Snow: A Retelling Of Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs (2006) - Plot & Excerpts
This book was a quick read and you can probably get it done in a day. I almost wish there was more just because I really loved the characters a lot and I wanted for antics between Snow and the "7 dwarves" who are actually a group of human/animal hybrids. Summary:Jessica is a duchess from the country whose mother died almost immediately after her birth. Her father blames the poor child for it (the dad is a scumbag and was no better than our main antagonist). So Jessica grows up in the kitchens where she is loved by the staff and spends her childhood playing in the estate with the other children. Then everything changed when the fire nation (Duchess Anne) attacks.Lots of things happen that lead to the duchess turning on Jessica and locking her away for 2 years. Jessica grows pale during her confinement and so an old friend jokingly calls her Snow. The name sticks and Jessica becomes our title character.Anne plans to take Snow's heart in order for her to become pregnant and give birth to an heir. Snow learns this and escapes to London. Falls asleep on a bunch of furniture in an alley somewhere (I didn't guy why there was random furniture out in the open. Maybe I read it wrong??) and she is found by the group of colorful characters who are meant to take the place of the seven dwarves.Antics ensue and Snow ends up falling under a sleeping spell for two years. Her prince wakes her from her sleep. The story takes a turn from the original story but there is a happy ending so that's what matters.Characters:Snow/Jessica: Snow is likable and you understand her struggle. Sometimes I felt like she felt just a little bit bland. Most likely because of how interesting the other characters were. Even Anne has more of a personality than Snow at times. What bothered me the most about her was how she seemed like such an intelligent character, but then she decides to visit Anne, the same evil woman who WANTED TO KILL HER, just because some old beggar woman told her that Anne was fresh out of the mental hospital and was suddenly cured. I would have been extremely suspicious of this and probably flee London just after hearing that my possible murderer was in town. But hey, that's just my opinion.Raven: Raven more like actual adorable bird boy. He is part raven (shocker) and the most humanlike of the crew besides Mouser. He had dark father along his arms and hair and he's just an all around dark guy. For the first half of the book he is simply a background character. In all honesty, I expected him just to continue being that way. Then suddenly he starts showing some emotion after getting cuddly with Snow and we got our love interest. He was very cute though and I liked how much he cared about Snow. He devotes himself to finding a cure for Snow and even reluctantly gives up his feathers as payment for her cure. Alan: For about 70% of the book you believe him to be Snow's love interest. His character was actually a very good change that the author made to the original story. Believe it or not, he was the magic mirror, except he's not a mirror. He just holds a mirror for Anne whenever she wants and tells her what she wants to hear. He was a gift from Snow's father to Anne on their wedding day and is sort of a minion for Anne. He has an enchanted necklace that won't allow him to tell anyone about what Anne is doing. He does warn Snow about Anne wanting to kill her and helps her escape. Anne: She was a very complex character and I can't decide if I hated her or I loved her. She's kind of insane and is the one behind making the Lonely Ones (7 dwarves) into human/animal hybrids. It's kind of weird because they're technically all her children who rapidly aged. Alright.Anne is a good mother figure to Snow at first, and the two even sort of get along. Until Snow is nearly raped at a ball and Anne blames her for it (probably the worst thing she did besides "cursing" Snow). The words she says to the young Snow who feels betrayed and scared are sharp and made me cringe at how terrible a woman she really was. In the end she loses all her memory and becomes a grandmotherly figure to Snow. I didn't really like how that happened and I feel like it could have been done better.The Lonely Ones: I LOVED THEM THEY WERE SO GREAT!!! Our seven dwarves are all named respectably for the animal they are a hybrid of. Cat (a cat), Mouser (a mouse), Chauncey (a rat), Sparrow (a bird), and Raven (a raven). Cat was the only female of the group but every time she was mentioned all I could think of was that one character from Escaflowne.Yeah that girl.Anyways, The Lonely Ones were all very interesting characters with all their cute lil quirks and such. I loved them a lot.Prince/Duke/???: Did he have a name?? He literally comes in at the very end but he's kind of cute so I wanted to mention him. Another possible love interest for Snow.Final Verdict:I don't know why but this is probably one of my favorite books. It had its faults but it's a very likable story. I would suggest it to anyone who likes victorian and fairy tale retellings, but won't mind if the story is changed drastically.
