History Literature / TheGrimroseGirls

* TheDogWasTheMastermind: The villains turn out to be [[spoiler: two random teachers who appeared in very few scenes, were completely unmemorable, and had less than ten lines between the two of them.]] Talk about it being the person you least suspect- this time it was the characters that many readers seem to have forgotten even ''existed'', on account of how minor and unmemorable their roles were up until the twist ending.]]

* Fauxshadowing: The entirety of the second book sets up [[spoiler: Yuki's stepmother, Reyna, who is the story's version of the Evil Queen]] as the main villain. This was hinted at in the first book as well, although not to the same extent. As it turns out, all of this foreshadowing amounted to nothing; it was designed to be a RedHerring, but the actual ending was so unsatisfactory that it comes across as more of an AssPull instead.

* RebelliousPrincess: In the second novel, Rory is revealed to be genuine royalty (a princess, to be specific) rather than just a normal rich girl as was previously assumed. Although most of the characters involved already knew this, the readers did not, mostly due to Rory's avoidance of the subject. Rory hates being a princess, particularly because as her parents' only heir, she is expected to marry a man and continue the family line- despite this being completely incompatible with her personality or sexuality. When her parents try to lock her in the palace to better control her, she repeatedly attempts to break out, rather than falling in line and being the kind of princess her parents want her to be.

* DisappearedDad: Nani’s main motivation, before getting involved in curse-related shenanigans, is to look for her father. He has been gone for a long time, first because of his deployment in the Marines and then because of his position at Grimrose Academie. Nani comes to Grimrose because she thinks he will be here, only to discover that he is already gone. Presumably, this plotline will be explored further in subsequent novels.

* SnowMeansDeath: It may or may not be actively snowing, but there is certainly snow on the ground during the climax of the book. The final fight takes place on top of a frozen lake.

The Grimrose Girls by Laura Pohl is a DarkerAndEdgier retelling of classic fairy tales set in a modern-day BoardingSchool. It features chapters from the point of view of four different characters as they investigate the death of a beloved friend, only to find that their lives have been shaped by a book of fairy tales- a book that only has bad endings.

* AbusiveParents: The book is based on fairy tales, so of course there are some abusive parents. In particular, Ella’s stepmother is emotionally and physically abusive (even to her stepsisters, on occasion). Ella’s father could also count, as he ‘’knew’’ how his fiance was treating his daughter, and he chose to marry her anyway.

* KillAndReplace: [[spoiler: The imposter with Penelope, a full year before the book even begins.]] It’s unclear if the imposter was somehow made to look more like the original via the curse, or if they already had a resemblance. If there is some level of shapeshifting, then it isn’t absolute, because there are still some slight differences in appearance.

** Yuki (which means “snow”) = Snow White. [[spoiler: Although the later half of the story suggest that it's less Snow White and more Snow Queen]]

* NoNameGiven: [[spoiler: The fake Penelope]] never gives a real name. They spend most of the book using a name that does not belong to them, and even after this is revealed, other characters continue to refer to them by that false name. Their original name is never revealed.

AbusiveParents: The book is based on fairy tales, so of course there are some abusive parents. In particular, Ella’s stepmother is emotionally and physically abusive (even to her stepsisters, on occasion). Ella’s father could also count, as he ‘’knew’’ how his fiance was treating his daughter, and he chose to marry her anyway.

AttackOnTheHeart: In the final fight, [[spoiler: Yuki stabs Fake Penelope in the heart with her own knife.]]

AxCrazy: [[spoiler: Penelope]] seems normal at first, but in the climax of the novel it’s revealed that she killed at least five people- and considered it fun.

BitchInSheepsClothing: [[spoiler: Penelope]] is introduced as a fairly nice and likable person who truly seems to have [[spoiler: Yuki’s]] best interests at heart. Towards the end of the novel, it becomes increasingly clear that this is not the case.

BludgeonedToDeath: [[spoiler: Micaeli]] is found with her head bashed in. There is blood. And brains.

BurialAtSea: It’s not the ocean, but [[spoiler: Fake Penelope]]’s body is disposed of in the frozen-over lake, where it will remain until the thaw.

ButchLesbian: Rory goes by a masculine nickname, almost exclusively wears mens clothing, and is quite sporty. She eventually cuts off her hair.

CradlingYourKill: When [[spoiler: Yuki stabs Penelope]], she catches her body and holds her while she dies. This meant less as a comfort, although [[spoiler: Yuki did consider her a good friend prior to Penelope’s EvilAllAlong reveal only minutes before]]. Mostly, she wanted to be close enough to have a whispered FinalExchange while she still could.

DisappearedDad: Nani’s main motivation, before getting involved in curse-related shenanigans, is to look for her father. He has been gone for a long time, first because of his deployment in the Marines and then because of his position at Grimrose Academie. Nani comes to Grimrose because she thinks he will be here, only to discover that he is already gone. Presumably, this plotline will be explored further in subsequent novels.

