Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Literature / TheSistersGrimm

Go To

1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/5d91aa54eb8c211141ce724fb61fd376.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:350:L to R: [[ItsAllAboutMe Pu]][[JerkWithAHeartOfGold ck]], [[CheerfulChild Daph]][[BadassAdorable ne]], [[TheSnarkKnight Sabr]][[UnscrupulousHero ina]]]]
3
4''The Sisters Grimm'' is a children's fantasy mystery book series written by Michael Buckley and illustrated by Peter Ferguson. The series consists of nine novels published from 2005 to 2012, which collectively tell a FracturedFairyTale based around crimes that happen in the small town of Ferryport Landing.
5
6Ferryport Landing is a town where nothing is what it seems and fairytale creatures, called Everafters, roam the streets. Sometimes, mass destruction follows them, and somehow, none of the humans notice the strange magical happenings, although this can be attributed to the effects of [[LaserGuidedAmnesia "forgetful dust"]].
7
8The main protagonists, sisters Sabrina and Daphne Grimm (respectively 11 and 7 years old at the start of the series), are related to Creator/TheBrothersGrimm. After the girls' parents disappear mysteriously, they skip around foster homes and end up going to live with a grandmother they didn't know they had. Upon learning of the existence of Everafters, they join the family business of solving mysteries, which are possibly linked to the disappearance of their parents, all the while dealing with the 4000-year-old trickster fairy Puck.
9
10However, the Everafters are kept in Ferryport Landing by a magical barrier, and within the town exists a group of Everafters with plans to escape and {{take over the world}} known as the Scarlet Hand. As the only known way to destroy this barrier is to kill all members of the Grimm family, the sisters' mysteries end up building to an all-out war against the Scarlet Hand.
11
12!!All the books, in order, are:
13# ''The Fairytale Detectives''
14# ''The Unusual Suspects''
15# ''The Problem Child''
16# ''Once Upon a Crime''
17# ''Magic and Other Misdemeanors''
18# ''Tales from the Hood''
19# ''The Everafter War''
20# ''The Inside Story''
21# ''The Council of Mirrors''
22
23----
24!! Tropes and other misdemeanors:
25
26* AcademyOfAdventure: In book two, Sabrina, Daphne, and Puck are enrolled in Ferryport Landing Elementary. The children are practically zombie slaves, the teachers are evil, [[spoiler:the school's guidance councilor tries to kill everybody, and the principal turns out to be the Pied Piper and is controlling the human students.]]
27* AccidentalMisnaming: Puck and Mayor Charming have a problem with names. Ms. Smirt never refers to the sisters by their proper names.
28* ActionGirl: Nearly all the women in the book.
29* AerithAndBob: Baba Yaga and Jacob Grimm is just one example.
30* TheAllegedCar: The Grimm family's beat up old car is so loud, you cannot have a single conversation inside it.
31--> "Are we close to Faerie yet?"
32--> "Oh, I love chili, but I'm afraid it doesn't love me," Granny shouted back.
33--> "No, not chili! Faerie!" Sabrina cried. "Are we getting closer?"
34--> "Why no, I've never kissed a monkey. What a weird question."
35* AllPartOfTheShow: When the Jabberwocky breaks into the school.
36%%* {{Animorphism}}: Puck, definitely Puck.
37* ArtifactOfDeath: The Vorpal Blade and any other magical item.
38* AxCrazy: Little Red Riding Hood, anybody?
39* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Very frequently between Sabrina and Puck.
40** The two of them having that conversation after [[spoiler:Oberon's funeral.]]
41** Puck pulling a DeusExMachina and saving Sabrina from falling to her death in ''Once Upon A Crime''.
42* BabiesEverAfter: [[spoiler:Eventually, Puck and Sabrina get married and have two daughters.]]
43* BadassCreed: "We are the Grimms. This is what we do."
44* BadassFamily: The Grimms all fight crimes, sometimes against creatures that could possibly eat them. Definitely badass.
45* BadFuture: Yes it was. [[spoiler:Fortunately, the heroes were able to change it.]]
46* BelligerentSexualTension: Puck and Sabrina, inasmuch as a couple of twelve year olds can have. [[spoiler:They eventually get married.]]
47%%* BewareTheNiceOnes: Daphne.
