Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu

Pub Date:  Sept. 2011

Fiction (Young Adult)

320 pgs.

Popular culture is crazy for fairy tales lately.  As if television dramas  “Once Upon a Time” (on ABC) and “Grimm,” (based upon Grimm’s fairy tales and airing on NBC) were not exuding enough fantastical imagery already, now Anne Ursu conjures up the novel Breadcrumbs.

At first glance one would guess that the book is based on the fairy tale “Hansel and Gretel.”  However, this novel is actually based upon a lesser-known tale, Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snow Queen.”  Either way, Ursu’s readers get a dose of mythical delight and an enchanting story for a wintry night.

At its heart, Breadcrumbs is a love story about a girl named Hazel who doesn’t fit in at school and a boy named Jack who is lured away by a snow-witch with a sleigh.  Hazel and Jack are best friends.  In fact Jack is Hazel’s only friend, until one day when something happens to Jack that makes him reject Hazel.  Despite this, when Jack suddenly disappears, Hazel never hesitates in her pursuit to bring him home. The first half of the book takes place primarily in Jack and Hazel’s small town in Minnesota, while the latter part takes place in a magical forest, filled with drawbacks for unwary visitors.  Throughout the novel, Ursu alludes to other fantasy novels, both new and old.

I think that any reader who has ever imagined saving the world or looked into a mirror or at a crown and thought “what if,” will be able to identify with Hazel. Jack, too, can be empathized with (though we learn more from him through flashbacks, since he’s missing for much of the book). Even Hazel’s relationship with her harried mother is relatable, because although Hazel’s mother does not understand her daughter’s behavior, every parent can attest to her attempts at nurturing.

Breadcrumbs is a book for anyone who likes to see what can be, rather than what is.  It is a book for every reader who has seen a path going off into the woods and wondered if it might lead to a magical place.  Breadcrumbs is a novel that can be read and understood by all, but fans of C.S. Lewis, Madeleine L’Engle,  or Lewis Carroll (or others) will get special enjoyment.

-Noelle