Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this review copy of Trail of Crumbs by Lisa J. Lawrence.
This YA novel is a contemporary take on Hansel and Gretel about two Canadian teens (Greta and Ash) who after years of a contentious relationship with their stepmother are abandoned by both her and their father during their senior year of high school. As they struggle to eat, keep warm and stay in their home while navigating high school Greta is also struggling with memories of a series of traumatic events that took place months before. Greta is retraumatized daily as she continually has to face the other teens involved at school.
This is definitely one of those novels that isn’t served by the cover. Although I appreciated the artwork and the tie into the story (it’s a take in depression and being inside a “maze”) it is also not something that YA readers would reach for on the shelf. Although this book covers difficult and somewhat dark topics it’s also humorous and hopeful.
I give this one four solid stars as I found it an engaging and thoughtful look at contemporary teens in tough places.

Hints of a Hansel and Gretel retelling but it is so much more! The characters are wonderfully developed, I love the sibling relationship. The writing was fantastic. Great book!

I liked the attention to detail on Greta's anxiety and awareness of everyone around her, especially men, something I think most women could identify with (unfortunately). Other than that Greta's journey felt a bit emotionless and very rushed (and 'easy' for the lack of a better word), particularly the end which is sad because there was a great buildup. I personally didn't have any interest in any of the characters and at times they felt unrealistic, especially in some conversations. The timeline was also confusing, especially given how "the party" was first introduced.

"After moving into a dank and drafty basement suite in West Edmonton with her truck- driving father, nasty stepmother and taciturn twin brother, Ash, seventeen-year-old Greta doesn't have high expectations for her last year of high school. When she blacks out at a party and is told the next day that she's had sex, she thinks things can't get any worse. She's wrong. "

This book is not for the faint of heart, death, and grief. Kind of a modern Hansel and Gretel retelling. Two siblings losing their mother to cancer and a father who is has mentally checked out. The story was very sad. But very good. Give it a try!

Trail of Crumbs was one of those books that I didn't realize was a retelling until I looked at other review for it. Now I like retellings but also they need to be well done and this book wasn't for me. To be fair Hansel and Gretel has been done a lot so I'm sure it would be hard to retell it. 

Now while I found the siblings to be interesting, the plot was really lacking.  It didn't make sense to me why the stepmom hate the siblings so much. She had so little character it was frustrating. It also didn't make sense how she was able to convince her husband to just abandon his children. 

In the meantime the plot was also having flash backs to an event in Greta's life. It eventually was becoming clear that she had been raped, but I didn't actually read that part of the story. I had no interest in knowing the details of her assault and I feel like this plot line was unnecessary to the rest of the story. 

All in all I just didn't connect enough with the story and ending up quitting the book. I gave it two stars on Goodreads. I was given a copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Another heartbreaking story from the author of Rodent (2016), this will appeal to teens who want something a little different from the average YA novel about familial trauma. Not recommended for anyone looking for a cheerful read, but anyone who enjoyed Speak will find a lot to like about this one as well.

I came into this not knowing what to expect and boy did it pull at the heart. A YA coming of age that isn't afraid to talk about the uncomfortable truths of a not so charmed life. The dialogue about rape was uncomfortable but necessary. This book was about strength and finding your tribe and yourself when things are at their lowest.

This novel comes with many warnings of heavy issues including neglect, rape, date rape, depression, loss of a parent, slut shaming, and bullying. Please don’t let that scare you away from this excellent look into the things that too many teens are dealing with on a daily basis. When I started this book and saw the foreshadowing I was expecting it to be similar to Speak, which is often read in literature classes. Trail of Crumbs is so much more. Where speak dealt with rape, Greta our main character is dealing with so many issues that often one has to be pushed out of her mind in order to deal with the most pressing issue. Can you worry about something in your past when you are worried about running out of food and being homeless? These are the battles Greta and her brother are both struggling with throughout the book, but unlike many young adult books we see that growing up doesn’t make these issues disappear as the characters connect with adults facing their own struggles. One criticism that I have seen is that the book tackles too many topics and not all are resolved. I think this is where the authenticity is found in Greta’s story. Teens don’t deal with one problem at a time, and they don’t get solved neatly, so why do we need this in young adult novels? I recommend this novel to teens and to anyone parenting a teen, or who was a teen.

Thank you NetGalley for an early copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Years ago, as a newly minted teacher, I was tasked with preparing a reading list for an after-school novel reading class comprised of seventh and eighth grade boys. While discussing the draft of my list with a friend (an author of young adult novels), I expressed my concern that the boys in the class wouldn’t identify with the female protagonist of Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak. My friend reminded me that, as females, we have spent years of our education reading books featuring male characters and male protagonists. It is absurd, she argued, to consider a different standard for a class of boys. What harm could it do them to see a situation from a female perspective–especially one of sexual violence and bullying, as presented in Speak. I immediately agreed, and I think of this moment often, as both a teacher and a reader.

