The Hand with the Knife

I really enjoyed the mystical ambience and the fairytale logic of this story. We are immediately expected to accept the mother’s curses on her children with little explanation which is reflective of Grimms’ fairytales. The choices are weighty and add hopelessness to the tone. (However, I feel like risky choices should have a chance to pay off.)
The story makes good use of creating a foreboding and literal chilly setting. Although I think the writing style and dialogue may be too modern for a fairytale. I would have also preferred more explanation of the mythical creatures and laws of the world.

Excellent story. The family dynamic is clear from the outset and addition details only builds on that. A few dropped words or letters here or there, but totally understandable with the contest deadline. The tone is solid throughout, and the choice to never fully reveal the Alf is a strong choice.

6/8 I enjoyed how it retold the original fairy story from different perspectives and gave it a variety of endings, it was the kind of thing I was hoping to read. The use of "Alf" instead of "Elf" was a clever call back to the original use of langauge, and the being in question was kept suitably mysterious, in line with the original tale.

I liked it, and can see the resemblance to the original fairy tale.

The style of prose was both detailed and concise in a way I enjoyed, and the answers to all of the mysteries were satisfying no matter the path. A rather unusual choice to tell it in first person, but it did enhance the overall tone and personality of the main character.

I do want to mention I read this earlier in the day while procrastinating my contest entry, not in the five or so minutes it's been actually published.