Quite Contrary

by Richard Roberts

Praise for Richard Roberts:
"One thing Richard Roberts does so very well is create an unforgettable character. In this book, he's created a whole crew. Each is so vivid in my mind that I am able to look at the beautiful artwork of the cover and pick out each character by name." ~Laurie Laliberte

About Quite Contrary:

The secret of having an adventure is getting lost. Who ever visited an enchanted kingdom or fell into a fairy tale without wandering into the woods first?

Well, Mary is lost. Mary is lost in the story of Little Red Riding Hood, and that is a cruel and murderous story. She's put on the red hood and met the Wolf. When she gives in to her Wolf's temptations, she will die. That's how the story goes, after all.

Unfortunately for the story and unfortunately for the Wolf, this Little Red Riding Hood is Mary Stuart, and she is the most stubborn and contrary twelve year old the world has ever known.

Forget the Wolf's temptations, forget the advice of the talking rat trying to save her - she will kick her way through every myth and fairy tale ever told until she finds a way to get out of this alive. Her own way, and no one else's.

Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Fairy Tales, Fiction, Paranormal, Audiobook, Young Adult

317 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 30, 2013

About the author

I've been writing for a long, long time. A long, long, long time. Do you remember when dirt was invented? I was using it to scratch out stories. Getting published was harder, but now I'm hooked up with Curiosity Quills and I have real books in paper, and you should buy some!

As a writer my fascination has always been children's literature, especially children's lit that is also adult lit. For some reason, this means that instead I write gothic light romance for fun, and very dark and tragic young adult books for passion. I love seeing the world through the eyes of strange people, and I believe that happy endings must be earned the hard way. There's a reason my friends started calling me Frankensteinbeck.

I could talk about how great my writing is until I turn blue, but I should let an expert do that for me. Check out the Kirkus Review for Sweet Dreams Are Made Of Teeth!

http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-rev...

Reviews

[Paige Bookdragon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ahhh. I kinda lost interest on you. RTC.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Warning the following review contains spoilers, proceed with caution*

Mary, Mary, quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells, and cockle shells,
And pretty maids all in a row.

Once upon a time, there was a little girl who was not sweet....
Mary Stuart, is twelve years old, she is quite contrary, she is not a very likable child, her attitude is horrid.

Quite Contrary starts out with Mary going to a Halloween party in an old abandoned house. It is there that the hostess shows her party goers a crawl space she had discovered. And it is Mary's venture into said crawl space that we get to journey into this bizarrely dark and twisted tale.

On her way through the crawl space she meets a rat, a rat who can speak. His name is Rat-in-boots even though he doesn't own any boots. At the end of the crawl space they end up in some kind of industrial part of town, Mary get's covered in some kind of liquid/goo and is need of water to clean up. Rat offering to help they go off into "The Woods" and Mary discovers clothing hanging on a line, a Red Riding costume. The moment she changes, out steps a wolf, the wolf.

He tells her of the two paths she could take, the happy sunshiny path with flowers that took her to "Grandmas" and her end. The other was a darker one, the one with the wolf at her side. The wolf then going off to let her decide which path to chose. Mary picks none and goes off the beaten path leading her farther into the woods and on to many adventures in different story worlds. There she meets fairies, a princess, lost children, a talking flower, a wooden talking doll who wants to be alive and many many more interesting and disturbing people. From fairy-tales to horror stories. Each step and turn brings a new a tale but no matter what, the wolf always finds her.

Rat had warned her,she could have had a happy ending, but she had to put on those Red Ridding Hood clothes. Her story has now started it has to be played out until the end. The wolf will find her.

"Will he follow me?"
"Yes" Rat in boots answered....
"It might be awhile, but the story has started. It has to find its end, and that means he will find you."

There were times that I actually thought about not finishing, and it had nothing to do with the story. Why then? Mary! She's a brat. a twelve year old brat with a mouth on her that sailor would be shocked at. But despite my dislike for Mary I still journeyed on, because I was hooked at this point, I wanted to know how this story, her tale of Red Riding hood ended.

The rat is right, there've been a thousand years of Red Riding Hoods, but not like you.

This book was like a dream, a very strange strange little dream. At the end I kind of thought that's what was going to happen. I thought I would read the lines: "And then Mary woke up with her little wooden doll and her stuffed rat next to her pillow. The End."

Pro: Quite Contrary is written well. The author has done a great job of making me visualize each place/story Mary wound up in.
Con: Besides Mary's attitude, the last chapter felt to recapish for me. I liked how the chapter started but I think rather then tell it all again, it should have been shortened, a fade to black until the present moment in time.

Overall:
A very dark dark tale, and underneath all the bizarre story jumping we have a tale about little girl who feels all alone and afraid, acting mean even to those she knew were being nice to her, knowing she shouldn't. The wolf representing all the things she is afraid of. As I read on I kept on thinking, "there is nothing redeeming about her, she is a such a brat." When I finished I didn't dislike her quite so much.

A very unique and twisted retelling of Red Riding Hood.
"You're telling the story differently, but it still fits. Instead of being a victim or an easy seduction, you're making the Wolf purse you. He has to preserver and chase after a prize he wants badly, but the end is the same. However you tell the story, it ends with giving into temptation, and death."

I will be looking out for more works by Richard Roberts.

*Copy provided by Curiosity Quills Press via NetGalley for honest review*

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has left me with very different opinions on various parts and aspects. One thing I will say up front. THIS IS NOT A KIDS BOOK. Older teen-adult is appropriate. It focuses on a 12 year old girl named Mary. The combination of the name with the title brought an amused smirk to my lips. She goes off to a party and tries to spite the host by going into the tunneled crawl space of the spooky mansion it is hosted at. She finds herself locked in ans so she ventures around, making various turns through the tunnels. She comes across a talking rat (Rat-In-Boots) who helps her begin her journey.

When she puts on the white and red outfit, her fate is sealed to the story of Red Riding Hood. She journey's through various fairy-tales and lands of legends.

