The Sisters Grimm #5: Magic and Other Misdemeanors
By Michael Buckley [LibraryThing - Amazon]
Since returning to Ferryport Landing, now under the control of Mayor (Queen of) Heart(s) and Sheriff Nottingham, Sabrina has thrown herself into the business of being a Grimm with a will. But when their latest case causes rips in time to start opening up over town, that business seems even more dangerous than usual. Sabrina and Daphne find themselves on the other side of one of those rips, in a dystopian future where their very survival is in question. Can they get back to their own time and solve the case before they’re left with no future at all?
I found that I couldn’t really discuss my reactions to this book without talking about the various twists and turns the plot makes in some depth, so beware: there are major spoilers behind the cut, and they are not hidden behind a spoiler tag. You have been warned.
First the basic stuff. The last time Rebecca and I discussed this series, we had some major quibbles. Most of those are still in full force in this installment: Puck still rescues Sabrina all the time (both our current Puck and Sabrina, and the Puck and Sabrina of the future), which makes Sabrina seem incompetent and passive. No one listens to Elvis, who is still the smartest character in the series. They’re still not very good detectives. Sabrina is still patently racist against Everafters, who, the book says, “unnerve” her.
On the other hand, we also had some very good things to say about the series, mostly having to do with how well Buckley handles most of the Everafters, and those are still in full force as well. Our old favorites, Canis, Charming, and Snow, continue to be wonderful and actually more nuanced than the main characters. The new additions are great: Mordred is hilarious, Cinderella is bright and likeable, Sleeping Beauty is adorable, Rapunzel is fun, and the Wicked Queen is perfectly crisp and efficient. Though they’re not strictly new, Nottingham and the Queen of Hearts get to play a much bigger role in this book, and they make great villains – funny and threatening at the same time, which is a difficult balance to maintain. The only new character I wasn’t sold on was Puss in Boots, mostly because I was completely bewildered by Buckley’s take on him, but he only had one scene, so it wasn’t really a problem.
I also adored a scene that was a bit of an aside – the four main princesses (Snow White, Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Briar Rose) gathering to talk about their shared history. Though the scene didn’t exactly pass the Bechdel Test, since the four women discuss Charming pretty much exclusively, I really enjoyed the fact that they were all very mature and gracious about the fact that they’d all been married to the same man, and that they decided to make their friendship more of a regular thing. I am all for female friendship in fiction (and in real life, of course!), and since Sabrina and Daphne have had no peers to speak of since Book 2, I’ll take it with the princesses.
There’s a bit of weirdness with continuity. I’m glad to see that Buckley remembers Sabrina’s addiction to magic from Book 3; she can’t be around too much magic without getting the shakes. However, when Baba Yaga rather logically accuses Sabrina of stealing one of her magic wands, pointing out that Sabrina is “touched,” no one – not Baba Yaga, not Sabrina, not Granny Relda, no one – seems to recall or find it worth mentioning that Sabrina has stolen a magic wand from Baba Yaga before. There’s even a mention of Sabrina’s being turned into a frog by Baba Yaga, but Buckley fails to say that this was because Sabrina stole from her.
Now for the meat of the book: the time travel plotline. The idea of the heroes of a story catching a glimpse of a dystopian possible future and returning to their own time determined to avoid said dystopian future is a fairly common one, and with good reason: it’s awesome. Generally the difference between Okay Future and Dystopian Future is the solving of a mystery, or a difficult decision that must be made by the hero(es). The mystery is solved, the correct decision is made, and Dystopian Future is avoided. It’s all very simple and elegant and narratively powerful.
Buckley’s version? A big ol’ mess. Sabrina and Daphne are brought to Dystopian Future, where Canis has irrevocably become the Big Bad Wolf, Snow White and Uncle Jake are dead, and the Scarlet Hand rules the town (why the state government doesn’t notice, I have no idea). Charming is there too, and when the three of them return to the present, he tells them that they need to change absolutely everything they can in order to try and prevent Dystopian Future. Except…that’s not how that story is supposed to work! There is supposed to be one lynch pin, which in this case is obvious the missing time-travel-related artifacts that are being stolen all over town, that must be pulled in order to resolve things! I’m not trying to be hidebound to tradition here, I’m just saying that the story usually plays out that way because it works. If Buckley’s way of doing it worked too, I’d be giving him his due props, but it’s just confusing, since there’s no clear goal to focus on.
