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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"These Two Came with a Riddle, and Have Already Paid the Price for their Answer Already...", July 20, 2007
This review is from: Snow: A Retelling of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (Once Upon a Time) (Mass Market Paperback)
The "Once Upon a Time" series is concerned with taking the traditional plot-points of traditional fairytales, updating them to a contemporary setting (or rather, a more contemporary setting than the typical medieval time-period; this one for example is set in the Victorian Era) and replacing the fantasy elements with more rational explanations for the weird-and-wonderful events that take place. "Snow" is obviously inspired by the tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and Tracy Lynn does an above-average job of updating the story, whilst still maintaining a fairytale atmosphere to the proceedings.
Jessica is born to a Duke and Duchess in the Wales countryside, though with her birth comes her mother's death. Shunned by her father, Jessica is raised by the servants of Kenigh Hall until the arrival of Lady Anne Mandagor, her new stepmother. Though they tentatively get along at first, Anne's obsession with youth and beauty - as well as begetting a male heir - eventually puts Jessica in danger. Disregarded by her father, and forced to grow into womanhood on her own, Jessica is eventually forced to flee to England under the alias of "Snow." Also in the mix is Alan McDonald, a musician given to Anne on her wedding day, who becomes both friend to Jessica and confidant to Anne, his silence assured by a necklace that his mistress secures around his neck.
As Snow, Jessica falls into the company of five odd beings who calls themselves "the Lonely Ones," creatures who seem to be half-human, half-animal. Agreeing to look after their underground home whilst they go about their dodgy business in the streets above, Snow finds a home for herself in their strange company. But when her stepmother reappears in the city, apparently seeking repentance, Snow remembers what it was like to be Jessica, and finds herself longing for the life she lost. But is Anne really to be trusted?
"Snow" is quite a choppy book, flitting from one scene to another, and introducing characters quite late in the story, but on the whole I quite enjoyed it (and the random nature of the story helped keep it independent from the predicable source material). Lynn is especially creative in updating the magical components of the story, with Anne's pseudo-scientific material, and new ideas for the magic mirror, seven dwarfs, Snow's death-like slumber and the awakening kiss. There's even a character called the Clockwork Man who is a strange amalgamation of human and machine. It's all a little far-fetched - (although it's not "fantasy", the components that Lynn uses could easily be called "fantasy-science"), but it works reasonably well within the context and mood of the story.
Lynn also does some interesting things with the pacing of her story: some chapters are placed out of sequence, others are devoted entirely to a letter or a ballad, others are called "interludes" - placed between chapters and usually containing the points-of-view of other characters. Another chapter is divided into times, chronicling the events of the day, and yet another is a poetic description of the dreams that Snow experiencing whilst in her slumber.
Although nothing groundbreaking or unforgettable, this is a pleasant and well-written version of the Snow White fairytale, and kept me entertained throughout.
One last thing: the covers of these series are designed by the truly gifted K. Y. Craft (check out her talents in such picture books as Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella) who makes the unusual, but innovative decision to illustrate these covers with images of the heroine's bodices. It makes for a mysterious, sexy and evocative set of cover art.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Snow White" Revisited, July 15, 2007
This review is from: Snow: A Retelling of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (Once Upon a Time) (Mass Market Paperback)
When I first opened "Snow", I didn't expect to like it much. The plot in the first couple of chapters moved much too fast, and the writing seemed overwrought. However, the more I read of the book, the more I enjoyed it.
"Snow"'s strongest point is its characters. Jessica/Snow may be the most realistic heroine I've ever read. She loves to run around and play with her servant friends, but she also enjoys the luxuries of being a duchess. She is spoiled and often arrogant in the first part of the novel, and she can be a little annoying, but I felt that this was how a real girl might act in her situation. She grows well after she leaves home too. The Duchess is also an interesting character. Tracey Lynn must have been with the feminist literary analysis of "Snow White", because "Snow" shows the Duchess' fears about becoming old and therefore useless to society, and this is what her jealously springs from. She is a likable character even though she is a villain, almost humorous in parts.
I liked the plot too. The book takes a turn for the weird when Jessica/Snow runs away and takes up with five unusual thieves. These are the strangest dwarves you've ever seen. I didn't like them so much at first, but I got used to them.
The book has a happy ending, though the romance was a little under-developed, and you may be left wishing that Snow had ended up with someone else. But overall, this was a very satisfying read.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good Writing, Weak Romance in Victorian Snow White, May 14, 2008
This review is from: Snow: A Retelling of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (Once Upon a Time) (Mass Market Paperback)
Jessica, the daughter of a Welsh duke, grows up with a distant father and a beautiful but shallow stepmother. Jessica's stepmother is obsessed with two things: giving her husband a male heir and staying young and attractive. In vain, she uses pseudo-science to try and fulfil her goals, including when she makes a young fiddler named Alan wear a necklace that binds him to her and forces him to always tell her the truth, including when he holds the mirror she uses to admire herself. One day, when Jessica has become a young woman, her stepmother becomes even more obsessed with her goals and decides that she needs a human heart in order to create her long-wished for heir. Alan warns Jessica of her impending death before the hired murderer can come and steal her heart. Jessica runs away to London, where she changes her identity to "Snow" and encounters the Lonely Ones--humans with animal features who are forced to live in the shadows because of their appearances. Jessica/Snow is happy living with the Lonely Ones until one day her stepmother comes to London looking for her, swearing that she has reformed and deeply regrets her past actions. Jessica/Snow reluctantly trusts her, a decision which could prove to be deadly.
A retelling of Snow White set in Victorian Britain, SNOW is an interesting spin on an old fairy tale. The magic mirror is really just Alan trapped with a truth spell, the seven dwarfs are the five Lonely Ones (who "mine" for treasure by pickpocketing the rich of London), the poisoned apple is a pseudo-science created golden ball which somehow triggers a coma, etc. I enjoyed the first half of the book and was glad that the Lonely Ones weren't as weird as I pictured from reading the other reviews. I thought they would be very mangled half-beast half-man, maybe not very intelligent. Luckily, the Lonely Ones are all pretty much human with only a few animal traits. They also have pretty distinct personalities, from dapper Mouser to wary Cat (although I did usually forget Sparrow's existence). My biggest problem with this book was the love story. I seriously did not figure out who Jessica's "prince" was until the last 50 or so pages, despite the fact he had been in the story for longer than that. I had thought it would be someone else completely and was kind of shocked when I discovered the "true" romantic interest because I had felt absolutely nothing romantic between the two characters up until that point. It's not a good sign in a love story when the reader feels stunned upon discovering who the main character is in love with. The lack of proper romantic development really took away from the second half of the book for me.
This was one of the better Once Upon a Time books in terms of writing, but certainly not a good one in terms of romance. I'd give it 3 ½ stars overall and recommend it for fans of the series. It was a pretty good read, but I wouldn't feel like it was necessary to go out of my way to get my hands on a copy.
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