One thing that really bothered me in this story is that she never questions why. Why her, How did the rat get her, etc. She just accepts everything. While her character gained depth throughout the book (she started of bratty, then we learn she has a chip on her shoulder to learning she actually cares for others), I never once felt she was 12. More like 16-19. And the language, sexual references, etc (going to a brothel, virginity references etc) did not seem right.

Yet, to contrast her character I liked Rat-in-boots, even though he doesn't have his boots. The perfect little hero. Cunning, swift, caring and stubborn. I also really liked some of the places we see. One of them is the Viking Lands and the Norse. She meets a boy named Eric who is the son of Thor. This amused me because in the 'Thor' and 'Thunderstrike' comic books, Eric is the name of the man who becomes the New Thor.

Another place I enjoyed reading was purgatory, which was set up as a huge ship (and I mean HUGE) that can take years to escape (if you can at all). This part reminded me of the Goonies a bit (children working together, following a code) and Silent Hill with the creatures in the dark and the way things lock and checking various rooms for items.

Through all these stories and more, the Wolf is after her. Apparently Red Riding Hood is the strongest story ever. Rat-in-Boots tells her that no one knows of a world outside their story yet everyone knows hers and keeps telling her to take off the hood. The only way to escape the Wolf is to go home. Which is the one place she doesn't want to be.

So while there were enjoyable parts, I just could not get into the book itself. Too much unanswered. And her characters personality did not fit any middle schooler I have ever met. Also the ending was a let down. The last 50 pages were rushed, worlds not explained, etc. And the last chapter was a recap of the book. Pfft. Not needed. So while it was kind of interesting to read and started out with some creative thought, it didn't hold the same appeal that I had before I started.

[J.S. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mary Stuart is a bratty 12 year old girl who is stubbornly "quite contrary." She goes to a party at an abandoned house outside of town even though her mother tells her not to, and even though none of the older kids want her there. Then, when dared to go through a small door that goes under the house (which she does out of spite), she ends up in "fairy tale land" where she promptly dons Red Riding Hood's outfit and is chased by the Wolf for the rest of the story.

Yeah, I know my summary doesn't make a lot of sense, but neither does the book. First she's in the Wolf's forest, then she runs through a fairy ring and ends up in fairy land, then she's in Viking land(?), then... the story just jumps from one weird random place to another. She has a talking rat named "Rat-in-boots" who doesn't have any boots, and he's perhaps the most likable character (maybe also Scarecrow, the wooden puppet girl). But I even found myself liking Mary, who proves herself to not always being so insufferable - until she goes back to being insufferable.

The problem with the book is that it's all over the place, both literally and figuratively. The author has a penchant for vivid description, which sounds like a good thing but it's just too much and it has too little to do with the overall story, dragging it out in unnecessary and sometimes incoherent detail. Even worse is that there are several hints about the Wolf and Mary, and I kept thinking that by story's-end we'd have something clever tying it all up so that it actually made sense. Alas, no such luck. The story really doesn't make much sense. It's just a long, drawn-out and pointless story with a lot of details that are never put together.

I've had this on my kindle shelf for 8 or 9 years, and based upon the rather low collective rating I expected I'd soon abandon it and call it DNF. But it can actually draw you in, and I feel cheated that I kept thinking the story was actually going somewhere. Mary doesn't act like any 12 year old you know; maybe like a much older teenager. There is quite a bit of profanity at times as well as some violence and gore and alcohol and drug use. There are a number of insinuations about child molestation or rape and even serial killers, but nothing graphic - just enough to make the reader think this story has some point (however unpleasant that point might be) when it really doesn't. I was going to give the book 2 stars, but on second thought I'm not sure it deserves more than one.

[Karolina Kat]

2.5 star rounded down

It's really hard for me to rate this book. On the one hand I really enjoyed the idea of travelling through the fairy tales/stories worlds as if through dreams. Each world starts suddenly and the more lost you are the further into story you get.

However I had big issues with the heroine of the novel. Mary Sue Stuart is 12 years old, but apparently the author forgot that tiny little fact. She acts as a typical 16-17 years old, who is rebelious, stuck up, thinks that they know everything best and are hooked on this one serious novel/movie that only proves how much better this generic teenager is than other. Exactly such a person is Mary.

And to make things worse, sometimes she's sexualised by certain events or other characters - here 'relationship' with the Wolf is particularly disturbing on this level.

[Cassandra Page · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Quite Contrary" was a very enjoyable read. It originally caught my eye because of the clever title and cover, so I started reading the preview chapters on Amazon, and then I ordered the paperback so I could finish it (sorry about that, Amazon).

The main character is Mary Stuart and she is, indeed, quite contrary. (It tickled me that she was named after the same queen that the nursery rhyme "Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary" was written about.) She is twelve, and even from the start it's clear she doesn't come from a good home.

At the start of the story she is bitter, spiteful and deliberately defiant in pretty much every situation - but, to me at least, her perceptive and clever mind redeemed her for me. (I did wince every time she kicked someone in the nuts, though; she does that a LOT in the first third of the book, but I guess when you're twelve and things keep trying to hurt you there aren't many other physical options.)

At the start of the book Mary gets herself lost and falls into a world of fairy tales and urban myths. She's quickly adopted by Rat-in-Boots, who offers to help her. Unfortunately when he tells her not to put on the red dress and cloak she doesn't listen (because, well, she's contrary) and so she inadvertently signs up for the role of Little Red Riding Hood, to be eaten by the Wolf. Or become his mate - he's not particularly fussy on that score. (And ew, because he's an actual wolf.)

And so begins Mary's boot-stomping dash through world after world, story after story, pursued by her Wolf and dodging other Grimm-style bad guys. She makes friends, almost despite herself, and gradually her personality softens.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a clever twist on Red Riding Hood. But despite Mary's age it's NOT a story for children - there's definite adult themes here, boys and girls.

I'm wondering now whether there's a sequel. :)

[SR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mary is the best under-15 non-YA girl protagonist by a dude author I've ever read and that's all I got.