48* BigBadFriend: [[spoiler:Mirror was the Master all along.]]
49* TheBigBadWolf: Obviously. [[spoiler: Except it's actually the spirit of ferocity removed from an ordinary wolf using the North Wind, which can enter people and transform them into the Wolf.]]
50* BigDamnHeroes / TheCavalry: Puck has his moments, although he always tries to pass it off as a VillainousRescue. [[spoiler:So does Prince Charming.]]
51* BigEater: Daphne and Puck are said to have bottomless stomachs. The only way to wake Daphne up is to tell her breakfast is ready.
52%%* BloodlessCarnage: The future.
53* CatchAFallingStar: Puck catches Sabrina at least a ''million'' times.
54* ComeOutComeOutWhereverYouAre: In The Queen of Hearts' house.
55* CreepyChild / CuteAndPsycho: Red, [[spoiler:at least until the North Wind blows the madness out of her.]]
56* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: All nine books' exterior color schemes are red, blue, dark blue, green, purple, orange, black, light green, and light blue, respectively.
57* CoolOldLady: Granny Relda's been everywhere in the world, even to Mount Everest. If that isn't cool, I don't know ''what'' is.
58* CurseEscapeClause:
59** Sabrina turning into a frog. The spell could only be broken by a ''prince''.
60** Then there was the giant, robotic witch.
61** Sabrina jumping onto a hot-air balloon, off the Empire State Building.
62* DamselInDistress: Puck is constantly having to save Sabrina's butt.
63* DeadpanSnarker [=/=] KnightInSourArmor: It seems like almost ''[[WorldOfSnark everyone]]'' in the series is like this, but mostly Sabrina and Puck.
64* DeflectorShields: Well, all the Everafters are stuck in Ferryport Landing and they cannot escape...
65* DemonicDummy: The marionettes.
66* DepartmentOfChildDisservices: To the ''EXTREME''.
67* DismantledMacGuffin: In ''The Problem Child'', the vorpal blade necessary to kill the Jabberwocky is split into thirds distributed to different places amongst Ferryport.
68* DistantFinale: The ending of book 9. The last sentence of the series is even Sabrina asking her kids if they know about the Brothers Grimm, to boot.
69* DisneyCreaturesOfTheFarce
70* DodgeballIsHell: Sabrina and Puck get involved in some of this in book 2, but [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMoments Puck manages to stay in the game while simultaneously defending Sabrina]]...[[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments only for a dodgeball to get Sabrina out at the last minute and make Puck the winner]].
71* DrivesLikeCrazy: Granny Relda is not allowed, ''under the law'', to be behind the wheels of a car. Sabrina actually goes onto the opposite lane while driving. She couldn't even reach the pedals, so Daphne had to push them. To be fair, she was trying to escape being eaten.
72%%* DysfunctionalFamily: Definitely the Grimms.
73* EnemyWithin: Mr. Canis, aka, The Big Bad Wolf.
74* FaceDoodling: Puck pulls this on Sabrina in book 3, birthing "Captain Doodieface".
75* TheFairFolk: Puck and his family.
76* FakeUltimateHero: Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk.
77* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: [[spoiler:Briar]]'s death in book 7 while attempting to fend off against a dragon. [[CurbStompBattle With a swat of the wing, she gets whacked into the air and slams her head on a tree.]]
78* FantasyGunControl: Apparently, nobody in Ferryport Landing has a gun. Knives, sure, but no guns.
79* FauxDeath: Veronica and Henry, Sabrina and Daphne's parents, are under a sleeping spell.
80* FirstGirlWins: Well, Puck did meet Sabrina first, and they do [[spoiler:end up together.]] However, he knew Moth years before he came to Ferryport Landing, [[spoiler:and she lost.]]
81* FluffyTheTerrible: Little Red Riding Hood calls her Jabberwocky a "kitty".
82* ForgetsToEat: Sabrina is known not to eat, but it's probably because she hates her grandmother's cooking.
83* FracturedFairyTale
84* {{Gasshole}}: Ew, Puck! Gross!
85* GoodIsNotNice: Mr. Canis. Snow White can also get like this at times, especially in Book 7.
86* GrandTheftMe: In book 8, [[spoiler:Granny forces Mirror to take hold of her own body in order to save the newly born Grimm brother, much to Mirror's dismay.]]