Trail of Crumbs, which I’ve come to think of as an updated version of Speak, gives the protagonist significantly more agency and power over her relationship to the trauma she has experienced. It is not a story about how the truth is pulled out of her. Rather, Greta continuously speaks up for herself, and it is up to those around her to listen to her and believe her. The focal point is not whether she’ll speak up for herself, but whether she will be heard.

Lisa J. Lawrence, a teacher as well as a writer, captures these tense high school moments accurately and beautifully. There is so much nuance and thoughtful dialogue surrounding the discussions of assault and consent. Sometimes, Greta’s thoughts and interactions with her peers read as though they were lifted directly from articles from the frontlines of #MeToo. Lawrence never lets her novel become merely an educational pamphlet, however. The strength of this work is that the conversations seem natural between these teens. These are conversations that young people should be having and likely do have.

While Greta deals with fallout from the unbelievable cruelty of her peers and abandonment by her father, she seeks support and guidance from a troupe of eccentric, but extremely supportive, male characters: her emotionally haywire brother, Ash; their reclusive guardian, Elgin; and their goofy neighbor, Nate. These men support but do not shelter Greta. It is Greta’s actions and Greta’s decisions that allow her to confront those who need to be confronted.

Most importantly, Lawrence has put a disclaimer at the end of her novel: She writes that the choice Greta makes to confront her assailant is not the choice everyone should make. Every case of assault is different, and no one should feel pressured to follow any particular process. Yet again, Lawrence is extremely nuanced and sensitive in her approach to these complex and current issues.

School librarians should welcome this new addition to Canadian young adult literature, and teachers of middle and high school students should absolutely consider including Trail of Crumbs in their lesson plans.

Thank you to Orca Book Publishers and NetGalley for the advance copy of this title.

I received Trail of Crumbs by Lisa Lawrence as an ARC from Netgalley. Trail of Crumbs tells the story of twins, Greta & Ash, who are seniors in high school. I have boy/girl twins who are college freshmen and I enjoy reading novels about twins. Greta & Ash are struggling thru life. Their mom died of cancer and their dad has remarried someone who doesn't really want the twins. One morning Greta & Ash wake up and their dad & stepmother are gone. They are left to figure out how to survive with no jobs and no money. Luckily their landlord takes them in but he has issues too. I found this book to be very depressing. It was well written but the twins had too much to deal with - abandonment, sexual assault, no money, no friends, no family, problems with school.

Not a true retelling but certainly influenced by Hansel and Gretel. There is no magic or witches to be seen. This is, at heart, a survival story. It's teenagers trying to cope with an untenable situation. They are taken in not by an evil presence that wants to consume them but a helpful and lonely man, dealing with his own trauma. They are all forced t address individual traumas. It's a rather meandering story about finding alternate approaches to life.

TW: sexual assault/rape

Greta has to start her last year of high school after being betrayed by people she thought she could trust: her father abandoned her and her twin brother, Ash, for their evil stepmother; her boyfriend had sex with her without her consent; her friends didn't believe her and left her.

Going into this book, I was worried it would focus too much or go into too much detail about the sexual assault. Thankfully it was handled it a tactful way that didn't make it difficult to read. It is a short but important story about consent and believing sexual assault victims.

The story also focuses greatly on how Greta and Ash trying to survive after their father and stepmother leave them in the middle of the night. I was quite interested in this, but not so much on the why they were abandoned or if they would work it out with their father and stepmom.

I liked the attention to detail on Greta's anxiety and awareness of everyone around her, especially men, something I think most women could identify with (unfortunately). Other than that Greta's journey felt a bit emotionless and very rushed (and 'easy' for the lack of a better word), particularly the end which is sad because there was a great buildup. I personally didn't have any interest in any of the characters and at times they felt unrealistic, especially in some conversations. The timeline was also confusing, especially given how "the party" was first introduced.

(Also, the "teen" texting annoyed me a little but that's just a little pet peeve of mine).

Fun fact: I requested this book from Netgalley because it was written by a local author! That almost never happens lol.

Greta is in her senior year at West Edmonton high, and she has a secret. Living in a basement suite with her twin brother, Ash, a demanding stepmother and a complaisant father, she barely has time to process her feelings of guilt and shame—even less so after she and Ash discover that their parents have abandoned them. "Trail of Crumbs" explores the devastating effects of gaslighting, slut shaming, and rape. It calls for accountability and champions the unpacking of trauma, so that survivors can piece the shards if their broken lives back together.

This review originally appeared in the March/April 2019 issue of This Magazine.

This was a beautiful story. It was sad and dealt with a lot of hard things that the siblings both had to go through. I enjoyed this book and watching these characters grow within themselves and the people they become surrounded by. The ending felt a little rushed for me, but over all really good.

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for a early copy!

I recommend checking out this hard hitting YA novel. It dealt with important topics like consent and parental neglect. It was well-written and I will for sure be picking up more from this author in the future. It also had a slight retelling element to it and it reminded me of Hansel and Gretel but it was done in an interesting way.