[A. Sines · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two things about me you should know: I collect free and cheap books like birds pecking for worms the morning after it rains. (Quite Contrary was free for a few days. If you have Kindle Unlimited, you can borrow it for free!) And I (shamefully) judge books by their covers. (At least initially.) Covers can tell you many things. Almost nude bodies embracing tell you it’s a romance. Spaceships and planets tell you it’s scifi. Quite Contrary lends itself to a younger crowd. The font, the spotlight on the cloaked almost comical figure in the center screams middle grade adventure. Then you read the blurb. (Another tidbit you didn’t ask for: I’ve done research papers and a thesis on origins and mutations of fairy tales.) I had to read this book.

Sometimes I find in myself the deep-seated desire to do exactly the opposite of what everyone else is doing. It’s something like taking the road less traveled. It appeals to me. Skimming through the reviews for this book, there are those who love it and those who hate it. There’s a good mix. (I tend to read more of the ones who hate it, though.) The reviews added just the right touch to put Quite Contrary at the head of my Kindle carousel.

I also have a tendency to pick up and put down tons of books before I finish one. This one, while not being a page turning glorious time suck, is the one that drew me every time I picked up my Kindle. Even while collecting more books, I still made sure that I could easily find this one. No, it didn’t call to me while living mundanely. No, I wasn’t riveted and fanatically attached until the very end. But I guarantee you that every spare moment I had, I managed to read a page or two.

The reviews say that Mary does not act like a 12 year old. The reviews say she’s more crass than contrary. (Of course, being a crass 12 year old is contrary to our expectations, so she remains in character perfectly.) Having three kids and being around this age group rather frequently, there is nothing shocking here, even with the language. By the time they get into middle school, kids cuss more than those of us in the military. They’ve heard these words from media and friends and even parents. The opportunity here, when my daughter reads this, is to show that cussing really doesn’t do anything for you. It doesn’t help you think things through. It offends more than it impresses. And more importantly: a promise is a promise. (You’ll see when you get there.) Guess what: those are two life lessons we should definitely expose to our kiddos.

Not even 35% into the book, I can see character growth. I can see that this little 12 year old recognizes bits of herself that many adults never admit to. So yes, in that way, she does act a little older. Aside from doing the exact opposite of what is expected, her redeeming qualities really begin to shine blindingly bright halfway through.

Right about at this point, I started realizing that this is more than just a story. It is a road less travelled. We don’t want to admit what some young kids are going through these days. We tend to put a Happily Ever After spin on every tortured news story, if only in our heads. I’ve said this before in only a couple of a reviews, but truth is what a good writer strives to give us. Truth is what I see here. Truth sometimes offends. Truth sometimes shows us what we don’t want to see.

The Grimms simply put on paper the stories commonly told to children at the time. Even their sensibilities were put to the test as they edited several times before letting it go. Most people would be surprised at what the Grimms took out of their stories. But the stories told to kids were supposed to teach. They learned to stay out of the Black Forest. They learned to be kind to siblings. They learned that strange old women weren’t always nice.

The one thing Mary is consistent about is doing the exact opposite of the expected. Drop another fairy tale character into this book and the story would be over at first meeting the Wolf. Hell, drop a sensitive sheltered kid in the story and they wouldn’t make it through hearing Rat-in-Boots speak the first time. We’d find them in the crawl space crying and sucking their thumb. Even though Mary is scared and at times terrified, she still uses her brain and sometimes her heart.

I think that by sugar-coating everything we are doing a great disservice to children. They are smarter than we think. They are stronger than we think. And if we don’t properly teach them and warn them about how the world works, they will end up entitled and gullible. I would rather my kiddos kick someone that gave them the creeps and got too close than to smile and get to know them. We keep saying, "You never know it this day and age, who's the pedophile and who's the kind stranger." But our day really isn't any different than when the Grimms wrote down those tales. We just have the advantage of instantaneous news.

I think the short-lived gore factor is more concerning than the strong language. Mr. Roberts description of the gore certainly gave Mary nightmares. It may be too gruesome for those with delicate sensibilities. Of course, those people would have put the book down long before they got to that part.

Quite Contrary is one of the few well written, more than entertaining, retellings of old stories I have seen. Mary is a deeper character than you may think if you stop when she goes off on a swearing stream early in the story. I’ve seen her vulnerable like a little girl and self-sacrificing on many occasions where not every adult would be. The conclusion is a self-realization, the climax of her growth.

While I described it to my husband as Alice in Wonderland on crack instead of opium, the story itself is a wild, enjoyable ride. You really don’t know what’s coming next.

Check out other reviews at https://trippingthepagefantastic.word...

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Das war mal eine überraschend andere Märchenadaption.
"Once upon a time, there was a little girl who was not sweet. She thought that no one in the world loved her... The little girl's mother would rather drink than love her, and the little girl feared one thing in her life most of all: Not her mother's cruelty, but growing up to be wicked and cruel herself."
.
Man darf hier nicht auf Grund des Alters der Protagonistin den Rückschluss ziehen, dass dies eine Kindergeschichte ist. Sie ist weit davon entfernt, eine Gute-Nacht-Geschichte zu sein. Es ist spooky, brutal und komplex. Auch ist der psychologische Aspekt interessant - hallo Herr Freud.
.
"...he had said, because he loved her. The little girl loved him back, but she could not be anything but spiteful..."
Rotkäppchen als Entwicklungsroman.

