ALA Booklist (Thu Oct 31 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

The story opens with twins Silke and Janis scraping by in the mountains, one month since fleeing their family's estate. After their parents died, the kids' malicious cousins had arranged for the twins to be reunited for the first time since one Madame Petrova foretold "It," a disastrous prophesy that they would each be the death of the other. Now, desperate to survive, the twins fall in with another traveling card reader, and Silke herself learns the craft ich, of course, is a con. A theme of dishonest manipulation is threaded throughout the pair's journey as they ultimately find their way to their mother's hometown, where answers await them about the true origins of "It." Fienieg's intriguing cover and endpaper artwork is bound to lure readers in search of a fantastical or at least folkloristic tale, but happens with Silke ey will find beneath the surface only gritty, humorless realism. It's a stark tale, and the vague setting doesn't help, but the momentum generated by the survival story and maintained by Hof's nimble pacing keeps the pages turning till the end.

Kirkus Reviews

Cursed twins attempt to escape their predicted fate in this title translated from DutchSilke and her twin brother, Janis, were raised apart, out of their parents' fear of a horrible prophecy made by the enigmatic Madame Petrova, who said they would kill one another. Now orphaned and brought together by greedy cousins who hope to claim the family home, they fake their deaths and flee into the woods, determined to defy their fate. Exposed to the elements and forced to poach and forage, the siblings find that surviving out in the wilderness is no easy task. To make matters worse, the adults they encounter don't always have the best intentions, and everyone has something to hide. Who can they truly trust-and can they even trust each other? Set in historical Europe, the story is reminiscent of classic fairy tales. It succeeds in capturing the harsh realities of disadvantaged people who are struggling to make ends meet. This title is a sequel to Hof'sLepelsnijder, which hasn't yet been translated into English. Although this story makes sufficient sense as a stand-alone work, some context and depth seem to be missing. The characters and their histories feel flat, and their motivations aren't easily understood; the pacing also leaves something to be desired. The author excels in creating immersive scenes, but the prioritization of worldbuilding sometimes results in a meandering plot that often loses tension and momentum. All characters read white.An interesting premise that falls flat in execution.(Adventure. 10-14)

School Library Journal (Sun Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Gr 5 Up— Tarot reader Madame Petrova's prediction frightens a family so terribly that they choose to exile twins Silke and Janis, separating them at birth to avoid realization of the prophecy. After the deaths of the sibling's parents, greedy cousins take the kids in and hope to profit on their misfortune. Silke and Janis escape, embarking on a whirlwind quest to unravel the curse that brings them right to the enigmatic Madame Petrova herself. Hof establishes an empowering cross-generational tale that embeds wise life lessons subtly with mystery and intrigue. Old-fashioned vocabulary infuses Hof's work, and illustrator Fienieg eerily opens each chapter with etched tarot images. While English teachers could use Hof's text in lessons on figurative language, this title, originally written in Dutch, does not have a glossary to aid the translations. VERDICT An eccentric fantasy set in the pastoral Middle Ages; fans of Lemony Snicket's "Series of Unfortunate Events" will be drawn to this tale of wise and resourceful siblings trying to escape their fate.— Laura Dooley-Taylor