I really enjoyed this story. It had powerful moments around the importance of family and relationships. I enjoyed the depth of characters and that even supporting characters weren’t flat and developed into more complex people as the plot continued.

Trigger warnings for rape, slut-shaming, and neglectful parents. This novel is about grief and dealing with death. This is not for the faint of heart reader. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Trail of Crumbs - Received this copy as an ARC free of charge.

Warning: This book will trigger flashbacks for you if you were or was in an abusive environment, bullied or raped.

First thoughts

The cover wasn’t the most appealing to me because of the black lines (that I now just noticed it’s a maze that totally relates to the story). When I started this book, I didn’t have high expectations, but I am happy how the story connects with me and how it opened my eyes to these everyday events.

Strengths

I love how each character develops in the book! Alyssa and Ash have both been through a lot didn’t let the world sink them they pushed through it and saw happiness at the end. Also, even for secondary characters, I was surprised how much each one of them evolved to have a big part in the main character’s story even if they were playing little parts themselves.

Weakness

So, I say this every time I write about a book that has abusive, rape or other sign of brutality but again I am left saying this; HAVE A WARNING SIGN (some people will skip all the pages until they hit chapter 1)!!!!!! If you have been through a bad experience in the past about bullying, abusive or rape this book WILL TRIGGER some memories relapse. Since I’ve received an ARC I hope the writing will be a little bit more structure/spelled right;

“How do even you pronounce that?” (should be How do you even pronounce that?)
“think this is this some kind of a shelter?” (Second this should be deleted)

How the author decided to confront Alyssa’s situation was a little farfetched for me. I understand that this is a book and not real life but not many people will just scream at their enemies and walk away feeling happy when they went through hell. I believe that this moment could have been a great opportunity to educate YA on what to do in a situation like that (Alice talking about a support phone line was a great example). This book was so frustrating for not having a more evolved storyline of all the different characters (What drove Rachel to act the way she did? What had happened in the gym once Alyssa walk out?)

In conclusion, the storyline deserves a 5 star but unfortunately because of so many weaknesses I give this book a 3 star.

I thought the author did a wonderful job of handling a difficult subject matter. This book felt very real and familiar in a way that anyone in Greta’s position would recognize. This is not normally the type of book I like to read but it called to me and I’m very glad I picked it up.

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I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was not paid for this review.

Trail of Crumbs is not a book for the faint-of-heart. It is a story of grief, death and somewhat a cliche of a found-family trope and a promised Hansel and Gretel retelling. It is not a retelling.

This is a story of two high school siblings who have lost their mother to cancer and have a grieving father who is mentally absent from their lives. They are in the middle of dealing with their new step-mother who is just as manipulative and verbally abusive as you'd expect. As this book starts off we are quick to be told that this Hansel and Gretel-like story will be a tear-jerker.

This book does delve into the topic of rape and slut shaming, so please be careful of any triggers.

To talk about the things that I liked it would be a short but sweet list. The seemingly random but nice relationships between the people the siblings have met wrap around the story like a string of fate. There's Nate as the weird neighbor who helps them in odd situations until they've become closer, albeit towards the end it feels like a cliff-hanger with a dead-end street.

There is the landlord that takes them in and we soon see that a lonely man of his own age has his baggage and as he takes these kids in we see him grow, and I personally liked that both he and Greta understood each other and were able to find peace in silence. They had a certain friendship that was interesting to watch grow and it was heartwarming to see Greta relate to someone.

We have Alice, the daughter of the landlord who has grieved as Greta and Ash have who somehow becomes Greta's pillar and another friend in their weird new group of misfits.

We have a cast of cliche characters with no face time who push and pull Greta's decision after Greta starts to openly feel and talk about her sexual assault, and how it plays at school and who her friends are. I like that Greta's brother Ash immediately stood by Greta's side and fought for her, and it was nice to see the sibling relationship they had. Albeit it was not healthy for the two of them to die for each other, I do think that the characters were written pretty well.

I felt that the scene where Greta outed the people who hurt her was underdeveloped and a cheap-shot, but I acknowledge what the author was trying to do and I applaud her for that. I love seeing characters stand up to their evil and make hard decisions that only they can make.

I also liked that while Ash was so angry about their father abandoning them that Greta was a middle ground willing to hear both sides and make a conscious decision, and her decisions alone shaped how the siblings would react to their father reappearing and asking for a second chance. The ending felt cut and to be truthful I thought that I wanted to stick around and see more of where Greta and Ash went. It was to my disappointment that it ended so abruptly and that it was left to our imagination as to how characters would act next.

I often enjoy imagining how and what characters would do, say or think next but there are times like these that I wish the author had shown us. All in all, I think it was a good book with average writing and plausible characters. I did cry, maybe because I did relate to Greta and her actions moved me, but there was a lot to be improved such as the writing style, and whether or not the author should expand on her stories and characters rather than cut their story short.

3 stars!