[Dannica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this partly bc of the interesting plot-girl with Red Riding Hood cloak weaving her way in and out of different legends and stories, anyone?-and also partly bc it was published by Curiosity Quills, a publisher with a lot of interesting books, none of which I'd ever read until now. Also bc it was briefly free.
Anyways, the setup was interesting, wandering through various story worlds. Some belong to fairy tales (the land of the Fae, an underwater world, the saga tradition of the Vikings) but many to more modern mythologies (a steampunk city falling into rust and pollution, a Midwestern horror story). Mary, the main character, weaves her way through them, not attempting to find her way home (her home life is as grim as any fable) but only trying to escape the Wolf who claims to love her and only wants to consummate that love in the worst ways possible.
The concept plays out like a multiverse in some ways, a genre I recently explored in the book Dissonance. But each universe, although not limited temporally to the story and often inhabited by all too real figures, exists for the sake of the story it hosts. It's like a romp through a library or a bookshelf. Who could resist?
More than the concept, though, I actually loved the characters.
Mary starts out as something of a frustrating brat, convinced that she's a bad girl and resisting her sidekick Rat-in-boots' attempts to make her more of an innocent hero or to protect her. But at the end of the day she still tries to help people and struggles, despite her lack of innocence, to be good. Watching her develop and learning more about the kind of person she is was half the fun of reading.
A lot of people here say Mary being twelve broke their suspension of disbelief. In some ways, I agree. Not that no twelve year old could be so corrupted-twelve year olds are always less innocent than people think in one way or another, and Mary's been dealt a rough hand. But she does seem a bit mature and independent for a twelve year old. Still, this book is full of archetypes, and in fairy tales the resourceful child is always the equal of the adult, and very rarely as innocent as they seem. So Mary feels in tune with the genre, even if she isn't the typical preteen.
Mary's consistent companions, Rat-in-boots and Scarecrow, are also fun. They're pretty much the only characters in the novel you can trust, although that doesn't mean they're one dimensional. Rat-in-boots has a dark side of his own, no matter how much he'd like to deny it. And Scarecrow, who could easily be left at the level of comedic, instead becomes the innocence that Mary lacks-innocence Mary wants to protect.
The side characters vary in interest. Some, like the Vikings, are quite fun to watch. I find I'm actually kind of invested in Valdis and Eric's relationship-fingers crossed that it works out and they don't get screwed by the continuing of their stories. With a Scandinavian saga it could swing either way. Others were more one dimensional, especially the villains and princesses that would crop up. But all of them, despite their essentially being archetypes, still feel human and real. Mary doesn't treat them like stock characters either, which adds to the novel's strength.
And then there's the Wolf. I would love to say I hated him, but I can't. I don't pity him, certainly-the story may rule him but unlike Mary, he chose it and he chooses his violence. He deserves worse than he gets. But there is a sort of attraction to his wild, wicked love. You're glad whenever Mary refuses to fall to his temptation, but you can understand his temptation, and his scenes are always intense, full of frightening passion. And you always know, even in the most peaceful moments of the book (though there aren't many of those) that he's coming. A marvelous villain.
Overall, an excellent book. I might reread at some point, and if I get a chance to read anything else by Richard Roberts I will.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a fan of Richard Roberts's "Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm a Supervillain" series. So this ebook was available cheap, and I tried it out, but it took me a long time to get through it.

That's not entirely the fault of the book - a lot of it is the fact that I was reading it on my phone, and whenever I am on my phone I am more likely to get distracted by Facebook or Reddit.

Anyway. Quite Contrary starts with our protagonist, a misanthropic twelve-year-old with the mouth and attitude of a sailor twice her age, going to a party she wasn't invited to, being mocked by all the older cool kids, and crawling under the house on a dare. This is a pattern for her - she does things she knows are stupid and dangerous but does them anyway because letting someone laugh at her or force her to be reasonable is worse.

Under the house, she meets a talking rat. Who leads her to a fairytale realm. As Mary will find out repeatedly, fairies are jerks.

Quite Contrary is a portal fantasy with a twist. Mary's Rat explains to her that she is now in a Story - and that whatever Story she is part of has a tendency to force all the characters in it to play their role, whether they like it or not. So when Mary comes across a little red riding hood, and Rat warns her not to put it on, of course she puts the damn thing on.

For the rest of the book, she is pursued by a Wolf, who is genuinely a terrifying and creepy villain. He loves his Little Red Riding Hood, loves her the way you love a juicy steak dinner, loves her the way a baby loves candy, loves her the way a pedophile loves...

If it's not clear that the Wolf is a metaphor for something very dark (as were most fairy tales to begin with), we eventually learn more about Mary and just why she's such an unsympathetic little bitch. Quite Contrary is an interesting story stuffed full of metaphors and allegories and every allusion Roberts could fit into its rather bloated length. Which was part of the problem - Mary goes from Story to Story, adventure to adventure, finding herself in one land after another on her quest to get home (where she really doesn't want to go) and escape the Wolf. She acquires and loses friends along the way, but at times the story was almost episodic, and many of the transitions didn't entirely make sense. And Mary's volatile behavior manifests itself in volatile actions that make her seem like an inscrutable manic-depressive at times - "Wait, she did what? Why???"

Richard Roberts has a great imagination and a gift for storytelling, but I think he needs a lot more discipline in his writing. This story wasn't as much fun as the "Supervillain" series, but it had the same merits and flaws. I'd read more by him, and hope he continues to polish his craft.

[Mike Billington · Rating 5 out of 5]

It takes a special kind of mind - and an enormous amount of chutzpah - to seize a familiar fairy tale by the throat and shake it vigorously so that it turns into a cross between a penny dreadful and something Dean Koontz might have written a few years ago.
Richard Roberts apparently has both that special kind of mind and more than enough chutzpah to do just that: In my opinion he has done so brilliantly.
Mary Stuart, the protagonist of "Quite Contrary," is a snarky, sarcastic, occasionally violent 12-year-old girl with a really bad home life and an even worse attitude. The story opens with her defying her mother (turns out there's a good reason for that) by heading out to a Halloween party (she wasn't invited but she decided to go anyway.) A few pages in she kicks a bully in a very sensitive part of his anatomy when she sees him steal candy from a young girl. You get the sense right away that this is no suburban princess; no goody-two-shoes kind of girl.
She gets to the party without further incident but once there it's not long before she finds herself in trouble: Bad trouble as it turns out. Venturing into a secret underground tunnel at the old house where the party is being held, she is befriended by a talking rat and winds up in a strange place where fairy tales are not imagined but real. Because she is just that kind of girl, when she finds a Red Riding Hood costume she puts it on despite the rat's advice. Doing so means she suddenly becomes part of the age-old tale of the little girl who is pursued by a wolf and from that point on the story becomes a long chase through an enchanted world as Mary tries to avoid being eaten.
Roberts has a strong narrative voice and that helps him move this dark version of the world of fairy tales along at a pretty good pace. He also has a remarkable ability to create memorable - if often deeply flawed - characters and put them into situations that are filled with dramatic tension. The plot is a little convoluted, but in this instance I don't see that as a negative. Mary - who is no expert when it comes to fairy tales, myths, and legends - is often confused by who and what she encounters and as readers we sometimes feel that same way. Fortunately, Roberts doesn't allow us to wander aimlessly through the book wondering what the heck is going on because, along with Mary, we soon discover what's going on.
I should point out here that this is not a book for everyone. There are scenes of graphic violence and some rough language throughout its pages so I wouldn't recommend it for anyone under the age of 18. That said, it is a very well-written novel for readers who are old enough - and mature enough - to enjoy a good horror story.