Then, the changes they do make make no sense. For example, Future Daphne has a big scar on her face that Charming says was a result of an encounter the two of them had – recently – with Future Nottingham. When Charming and the girls return to the present, Sabrina worries about taking Daphne with them to face Nottingham, since she blames the lack of Daphne’s usual exuberance in Future Daphne on the scar. Sure enough, Nottingham almost manages to cut Daphne’s face – until Charming stops him. (Which actually made me think this series would be far more awesome if it was just Charming and Daphne fighting crime together, but that’s another story.) When the girls next encounter Future Daphne, she no longer has a scar. Except – she didn’t get the scar as a child, she got it as an adult! The two events are not related!
But the real kicker is that none of these changes do any real good. They solve the case, but the book is very clear on the fact that this does not mean that Dystopian Future has been avoided. At one point Canis asks Future Relda point blank how he can avoid becoming the Wolf, and she tells him he can’t. Now, it’s possible that she’s wrong, but at this point she’s the best authority that we have. This is not a book that turns fatalism on its head; this is a book that accepts fatalism wholeheartedly. And if that’s the point – if the major, important aspects of the future are unchangeable and unyielding – then what was the point of this entire book? That the future is bleak and unavoidable? Chipper! But even aside from the dark tone it casts on the series, I feel rather cheated to have read nearly 300 pages of an exercise in futility.
And yet. The end of the book was terrifying and compelling, and made me deeply impatient for the Book 6, which comes out next month. Even though each installment of this series makes me crazier, I can’t seem to stop reading them. Thus, despite all its flaws, Magic and Other Misdemeanors gets two and a half cupcakes. Book 6 may be the series’s saving grace, or it may make me give up for good, or it may keep me frustrated but following along, but for now I am still hooked on the Sisters Grimm.
Azaria said,
March 1, 2008 @ 3:25 pm
Thank you for making a point on Daphne’s scar. Didnt get that part in the book…
ALA said,
March 18, 2008 @ 5:02 pm
So in the furture Puck and Sabrina are married. So will that change if Sabrina and Daphne change the furture?
Azaria said,
March 21, 2008 @ 9:08 am
Don’t think so..
ALA said,
March 29, 2008 @ 8:21 pm
ok thanks Azaria
Azaria said,
March 30, 2008 @ 12:52 pm
Sure thing!
peanut said,
March 30, 2008 @ 7:17 pm
The older Daphne got her scar by stealing the magic detector from Nottingham. If the younger Daphne stole it from him and didn’t get the scar then the future Daphne wouldn’t have a scar becuase she would already have the magic detector. If she already had the magic detector then she wouldn’t have to steal it and she wouldn’t get the scar.
Thats why the older Daphne didn’t have a scar. Sorry if it’s too confusing!! =)
Azaria said,
April 5, 2008 @ 10:37 am
Yeah, but it said the scar was fairly fresh, it wouldnt fresh if she gotton it when she was young, and then still have it look fresh years later..
This is confusing!
peanut said,
April 7, 2008 @ 10:11 am
But she got the scar stealing the orb thing from Nottingham and if younger Dapne stole it then the older Daphne wouldn’t have tried to steal it and wouldn’t have gotten the scar. . .i think.
I agree this is SO confusing!!!!!
Azaria said,
April 7, 2008 @ 10:32 am
Ow…My brain hurts!
Peanut said,
April 8, 2008 @ 2:01 pm
HEADACHE!!!!!!!!
Azaria said,
April 8, 2008 @ 5:48 pm
Lol. Yeah!
Lily said,
April 21, 2008 @ 1:56 pm
I have to disagree with you about the scar. Daphne had gotten the scar recently because she had only just accquired the detector, because before they didn’t know about it or need it. Once they have returned back to the present, Charming realized that they needed the magic detector then. It’s one of they mistakes they fix- stealing it then rather than years later.
Lily said,
April 21, 2008 @ 1:59 pm
Plus, younger Daphne hadn’t stolen it when they visited the future. Also, I actually do think the whole time-traveling thing works.
Hannah said,
April 24, 2008 @ 6:36 pm
I didn’t think the time traveling was confusing either.
Christina said,
April 25, 2008 @ 6:33 am
Don’t you just looooove Sabrina&Puck? We need to make a couple name 4 them…like Suck. HA!
Lily said,
April 25, 2008 @ 1:47 pm
Christina- I know! My friend and I think they’re so cute.
But I didn’t really like how in the 5th and 6th, not much happens. I mean, in the fifth you learn they get married, so I thought there’d be lots of romance in the sixth, but there isn’t.
Lily said,
April 25, 2008 @ 1:48 pm
OH, and you have a point about the whole “Sabrina stealing a wand before” thing.
