisters, the older Sabrina and the younger Daphne. There's an interesting reversal here, with the older Sabrina sincerely looking out for her kid sister but with an often domineering stance and chip-on-the-shoulder attitude that sometimes makes Daphne react by calling Sabrina a "jerkazoid." The younger Daphne, in contrast, is the sweet, good-natured sister with the cheerful outlook and with a maturity that, for their relative ages, is a lot greater than Sabrina's. The relationship between the two sisters continues to develop in interesting ways throughout the series, further complicated by the 4000-year-old fairy (boy, of course) Puck who's got the body and maturity of an eleven-year-old, just like Sabrina.

There are a lot of interesting twists throughout the first seven books, leading up to a discovery of who the real "villain" is, regarding which I'll say no more to avoid SPOILER and just assure you that the author really plays fair with clues leading up to the ultimate disclosure.

Now, as to the eighth volume, I give it 3*** (and maybe a bit generously). It's really way too hurried-up, an out-of-breath jump through a whole variety of fairy tales. I can't say more to avoid SPOILER, but although there are certain interesting reversals the volume overall is just too frantic.

As to the ninth and concluding volume, I'll give it three-and-a-half***, maybe even close to 4****. The pace is still a little too frantic, like the author is trying to wrap everything up in a hurry, and the conclusion is a little too saccharine for my own personal taste, but that's really a matter of taste. The ending has in no way the bittersweet taste of The Amber Spyglass, but considering that "His Dark Materials" is my personally favorite of all fantasy works, it's really not fair for me to compare the two.

So why do I give the series a thumbs-down for classroom use? It's just wa-a-a-ay too Euro-centric. The standard of beauty, for example, is Snow White's porcelain skin. This is the kind of series that's going to go over like a lead balloon with children of color, in a racially mixed class could really prove seriously disruptive, and in an all-white class could reinforce racial stereotypes and prejudices. There are definitely ways that Michael Buckley could have made this a genuinely multicultural work, as Rick Riordan has very successfully done with Percy Jackson and even more so with The Kane Chronicles. In fact, the only instance I can remember of a dark-skinned character in the entire "Sisters Grimm" series is (I think) a very minor Mother Goose character who sometimes changes into a goose with black feathers. Children of color are going to find this patently offensive for classroom use.

A very good series for my own personal reading at 4**** (and possibly higher if the last two books, especially book 8, weren't so hurried).

A complete disaster for classroom use.

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LibraryThing member SRaval

this was a great way to end the series. I loved the action and suspense and surprises in the whole series and I would highly recommend it to anybody who likes fairytales, suspense and adventure.

LibraryThing member Mirandalg14

It was nice to read a real ending to a series. Not a bad way to wrap things up.

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