[Chris Torretta · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting, yet disturbing book. I really enjoyed the idea behind the book, but it did not totally work for me.

Mary is twelve and finds herself lost and stuck in fairyland. She’s quite contrary and does not do what she is told to do. This is explained a little later on in the book, but I do not think the explanation was enough. It does explain some things but I still do not really understand her character.

First, she does not really fit into any groups at home, but she does not really want to either. She knows she is different and she is fine with that. Mainly because many people are stupid and follow paths that are laid out before them without thinking about it. She is determined not to do that. This part of Mary I really like. I love that she thinks for herself.

Where it gets weird is that she is constantly cursing. Her favorite word starts with an F (I’m sure you can fill in the blanks) and she uses this as much and as often as she possibly can. While I know most kids want to say or do things that are contrary to what their parents want, this seemed a little much. A smart girl does not have to curse to show her inner strength.

Another issue is that there is no rhyme or reason for how she falls into different stories. The second she is lost she can find herself in another story. This means the characters she met prior are gone. This means most of the characters, whether the reader likes them or hates them really do not mean anything to the reader. It makes me not want to invest any of my time in the story.

I did like her way of going about the stories. She does use her mind but at the expense of others. She is actually really selfish. What is really ironic about this is that she makes sure to do her own thing but normally winds up following the story that was originally in place! Then she has to fight to get out of it. She does have a lot of spunk but I would have been more comfortable if she was a bit older.

The audio and narration were done well. Every once in a while Amy Rubinite would miss a mark and would say something in another character’s voice but that was only a few times. And I instantly knew what was happening. That might be something that editing probably needs to catch? I enjoyed her Mary voice the most. She really does sound contrary which just gave her more spark.

Overall, fun story but I needed a little more reasoning behind not only the way Mary is but the plot. Makes me curious about the author’s other work though!

Received by author, through audiobookreviewer.com, in exchange for an honest review.