Azaria said,
April 26, 2008 @ 6:11 am
Haha, “Sucks”. XD -dies laughing-
I get the whole time traveling part, its that Peanut was confusing me..Or was I confusing myself? Idk.
But, Jessica and Rebecca are right that the Grimms still ignore Elvis.
Nikki said,
May 10, 2008 @ 5:29 pm
First of all I want to say that I love the Sisters Grimm and I have many thoughts on them but I won’t write them all down ’cause that would take too long. I totally understand not being able to stop reading them. I’ve never cared so much about a series or a character as i did about Sisters Grimm and Sabrina. The reason for this is because I’ve never connected with a main character in any other book and been able to live a story thru her like I did with Sabrina. that’s one reason it would be so hard to stop reading them. you feel like it’s your story and you need to see what happens. But, besides being a sympathetic character thru whom we can live the story Sabrina’s wonderful charcter on her own. She’s a sensitive, strong-willed, courageous, tough girl. although she does act a bit like a brat sometimes she’s never actually trying to hurt anyone. She’s doing what she thinks is best or what she thinks she has to do to protect her family. She’s been following Charming’s advice about saving the ones she loves all along. If you ask me she’s the best part of the series. But she’s not the only good part. My other favorite characters are compassionate Mirror and long suffering Mr. Canis. i didn’t like Charming at first but after book 5 I think he is one of my favorites too.
On the other hand i completely relate to you being frustrated by the books. you touched on a few of the problems with them in your reviews, but i have to say many of the problems you talked about weren’t really problems at all, ( Mr. Buckley only doesn’t make a big point of saying that Sabrina’s going thru puberty), and completely missed others. I absolutely agree that Sabrina doesn’t get to save the day enough. there are many contradictions. In book 3 Granny Relda said that magic should only be used as a last resort. But she had a witch make Puck a magical room at the end of book 1. Was that really such an emergency? maybe having a magic room was how she convinced puck to come live with them since he didn’t really want to. But Sabrina and Daphne didn’t want to live with her at first, either. But did they get magical rooms. No. they got their windows boarded up. And then there’s the impression one gets that Relda and Daphne are doing their best to find fault with Sabrina. Like when Daphne’s mad at Sabrina at the end of book 6. I don’t get what she’s so upset about. she herself admitted she was wrong and stubborn not to get the weapon. i know Mr. Buckley wanted Daphne to be the voice of reason for Sabrina but it just doesn’t work that way. instead Daphne just seems judgemental of Sabrina. And I know everyone’s going to be really mad at me for this but if there’s one character in the series i can’t stand it’s Puck. He, unlike Sabrina is mean for the sake of being mean and I enjoy reading the parts including him the least. I don’t think the sixth book will put anyone off the books, but you might find, like i did, that you’re not as anxious to read the next book as you were to read books 1-6. I was a little annoyed by all the mushy stuff in this book and the creepy part near the end with Bluebeard and Snow White. I had to wonder if Mr. Buckley momentarily forgot he was writing a series for children (I say this, as well as all my other criticizms in the best way possible).
I really want the books to go out with a bang (if they really must go out). So, Mr. Buckley, i know you must be really busy lately. I heard you and your wife had a baby lately. So please take as much time as you need to rest and think thru the next few books. Take years if you have to but make the next 3 books really, really fantastic. Make them go down in history. I love your series and I know you can do it.
Nikki said,
May 10, 2008 @ 6:23 pm
One thing I forgot to say before is why I connect with Sabrina. This is not to say that I’m a whole lot like Sabrina, personality-wise (although I am a little), but that as I read each book it’s very easy to feel what Sabrina is feeling. Part of this is because what she feels is so real and so logical and part of it might be a psychic ability of Mr. Buckley’s to hypnotize people using the ink on the page into being absorbed into Sabrina’s feelings (Hee Hee. Joking-seriously). Whatever it is it feels like Sabrina’s a real person and one of my friends, you know? I really hope none of that sounds too crazy.
Hannah said,
May 11, 2008 @ 5:55 pm
Hi Nikki!!! I didn’t find your thing (sorry couldn’t think of a way to put it!) about connecting with Sabrina creepy. I agree with some of the stuff you said but some things I don’t really agree with. Like the thing with Daphne hateing Sabrina. I think Daphne has a pretty good reason to not be happy with Sabrina. Sabrina stole the key from Daphne and took the weapon from the bank without her knowing. When they drove by the destroyed bank I thought Sabrina should have at least told Daphne she had the weapon! The little girl was freaking out!!! Plus if Sabrina told Daphne then it’s not like Daphne could have done anything about it. She couldn’t put it back in the bank becuase there’s no bank to put it in!! Sure Daphne might have been mad but not as mad as she is now!! The person she was most trusted and the person she wanted to be like when she grew up, stole something from her, didn’t tell her about it and let her go on thinking that the weapon was lost and blameing herself for not getting it before! I don’t know about you but I’d be pretty mad at someone if they did that to me. I’m not trying to make Sabrina look like a bad person in the book. I can see why she took the weapon and I don’t mind that she did it to try and protect everyone. I just think Daphne has a good reason to be mad. Oh, and the thing with the magic room, I don’t think Sabrina would have been to happy to sleep in a magical room.