87* GrandFinale: ''Council of Mirrors'', the big and dramatic conclusion to the series.
88* GrowingUpSucks: Puck even goes as far as saying that it's a disease, and it's all Sabrina's fault he is growing up. In his defense, it technically ''is'' her fault. [[spoiler: After falling in love with her, he slowly begins aging so he and Sabrina always appear to be the same age.]]
89* GutPunch: [[spoiler:Briar]]'s death, which really paves the way for a jarring MoodWhiplash within book 7, going from the events of an intense Everafter war to a solemn funeral.
90* HeroWithAnFInGood: Defines Puck, and possibly Charming.
91* IJustWantToBeLoved: [[spoiler:Mirror]]
92* ImAHumanitarian: Baba Yaga even decorates her front yard with human skulls.
93* ImprobableAntidote: Ah, so ''that'' is how you cure it. Gross!
94* ItsAllAboutMe: Puck has this in massive amounts.
95* KissOfLife: Sabrina attempts CPR on Puck just when he wakes up, ergo, humiliation on both parts.
96* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:Briar Rose, as well as Harry the mirror guardian, Mr. Seven.]]
97* KnightInShiningArmor
98* LastNameBasis: Unless Puck is calling Sabrina ugly.
99* LethalChef: Well, in Sabrina's point-of-view, Granny Relda's cooking is definitely disgusting and inedible. Granny Relda does make some funky and exotic dishes, but Puck and Daphne both enjoy them.
100* LethalJokeItem: In ''Tales from the Hood'', Sabrina and Puck get the weapon that's been mentioned a few times since the fourth book. [[spoiler:It [[BlowYouAway commands the wind]], it can blow the insanity out of a person, [[WeaponOfMassDestruction destroy buildings with a single puff]]... and it's a kazoo.]]
101%%* LittleDeadRidingHood: Yeah...
102%%* LoveAtFirstPunch
103* TheMadHatter: The real Mad Hatter who was the judge in a court case.
104%%* MagicWand
105* ManipulativeBastard: The Master/[[spoiler:Mirror.]]
106* MissingTrailerScene: The cover of ''Once Upon a Crime'' depicts Sabrina dangling from a rope high up above a city as a giant robotic witch is about to grab her. This doesn't happen in the book, although there is a robotic witch in the book. What ''does'' happen is that [[spoiler:Oz forces Sabrina out of his hot air balloon, causing her to plummet to what seems to be her death until Puck rescues her.]]
107* TheMole: [[spoiler:Pinocchio.]]
108* MyFutureSelfAndMe
109* NearMisses: This happens to a lot of people a bunch of times.
110* NeverMessWithGranny: Granny Relda's middle name should be Badass, especially when she runs into Sabrina's room, uttering a battle cry and carrying a sword, ready to fight off whatever was threatening her granddaughter.
111* NeverGrewUp: Standard form of immortality for Everafters.
112* NiceJobBreakingItHero: This happens to Puck when he attempts to save Sabrina from [[spoiler:the Jabberwocky after it corners them at a cafe. He has his wings ripped off.]]
113* NightmareFace: One of the pictures of Little Red Riding Hood in the second book. ''[[SlasherSmile Brrr...]]''
114** [[http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/sistersgrimm/images/f/f3/The_Mad_Child.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20140217182933 Here's the picture.]] [[NightmareFuel It's freaky.]] Administrivia/{{You have been warned}}.
115* NonhumanSidekick: Elvis the dog. All of the family's Everafter friends might also count.
116* NothingButSkulls: Even Baba Yaga's fence is made of skulls.
117* NotWearingPantsDream: ''Tales from the Hood'' starts with a nightmare that Sabrina has in which she's completely naked.
118* {{Objectshifting}}: Puck is able to turn into objects. In particular, he is fond of pretending to be a chair and then vanishing right when Sabrina tries to sit on him.
119* OffstageVillainy: Nobody knows who the Master is until the very end of the seventh book.
120* OlderThanTheyLook: Puck is a four-thousand years old in a twelve-year-old's body. He's [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld way freaking older than he looks]].
121%%* OurDragonsAreDifferent: Maybe...