DoNotCallMePaul: Rory’s full name is Aurore, but she hates it and insists on going by Rory instead. Everyone at school seems to respect this, but her parents (and their secretary) do not.

EvilAllAlong: [[spoiler: Penelope, or rather the person pretending to be Penelope.]]

EurekaMoment: Three of the four main characters have this moment, separately, within a few hours of each other. All based on different clues. After multiple months of investigating. The fourth character is a little late to the party.

EvilIsSexy: [[spoiler: Penelope]]. The novel goes into quite a lot of detail about [[spoiler: her long blonde hair, sharp green eyes, and long curled lashes. The real (dead) Penelope is described with a gap in her teeth and a mole on her face, which the evil version lacks.]] Somewhat justified in that all of the major characters get lengthy descriptions, and all of them are implied to be quite attractive.

FalseFriend: [[spoiler: Penelope to Yuki.]]

FinalExchange: In the final fight, just after [[spoiler: Yuki has stabbed the fake Penelope in the heart]] and she is bleeding out in her arms.
->'''[[spoiler: the fake Penelope]]:''' ''[bleeding out]'' Why?
->'''[[spoiler: Yuki]]:''' You told me to want things. And I wanted you ''dead''.

GoOutWithASmile: [[spoiler: Fake Penelope smiles after she has been stabbed, just before passing away. This is in response to Yuki’s final words to her, as seen above.]]

HeKnowsTooMuch: [[spoiler: Ariane and Micaeli were both killed because they were getting too close to the truth- Ariane because she was actively investigating the book and the curse, and Micaeli because she was Penelope’s roommate and therefore might have seen something she wasn’t supposed to.]]

ImpersonationExclusiveCharacter: [[spoiler: In the climax, it is revealed that the real Penelope was killed and replaced by the imposter a year and a half prior, just before Penelope would have arrived at the school.]]

ImportantHaircut: Rory chops off her own long hair with scissors as a way of rejecting her parents’ expectations and embracing her own identity (as a butch lesbian).

KillAndReplace: [[spoiler: The imposter with Penelope, a full year before the book even begins.]] It’s unclear if the imposter was somehow made to look more like the original via the curse, or if they already had a resemblance. If there is some level of shapeshifting, then it isn’t absolute, because there are still some slight differences in appearance.

MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: Most of the deaths in the book. How anyone ever ''believed'' they were accidents is another question, although perhaps the curse played into it somehow.

MeaningfulName: Pretty much all of them.
* Ella = Cinderella, a fairly obvious connection.
* Rory = Aurora = Sleeping Beauty.
* Yuki (which means “snow”) = Snow White. [[spoiler: Although the later half of the story suggest that it's less Snow White and more Snow Queen]]
* Secondary and background characters have meaningful names as well, although there are too many to list them all.

NoNameGiven: [[spoiler: the fake Penelope]] never gives a real name. They spend most of the book using a name that does not belong to them, and even after this is revealed, other characters continue to refer to them by that false name. Their original name is never revealed.

PlotTriggeringDeath: The book opens with Ariane’s funeral. Her death is what gets the other characters investigating things.

PrinceCharming: Frederick is ''literally'' this for the book’s version of Cinderella. He may not be royalty, but he’s rich enough to count, and he’s a genuinely nice and charming guy.

RavenHairIvorySkin: Yuki is the book’s version of Snow White. She has “ivory white skin and dark hair like a raven’s feathers.” She is also considered to be the most beautiful girl in the school.

SerialKiller: [[spoiler: The fake Penelope kills several people over the course of the book. She kills the real Penelope and replaces her before the story even begins. She drowns Ariane when she starts to investigate the book and the curse, setting off the events of the novel. She bashes Micaeli’s head in because she knows too much. It’s unclear how she killed Molly and Ian, but she seems to have either poisoned them or force-fed them chocolate until they died. In fact, the only death in this book that she is not directly responsible for is Annmarie’s, who truly did fall victim to the curse without Penelope to ‘speed up their fate’.]]

SnowMeansDeath: It may or may not be actively snowing, but there is certainly snow on the ground during the climax of the book. The final fight takes place on top of a frozen lake.

* Yuki (which means “snow”) = Snow White.

Disappeared Dad: Nani’s main motivation, before getting involved in curse-related shenanigans, is to look for her father. He has been gone for a long time, first because of his deployment in the Marines and then because of his position at Grimrose Academie. Nani comes to Grimrose because she thinks he will be here, only to discover that he is already gone. Presumably, this plotline will be explored further in subsequent novels.

KillAndReplace: [[Spoiler: The imposter with Penelope, a full year before the book even begins.]] It’s unclear if the imposter was somehow made to look more like the original via the curse, or if they already had a resemblance. If there is some level of shapeshifting, then it isn’t absolute, because there are still some slight differences in appearance.

BludgeonedToDeath: [[Micaeli]] is found with her head bashed in. There is blood. And brains.

BurialAtSea: It’s not the ocean, but [[Fake Penelope]]’s body is disposed of in the frozen-over lake, where it will remain until the thaw.