[Claudia Marcela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mary Stuart asiste a una fiesta de Halloween en una casa abandonada solo por curiosidad, pero la organizadora no está nada contenta con su presencia. Cuando descubren una pequeña puerta que conduce a algún lugar oscuro, Mary se ofrece voluntaria para explorarla. Poco sospecha que la llevará a los mundos de cuentos de hadas.

~~~

Conocí este libro gracias al capítulo muestra que venía incluido al final de Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm a Supervillain. Y ese primer capítulo engancha de verdad. ¿Una niña de doce años voluntariosa, un doppelganter aterrador y una rata parlante? ¿Qué más se puede pedir?

Mary es cortante, grosera y maleducada. Y sobre todo, odia que le prohíban cosas. Si la chica popular la echa de su fiesta, ella se niega a irse, si le dicen que no entre en la puertita aterradora en la casa embrujada, entra, si le dicen que no se ponga la ropa de caperucita roja, se la pone, si el lobo le dice que lo siga por el camino, ella se va cruzando por el bosque. Esa personalidad le causa más de un quebradero de cabeza, su obcecación es la que la lleva a una tierra encantada donde los cuentos de hadas son reales, pero lejos de las versiones felices de Disney, estas historias son escalofriantes y trágicas. Pero es gracias a esa obcecación que logra salir adelante, sortear un sinfín de peligros y eludir las garras del lobo que la persigue.

Desde que Mary repta por el pasadizo oscuro debajo de la casa abandonada del vecindario, conoce a una rata esponjosa que ha ido a encontrarla para guiarla por el mundo de los cuentos. Rat-in-boots quiere tener su propia aventura, no estar relegado a ser un segundón del cuento de alguien más. Su cometido es encontrar a una princesa y ayudarla a tener su Felices para Siempre, pero lejos de encontrar a una chica inocente y angelical, se topa con la malhablada Mary. La mayor aspiración de Rat-in-Boots es que su señora le regale unas botas (al puro estilo del Gato con botas) que le den más respetabilidad, pero debe conformarse con esperar hasta que Mary lo crea digno de recibirlas, para eso se esfuerza en ser un buen consejero, aunque muchas veces sus buenas intenciones son ignoradas. Una vez que Mary desoye su consejo y se pone el traje de Caperucita Roja, Rat-in-Boots debe utilizar toda su astucia para conseguir que el Lobo no la devore. En la persecución, cruzan por varios mundos de cuento que tienen sus propios peligros, pero que se ven avasallados por la irrupción ineludible del Lobo. Así, vemos el mundo de las hadas, donde Mary rescata a una verdadera princesa, un mundo de vikingos, el Purgatorio, una ciudad de hierro y humo (donde la verdadera princesa obtiene su Felices para Siempre y una chica de madera se une a su viaje), el lado brujo de Nueva Orleans, el reino de los seres del aire, el laberinto de una bruja malévola, un estanque de peces y ranas encantadas, hasta una carretera desolada donde acecha un psicópata y un pueblo donde no hay adultos. Sin importar las distancias o los reinos, el Lobo está cada vez más cerca y tal vez la única solución para sobrevivir sea regresar a casa.

En más de una ocasión, Mary resulta odiosa. Parece una niña caprichosa a la que le gusta llevar la contraria solo porque sí; pero conforme la vamos conociendo, nos damos cuenta que es buena y que su coraza exterior está hecha para protegerla de la vida horrible que lleva con su madre alcohólica. Reniega constantemente de los consejos de Rat-in-Boots, pero rápidamente se encariña con el roedor, por su tenacidad y amabilidad. Cuando la chica de madera se les une en su viaje, aunque la encuentra molesta por su eterno optimismo y alegría, le otorga un nombre (Scarecrow) e intenta ayudarla para que se convierta en una chica real; y la salva cuando resulta que debía pagar un precio demasiado alto para conseguirlo. La amistad de los tres es enternecedora, y se nota cómo Mary se va ablandando gracias a su compañía.

La trama nos muestra un batiburrillo de historias, algunas clásicas, otras no; pero en la primera mitad, son casi estrictamente "cuentos de hadas" donde, tal como dice Scarecrow, Mary ayuda a que los personajes obtengan la felicidad. De esos mundos, mi favorito fue el Purgatorio porque ayudó a los niños a alcanzar la luz. La segunda mitad da un giro más oscuro, con historias tipo horror urbano, que incluyen a una anciana que se baña en la sangre de vírgenes, un doctor loco que quiere crear a la chica perfecta y una escena gore del Lobo devorando a una inocente. El cambio de escenario se justifica como "horrores que pueden detener al Lobo", pero también tiene que ver con el estado anímico de Mary; finalmente se ha dado cuenta que su muerte es inminente y teme la alternativa de tener que regresar a casa, porque ahí le espera un horror muy diferente. La última parte está cargada de sentimientos y tensión, pero todo se resuelve bien... aunque tiene un final abierto, le queda perfecto.

Aunque la protagonista es una niña, este DEFINITIVAMENTE no es un libro infantil. Además de una escena gore de descuartizamiento bastante desagradable, hay varias referencias sexuales en un par de mundos y la obsesión del Lobo por Mary es a medias la de un cazador y a medias la de un seductor espeluznante.

¿Qué Disfruté?
Ver la evolución de Mary y que se permitiera confiar en otros. Al principio tiene guardado mucho rencor, pero su amistad con Rat-in-Boots y Scarecrow la convierte en una fiera protectora de los inocentes.

¿Qué Prefiero Olvidar?
El final abierto.
¡Necesito una segunda parte! Quiero ver a Mary como justiciera badass y a Scarecrow como una chica real, y a Rat-in-Boots con sus zapatitos!

Citas
It’s lost. You’re lost, this place is lost—adventures don’t happen if you know where you are.

He’s a goody goody. He thinks there’s a right way and a wrong way and life’s as simple as that. You’re like me. You think that right hides behind wrong and wrong hides behind right and you’ll make up your own mind, even if you’re wrong.

Jack’s an idiot. He can’t think for himself. He can’t do anything for himself. Mary got herself into trouble, then got herself out. I’ll take Mary as my owner, because she won’t wait for me to save her. But I hope she’ll let me help

The apologies that are easy to make are the ones people don’t mean

Lies bite you when you least expect it. Tricks are part of my job, but it’s best to trick with the truth

Can I come?” Scarecrow asked.
That brought me up short, but it shouldn’t. “Why would you want to come with me?”
“I was hoping I could get a Happily Ever After, too. You make those, right? You made one for her.”

One night, the little girl took her rat and ran away, because the dangers of the dark woods were better than watching the cruelty within herself grow day by day

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. Another good book! This one was a surprise more than others in that it's definitely out of my normal realm of interests. This was pure fantasy. It begins with a 12 year old non-conformist, cynical geek of a girl heading to a party. She somehow ends up wearing a Red Riding Hood adult costume, which neither fits her person or personality. Then, by taking a series of wrong turns and making some less that wise decisions, she ends up in a series of fantasy lands, being pursued by a (no. THE) big bad wolf. Along the way, she saves princesses, learns to HATE fairies, meets witches, mermaids, and befriends Rat-in-Boots and a wooden clone of herself who is terminally cheery. In spite of the themes i've mentioned, this is not a children's book. There is profanity, though not an overabundance, because rats don't care for it. There is some sexual content, but nothing too extreme. And there is a lot of otherwise disturbing stuff. Violence and some not-so-happily-ever-after things that were pretty intense. But, i enjoyed the trip. I can't say that all of it made sense. I can't say all of it had me totally involved. What i will say that it was a lot of fun and well worth the time spent reading it.

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

When will I ever learn me lesson on free ebooks? I finished this, but found it tedious.

The concept of wandering through tales (from fairy tales to modernize zombie horror) was kind of cool, but by the 30% mark I was ready for it to be done.