Although the story, a retelling of the classic "Snow White," takes place in 1920s Great Britain, Jessica (and her stepmother, Anne, for that matter) is a heroine with modern sensibilities, placing it firmly in the category of steampunk fiction.Jessica is still a young girl when her father, a man from whom she is mostly estranged, remarries a woman from far away. She looks forward to the idea of finally having a mother, but is disappointed when the English duchess seems more interested in spending time with her new husband and behind closed doors than with caring for her. Yet with Anne’s arrival also comes Alan, a boy musician only a few years older than Jessica, who is kind and interested in chatting with her when he isn’t helping the Duchess with her scientific experiments.As with the original tale, Jessica, or “Snow,” as she becomes known, angers her stepmother, who is unsuccessful at giving her husband another child, by growing more and more beautiful as she matures. Eventually, Anne, whose earlier diabolical science experiments are merely hinted at, decides the only way to become pregnant is to create a Frankenstein’s monster-style child. The key to this is to procure a human heart — and the Duchess has a specific one in mind.Alan, who wears a magical charm that forbids both his lying to the Duchess or to telling others of her madness, convinces Jessica that she must flee if she values her life. She makes for London, where, this being a fairy tale, she is promptly pickpocketed and left penniless and hungry.When she is discovered squatting on turf belonging to a gang of five (not seven) misfits, she must begin to build a new life for herself, to learn to trust again, and to decide what — and who — makes a family.Snow isn’t of the same caliber as some other fantasy stories, and it inconsistently crosses that line between storytelling and breaking down the barrier between reader and narrator. As an interesting retelling of a story we all know forward and back, though, it’s definitely worth the couple hours necessary to read it. I’d recommend it as a library loan for those who love fantasy and fairy tales.
What do You think about Snow: A Retelling Of Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs (2006)?
Maybe 2.5 stars?Things I liked:I liked that the author replaced the 7 dwarves with the Lonely Ones - there's really only so much one can do with 7 men of diminutive stature; this made it more interesting and original. (Other reviewers have already commented on this, so I don't feel bad for spoilering)I also liked the twist on the poisoned apple and the fact that the "cure" involved more sacrifice than just a 'kiss and wake up'.Things I didn't like:I didn't like Jessica. She was too self-absorbed with no qualities to endear her. She didn't seem overly intelligent, wasn't spunky or humourous. The best that can be said about her is that she fed mice. As a main character, she was pretty dull.The beginning (in which nothing of real import happens) was too long, especially since nothing of real import happens.Partway through reading this, I realized that I had read it before. But since I couldn't actually remember what happened, I decided to read it again. I don't think I'll read it a third time.
—Griffinyarn
REALLY REALLY REALLY WEIRD!!!!! Everything about this book was strange. From the "seven dwarfs"(which were really five hybrids between animal and human, can you say creepy?) to the wicked stepmother, who was basically this mental scientist whose purpose I never really understood. Even snow/Jessica was a weirdo, although that may not be surprising considering her abused childhood. "Prince Charming" was actually this half raven freak, and instead of waking her with a kiss, they shock her on the lips. Pleasant. Tracy Lynn is obviously a very disturbed person. All in all, DO NOT EVER WASTE YOUR TIME READING THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!! Plus, there was this gruesome comparison that made me never want to eat mushrooms again. I shall say no more.
—Fashiongirlgoldberg
Well, I have to say that this book was a disappointment for me. I have enjoyed quite a few of the other books in this series, but I just can’t say that for Snow. Not that it wasn’t interesting, because it was. But I feel Tracy Lynn went a little too far with the evil duchess. That the duchess “made” half-animal, half-people creatures really bothered me. All her spells and machines and experiments made me think of witchcraft or something, and kind of just ruined the whole book for me. The thing is, only God can create people, or anything living, and a book that implies otherwise just bothers me. I know these are supposed to be fairytales of sorts, but still, I didn’t like it. So yeah, that’s what I think. The rest of the story was good; although, I suppose the end kind of made you like, “What?” and wish it would have told more. All in all, I just can’t say Snow was that great of a read for me.
—Shantelle