Hannah said,
May 11, 2008 @ 5:57 pm
Sorry if I spelled anything wrong!!! I’m a horrible speller! =)
Nikki said,
May 16, 2008 @ 7:16 pm
Nice to meet you, Hannah! I’m glad you didn’t find my thing about connecting with Sabrina creepy. And you’re right I would be kindof upset if something terrible happened and I thought it was my fault and my sister let me stew when she could have told me the real story, and I don’t think Daphne hates Sabrina. I should have explained my comments before but I was trying to be quick. It’s just that Dapne doesn’t even ask Sabrina why she didn’t tell her and didn’t seem to stop and consider that Sabrina just didn’t know how. (That’s what it was, I think. Sabrina just couldn’t bring herself to it because she knew Daphne would be mad.) Throughout the books it has just seemed like Daphne was very ready to be angry at Sabrina, and hardly ever stopped to see things from her point of view. That’s what I meant by ‘judgemental.’ I realize I might be a bit paranoid and overly eager to defend my ‘friend,’ Sabrina, but when you think about it Sabrina’s putting her whole heart and soul into protecting her loved ones and when not even her own sister tries to be very understanding of her it makes everything harder for her. As I said before, I think Mr. Buckley wanted Daphne to be Sabrina’s conscience, but it doesn’t work. Sabrina already has a conscience and felt terrible about hurting Daphne and I think what she needed was to be understood, rather than criticized. I’m not trying to say that Dapne’s a bad character, either. She’s quirky and affectionate and although she’s not one of my favorites, I don’t dislike her. But sometimes I think it would be easier for Sabrina without Daphne constantly criticizing her. I hope you’ll tell me more about what you agreed or disagreed with in my comments.
Nikki said,
May 16, 2008 @ 7:42 pm
Oh, and about the whole ‘Daphne’s scar’ thing, her scar in the future was fresh because she just got the ‘magic detector thing’ recently and in the process Nottingham cut her. Although they got the ‘magic detector’ much earlier in the past/present Sabrina was just afraid Nottingham would still be able to hurt Daphne when they did, which is logical, I think, but fortunately they avoided it. And future Daphne doesn’t have the scar because she didn’t have to get the marble and so didn’t have to get hurt doing it. So the two events are kindof related. That was my take on it. Does that make sense? And the future is changed a little, and the reason it’s not changed completely is because there are lots of other things they have to fix, like warning Baba Yaga that she needs new gaurdians and waking up their parents which obviously they intend to do. So book 5 was not an exercise in futility and was never meant to be. The future will change but only after the girls have done a lot more work.
I also had to wonder if maybe the Evil Queen is closely connected to the Master even though she wasn’t there the night of Sabrina’s birthday (or wasn’t mentioned if she was). Because hadn’t Goldilocks been being chased for about as far back as Sabrina found out she could wake their dad? Who else would have known about that and told the Scarlet Hand to get Goldy but the Queen? Forgive me if I’m stating something terribly obvious.
Christina said,
May 17, 2008 @ 7:59 am
Holy Jeans! Wow you gals write a lot. I loved the emotion in this book. The way Canis had to find out ‘he didn’t have much time left’, and he was ’shaken but remained calm’. It was amazing! And when Sabrina couldn’t take Puck’s hand because ‘even the most simplest thing now had layers of complication’. But come on! Where’s the DRAMA? Gotta have that drama! And there wasn’t much edge in it either. If there is one thing Buckley is good at, it’s edge in his books. But he just hasn’t had too much drama! Am I the only fanatic that feels this way!?!