The wolf is established as a sexual predator, and the protagonist is a child who knows too much (it's revealed that she has been abused by one of her alcoholic mother's boyfriends). Other reviewers have criticized the characterization of Mary (Red Riding Hood) in this way, but the swearing, defiance, and knowing too much can be true of children who have lived through trauma. I don't consider this a problem, but I didn't believe in Mary as a character the way this I believed in Baby from Lullabies for Little Criminals.

The problem as I see it is one of heavy-handedness through the storytelling. The characterization of Mary is this telling makes it a book for adults, but the internal journey Mary experiences (as she learns to self-regulate and accept help from people around her) feels more like a YA book.

It might have been helped with a faster pace; either fewer tales, or less time in the tales included.

[Shell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this fresh, dark and slyly humorous take on Little Red Riding Hood, it reminded me a bit of Brom's The Child Thief (which you should definitely check out if you like Quite Contrary). My only complaint is that it seemed a tad too long, but I'm sure I'll be adding more books by the author to my TBR list.

[Shanelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book very much... The ending was a little bit of a let-down though.. :(

[Gleidis · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first thing I will say is THIS IS NOT A CHILDREN'S BOOK!!! Both the cover and synopsis can be deceiving, so be warned. Also, due to the fact that the protagonist is only 12 years old and is being chased by a Wolf that seems more inclined to seduce her than use violence, some scenes could be triggering to some people. The wolf does not act like a beast (well, except in one detailed scene full of gore) he acts more like a man obsessed with a child and in most of their interactions I felt grossed out.

Mary is a kid with a pouty mouth, emotional trauma and a really bad attitude, and is that same attitude what gets her in all sorts of trouble again and again. At the same time she has a kind heart (hidden beneath sarcasm and stubbornness) and is always ready to help others even if it complicates her story further or runs away from new friends and safety to save them from danger when the Wolf shows up, cause the Wolf always catches up to her.

While on the run, Mary tries to delay the Wolf at all cost, which takes her from one fairytale to another, each turning progressively gruesome, until she makes it to the edge of civilization, where fairytales turn into nightmares and horror.

The world building is pretty interesting and with every new story Mary opens herself a bit more and starts forming bonds without ever losing her cynical touch. I appreciate it didn't turn into a Sunday special. On the other hand, with every new adventure I felt more and more that she was just a kid and shouldn't be having certain experiences, maybe if she was older than 12 it would have been less of a whiplash for me.

Although it has an adventurous tone, the story can be quite sad too on closer analysis. Mary was a neglected child living her own horror at home with a drunk mother and surrounded by kids that didn't want to be her friends. She forced herself to not care about anything or anyone, since no one cared about her and only found comfort in music. At the end of it all, between running from the wolf and going back home, till the very end of the story, she preferred running.

I would have liked an update on all the stories and characters she left behind. Did the kids from purgatory ever find the sun? Did Eric and Boldice defeat the maniac wolf from the library? What happened to the orphan kids from the city? It would have been interesting for things to be somehow connected to Mary instead of just being another opportunity to run from the Wolf. At some point it started to feel like all of it was just running for the sake of running. While Mary was becoming attached I was starting to not care since eventually she would find a way and therefore another story.

Although it took more time describing worlds than developing characters, Quite Contrary was an interesting Halloween read, at times full of fantasy at others, really making me fear the horror it was hinting at. I'd definitely read another story from this author.

[Dragana · Rating 3 out of 5]

One glance at the cover of Quite Contrary is enough to give you a hint that it's somehow related to a fairy tale of Red Riding Hood. I expected a darker retelling and hoped for some unusual twist. Maybe for the Wolf to be a good guy for a change?



But if you start reading Quite Contrary expecting a simply fairy tale retelling you will be very surprised (just like I was), because Richard Roberts did something much better. Richard Roberts merged a lot of known and unknown tales, myths and urban legends into an unique story.

Mary Stuart, our heroine, is quite contrary twelve-year-old girl in other words stubborn, pig-headed and usually does opposite of what is good for her. Quite Contrary starts with Mary going to a Halloween party (although her mother forbid her of course) and then Mary accepts a dare to crawl into a underground tunnel in an old deserted house. This will prove to be just the first in a row of 'brilliant' decisions made by Mary. The rest of the teens maybe planned to scare or trap Mary, but Mary keeps stubbornly crawling forward and soon slips from our reality into another dimension and ends up in a forest.

By changing from her filthy clothes into Red Riding Hood outfit, Mary triggers that fairy tale and attracts attention of big bad Wolf. *cue in Barry White* I am not joking. With his cheesy lines and deep voice that was how I imagined this 'hairy murderous Casanova' sounded.

"That voice wrapped you in honey and velvet, deep and rich and passionate like an old time blues singer's. The body was a wolf's, dirty gray and big. Too big to be a real animal. Dark blue eyes watched me with confident intelligence."

Wolf declares his undying love for Mary and desire to nibble on her young flesh (or take a much bigger bite), but 'not in a way that would offend prudish minds'. While Wolf expects from Mary to run (the thrill is in the chase after all) I bet he didn't expect that Mary will run from that fairy tale into another. And that's how constant switches of ambient, characters and never-dropping tension will begin as Mary runs for her own life.



If you like to read about paranormal creatures, then Quite Contrary will be a treat for you, because we will visit viking myths, fairyland, city or iron and yellow smoke, hitchhiking urban legends, New Orleans and much more. Although this definitely helped build the dynamics of the story, it was also annoying at times because as soon as I liked the current set of characters, Mary would go to the next story and leave them behind, sometimes even in critical moments. And I wanted to know what happened to them, because I liked them all much more then Mary.

Yes you heard me right - I didn't like Mary. I usually do not mind if heroine has issues or if she does not obey the rules, but Mary picked a wrong choice so many times (only because it was contrary to what was told to her to do) that she frustrated and annoyed me from the start. Thankfully, later on, Mary's decision making improves and they shift from unwise to just unconventional.

So, if you don't mind reading about 12-year-old girl who has a dirty mouth and attitude problem, and you like dark, gritty fantasy (with no romance) that merges details from other fairy tales and legends into fantastic and sometimes scary original new story, then I recommend you check out Quite Contrary by Richard Roberts.

My rating: 3.5 stars

Disclaimer: I was given a free eBook by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. This text is also posted on my blog Bookworm Dreams in a little bit more styled edition.

[Carrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read "Don't Tell my Parents I'm a Supervillain" liked it so much I went and checked out Richard Roberts' other books that are on Kindle Unlimited. That landed me at this book. Woah Nelly.

Though the heroine is (theoretically) a 12-year-old girl, she never acts 12. And that bothered me and frequently pulled me out of the story.

I loved, loved, loved the setup and the world and the plot and the changing scenery, I just think it should have been done with an older girl - like 16 or so and made it full YA.