122%%* PerfectPoison
123* PerfectlyCromulentWord: In every book, Daphne manages to come up with a weird word in a language she calls "Daphne-ish"
124* PersonOfMassDestruction: Sabrina and Jacob both go power hungry in [[spoiler:the third book, and they almost kill all the Everafters in the area.]]
125* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: The Master of the Scarlet Hand is very much politically incorrect.
126** Prince Atticus "Women are property" Charming
127* PortalToThePast
128* ThePowerOfLove [[spoiler:How Sabrina is able to get Mirror out of Granny's body.]]
129* ThePrankster: The worst prank Puck pulled on Sabrina was when he gathered a group of Pegasi with diarrhea and they...[[BrainBleach went]]... on Sabrina.
130* PrinceCharmless: PrinceCharming, amusingly enough.
131* QuackDoctor: Frau Pfefferkuchenhaus ([[Literature/HanselAndGretel the Gingerbread Witch]]) works as a dentist, and it seems that pulling the teeth out is the only treatment you can get at her office (although, thankfully, she is also aware of the existence of anaesthetics). When Sabrina tries to tell Puck one has to go to a medical school to become a dentist, Frau Pfefferkuchenhaus says "I didn't know that".
132* RealMenEatMeat: Puck did eat a horse for a bet.
133* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: ''Most'' Everafters are literally more than seven hundred years old, and the ones that are not are more than a hundred.
134** Overlaps with NotGrowingUpSucks for Pinocchio. [[spoiler:This leads him to join the Scarlet Hand.]]
135* TheReveal: [[spoiler:Mirror is The Master.]]
136%%* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Pinocchio.
137%%* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong: They have a ''lot'' of work to do.
138%%* SheCleansUpNicely: Puck is a male version.
139* SheIsNotMyGirlfriend: Sabrina has to tell [[spoiler:her mom and dad]] that Puck is ''not'' her boyfriend as they watch him pull a prank on Sabrina.
140%%* SiblingTeam: Sabrina and Daphne.
141* SlapSlapKiss: Sabrina and Puck, especially in the last book.
142* SlasherSmile: Little Red Riding Hood is very fond of these, and it doesn't help that she's mentally unstable. Hell, there's a drawing in book 2 of Red wearing a hood and shrouded in shadow evilly grinning [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou directly at the reader]], and it's probably [[NightmareFuel one of the most terrifying things you'll ever see in a children's book]].
143%%* TalkingAnimal: There are a ton of them.
144* TeachMeHowToFight: Daphne and Sabrina learn karate from Snow White.
145* TestosteronePoisoning: Trying to act like the hero is what got Puck into major trouble with the Jabberwocky.
146* TimeTravel: The Grimms toy around with the concept in book 5 in ways like meeting the future Sabrina and Daphne as well as [[spoiler:fixing the BadFuture]].
147* TroubledButCute: Puck ''does'' insist he's a bad guy and it is beneath him to help people.
148* TrueLovesKiss: [[spoiler: Sabrina and Daphne's parents are woken from their enchanted sleep by this; their dad's ex-girlfriend kisses him, and he then kisses his wife awake.]]
149** [[spoiler:Puck eats one of the poison apples from Snow White's story, and Sabrina then has to kiss him.]]
150* WeaponOfMassDestruction: The [[spoiler:kazoo that controls the wind]] in Tales From the Hood. Sabrina and Puck had no idea what it was for until Sabrina blew it and it literally blew the bank away.
151* WhamEpisode: Book 7, considering it deals with a huge war amongst the Everafters and is reasonably quite a climactic point in the series.
152** The end of almost all the books. They are, after all, mystery stories.
153* WhamLine: TheReveal of TheMaster's identity.
154-->'''Sabrina''': You sick, twisted monster. Do you know the nightmare you have inflicted upon my family? You're a horrible, evil worm!
155-->'''[[spoiler:Pinocchio]]''': I'm not the Master!
156-->'''Puck''': Why should we believe you?
157-->'''[[spoiler:[[BigBadFriend Mirror]]]]''': Because I am the Master.
158* WhatTheHellHero: Shockingly of all, it comes from Puck.
159%%* WorldOfSnark
160* WouldHurtAChild: Nottingham in book 5. Hell, he almost ''does'' hurt a child (specifically, Daphne) with a dagger.
161* YouShallNotPass: Briar in book 7. [[spoiler:This act of bravery kills her.]]
162

Top