1883
3 books
- Forget the movie, this Pinocchio is stranger and meaner in the best way: he squashes the talking cricket in chapter four and things only escalate from there. If you like fairy tales with real teeth and dark comedy, this moves fast and never gets sweet.
- You get a stranger, darker fairy tale than The Princess and the Goblin, with Curdie sent into a corrupt royal household and guided by the odd, half-wild Lina. It can feel morally severe, but its vision of courage as learning to see people truly stays with you.
- You think you know pirates until Long John Silver charms you the way he charms Jim, and then you catch yourself rooting for him anyway. It moves fast, reads easy, and that apple barrel scene still tightens your chest on a fifth read.