This was a dark book. It dealt with a lot of really heavy concepts. There were a lot of themes I don't generally expect from MG books. It also strayed into horror stories for some of the background universes, which I think are probably beyond the MG sphere of understanding. There is a tragic backstory very briefly mentioned for our heroine, and she curses like a sailor.

Also, I never really liked Mary. She made a lot of random and bad decisions for no apparent reason. The good decisions she made also had no real reason to them. Her "trick" of never doing what people told her to was just annoying, because it meant she never thought about anything or really had any agency, she was still just a puppet.

This story was really saved by Rat-In-Boots (without boots). He was everything he should have been as a guide and a hero. I also thought it was a bit mean that he never got his boots.

A girl a little older, a little wiser and this would have been an incredible book. The way it is, I think it missed the mark. I actually think this book also could have been really good with a full on adult main character - 19+ - someone fully aware of all the stories they are in and how to subvert them.

I'm not sure how I felt about the last chapter - the whole book gets retold as a fairy tale (so hugely abbreviated). As the book stands, I didn't like it. I thought it pulled you out of an already tenuous suspension of disbelief, hard, then tried to slam you back into the story.

This was no "supervillain".

[A Book Vacation · Rating 1 out of 5]

To see my full review:

http://wp.me/p1jhaj-3JW

I’m sorry to say that this novel just isn't for me. I originally wanted to read it because I usually enjoy revamped fairy tales, but Mary completely turned me off from this story. I was expecting a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood with a contrary heroine, which in my mind meant more assertive a deviating from the meek path of Red in the traditional stories. But in this story, contrary actually stands for vile, obnoxious, cussing, kicking, punching, and vulgar interactions that don't really sit well with me, especially as our "heroine" is just 12 years old. From the very beginning, with her blatant disrespect of her mother, I had an inkling I wasn't going to enjoy the story on a personal level, and when Mary began cussing at everyone and everything, it was basically over for me. Now, Mary does have a few redeeming qualities in that she really does care about people, but she's hard pressed to show it, and she'd rather kick someone in their private areas first and ask questions later. Honestly, I think this was more of a "shock the reader" type of story where crazy situations evolve and Mary responds vulgarly to them. Which, truthfully, isn't my type of story.

[Shannara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like the premise of this book. Young girl gets lost in a fairy tale universe where all the stories you read as a child are real. But, for me, it was kind of all over the place. There were no rules to this book and any tales, myths, or even creepy stories your parents told you, to frighten you into behaving, were worked in. I'm still not 100% sure to make of the dark "boat" section with all the lost children...

It's true, Mary was chased by the wolf the entire story, but honestly I felt like although she defeats him in the end, she didn't really grow as a character. She's still running from her problems (her mom and horrible peers back home) and it appears she has just decided to make the running permanent. I still like the book and Mary, but I couldn't rate it any higher than a three.

[Nicole Corazon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love. Love. LOVE. SO many story references, and I'm sure I missed a ton of them. Smart a** cranky pre-teen who behaves just as she should, and grows into her story as she goes. Fun, ridiculous, heart warming at times, disturbing at other, silly all the way through, and well worth the read.

*To address reviews that are disturbed by the age of heroine and some of the situations she has found herself in, I found this very well and carefully handled, and truly, it is no surprise to anyone who has ever been a preteen girl that the world is full of creepy wolves who chase little girls both figuratively and literally.

[Melinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than most fairy tale remakes. If a 12 year old girl was going to survive being hunted by a giant, sentient wolf, she would need to be feisty, fearless and recalcitrant. This Mary has all that and more to fend off all the wolf's creative attacks. Much of the book is good for middle grade girls as a role model for independence and kindness, but the wolf comes across as a sexual sadist serial killer / eater of prey. That fact alone raises the age to 18+. The scene in the desert was straight horror. The book can't decide what type of story it is, which is why it ets three stars.

[Melissa Reyneveld · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this story and think it is probably more like 3.5 stars. It was entertaining and towards the end it got suspenseful, as well. I do think some aspects could have felt more appropriate or even genuine had the MC been at least a couple years older. Also, there were some spots in the book that didn't make sense and some that seemed unnecessary to the story. For me, it was one of those books that had 5 star potential but just didn't quite hit the mark in everything. Still a fun, interesting read.

[Shelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mary is more crass than contrary. The author should look up the difference in the dictionary, just because they both start with the letter "c" doesn't mean they are interchangeable. What's more disturbing is that Mary is supposed to be a child! Not a book I'll be finishing or recommending.

[Angie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Great concept, boring book that seriously made no attempt to make sense.

[Nicholi Gold · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best retelling of Red Riding Hood I have ever read.

[Douglas · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a well (mostly) written book with a difficult to like main character. Mary is contrary works out well in some cases as a natural way to move the story forward. After all, thanks to her contrariness Mary crawls down a mysterious tunnel when told not to and that takes her into the land of stories where she stupidly steps into the story of Red Riding Hood and then is chased from story to story by the big bad wolf.

There are several good things about this book and, to be fair, I didn't start to dislike Mary until the story was well underway. The problem is that Mary stands up to her friends and refuses to listen to them even when she knows they are only trying to help her, but can she manage the same with the big bad wolf? No, all she does is run away from him over and over again. Mary even acknowledges on at least a couple of different occasions that it is stupid for her not to listen to her friends, but that realization changes nothing.

While by and large the writing is good there are still issues but these involve SPOILERS.

1. We eventually learn that Mary is supposedly so contrary because her mother is an alcoholic who almost allowed her 12 year old daughter to get raped by her boyfriend. It was never really explained what was going on Mary's mom or Mary's life in the real world, we're just told that the boyfriend had apparently made it clear to Mary that sex was coming her way but Mary escaped out the bathroom window. We are also never told just why such an experience cause Mary to refuse to listen to her friends.

2. The resolution is weak at best. Mary finally realizes she has to embrace her unique version of the Red Riding Hood story as her own to escape it. We are then treated to a re-telling of everything that we just read in fairy-tale form, which I found stupidly and unnecessarily repetitious. Bet hey, it was the set up for the big finale, right? NO. We are then told in past tense how Mary escaped her story in the most anti-climatic way possible.

Bottom line: This book has some good writing and storytelling but overall the main character is not very likable and resolution is a fizzle rather than a bang.