Christina said,
May 17, 2008 @ 8:05 am
And Nikki has a point. But I don’t think Snow White’s stepmom is part of the Hand. Because remember when (in book 6, sorry) that the Red Riding Hood story was a complete WHAMO on account of the tale being true? That’s probably the same with the Queen. After all, she did say, “I did not try to kill her”, and she said it softly *hintcough* . So maybe it’s all just an illusion…maybe she worships bunny rabbits every full moon…or maybe I’m just crazy…
Nikki said,
May 17, 2008 @ 11:50 am
Hi, Christina! I agree that the sixth book was less dramatic than the rest of the series and I wished it had more ‘edge,’ too. Maybe it was because the book was so short (I think it might be the shortest one in the series yet), and it didn’t really give us a chance to get into the story, or something. But I think Mr. Buckley must be tired. Did you notice how when they’re trying to get Goldylocks to come back to Fairyport Landing but she doesn’t want to because she couldn’t get out again, nobody even mentions the Vorpal Blade. They could have taken her out the hole they already made or cut a new hole in the barrier. Or they could have taken Sabrina’s dad to Goldy through the staircase thingy, but no one even thinks of that. I think Mr. Buckley just didn’t really think through the elements of his story, which is understandable, because he must be really busy these days.
Do you want the Anderson Triplets to be in one of the next books? I do. I also want the next books to be longer.
Oh, and thanks, Hannah for telling me about the reading list. I recommended my books.
Nikki said,
May 23, 2008 @ 3:44 pm
Sorry, I was wrong. Book six is the second shortest book in the series, I think.
Azaria said,
May 30, 2008 @ 5:32 pm
Hello! Although I did love this book, It was sorta kinda boring at points. I don’t know if it was if there was to much detail in some parts or something. But, anyways, I usually find myself liking all of the villians just because they’re so evil. xD I love it how Mr. Buckley twisted Red around and made her a mental, deranged child. I would have never thought of that! Oh, and Nikki, thanks for making such brilliant points! You really did open my eyes.
Nikki said,
May 31, 2008 @ 9:59 am
Thanks, Azaria! I’m glad you think I made some good points! It’s nice to be able to say what I think about the books on here ’cause I have no one at home to discuss them with. So please, anyone who is reading this, tell me what you think about my comments.
Hannah said,
June 12, 2008 @ 2:01 pm
My problem with this book was how obvious it was about who stole the items. I don’t know about you but I like not knowing who the criminal is, instead of finding out who it is in like the second chapter. But that’s not that big of a deal. About the whole state goverment not knowing, it might be becuase maybe the taxes that mayor Heart mad the humans pay weren’t real. And Ferryport Landing is a small town so maybe they’re not really focusing on it. Sorry it you guys already knew that!
Nikki said,
June 12, 2008 @ 3:06 pm
Hi, Hannah! I thought the Government did know. From what I read I got the impression that the whole world was under attack. I don’t remember exactly what it said but I think it said there were Scarlet Hand bases all over and there were also resistance (or whatever you’d call them) bases. The Grimms were just in charge of the Ferryport Landing base and they of course have to fight the Scarlet Hands who are trapped there. But there are Everafters all over the world and I’m pretty sure the Master isn’t trapped in Ferryport, which is why he was able to get the Wizard of Oz to join him even though the Wizard lives in New York City. So, in other words, he could get Everafters all over the world to join him. So the reason the state or any other government didn’t intervene in Ferryport is because they’re all fighting bad guys of their own, and Ferryport has the Grimms to fight evil.
Hannah said,
June 14, 2008 @ 9:34 am
You’d think that if the goverment already knew then the Everafters would stop hiding or at least the everafters that are in the Scarlet Hand.
Nikki said,
June 14, 2008 @ 11:27 am
I think they did. Didn’t they?
Hannah said,
June 14, 2008 @ 11:45 am
No, I don’t think they did. Cause when the went to New York the Everafters were still hiding. They weren’t hiding in the furture though, if thats what you mean.
Nikki said,
June 14, 2008 @ 12:57 pm
That was what I meant. In the future the world was under attack by the Scarlet Hand and so the Everafters didn’t hide any more.
I’m sorry. Were you talking about the state government just not intervening when it came to the humans being taxed? (I thought you meant in the future, after the Scarlet Hand raided Mirror). Because, in that case you’re probably right. The state government probably doesn’t pay much attention to such a small town.
Nikki said,
July 9, 2008 @ 2:54 pm
I agree with you that when Future Pucks saves the girls (all four of them) it makes Sabrina look incompetent and passive. That was a good way of putting it. I mean, it sorta made her look that way whenever he saved her in the present but back then it was more understandable because she was new to detective work and fighting monsters and stuff but 15 YEARS later, in a future where she was in constant battles with the Scarlet Hand, one would definitely expect her to be more able to defend herself. But that doesn’t seem to be the case because Puck still has to (and GETS to, moreover) save her and be the hero of the day. That’s pretty annoying.