WRITER.

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars

384 pages

Romance, Fantasy

Spoiler-Free section

This is a retelling of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in which the prince is poisoned instead of Snow White. There are a lot more changes than just that, most of which are in the backstory of Ingrid, also know as the Evil Queen. We get to see her as a little girl and witness her gradual corruption as she makes worse and worse choices and closes her heart off more than more. The suggestions of evil are planted early on, though she is much kinder when we first see her as an older sister caring for her sibling in an abusive household. But it becomes increasingly obvious that she is jealous of her sister’s charms and success, even when she is making progress in her own life.

If I had to choose a favorite part in this book, it would be the Ingrid chapters. They add the most new material. However, I also appreciated that Snow White was less of a victim in this retelling, as she rallies the kingdom’s forces against the Evil Queen.

“No matter how hard she had tried to keep the girl hidden away and keep her from the finer things a princess should be afforded, the girl’s beauty and nature shone through. No rags, no dirt could hide Snow’s luminescence. That child was a perfect rose. Now that she was of age, there was no hiding that.”

I would recommend this book for Disney fans, but also for anyone who likes fairy tales. Disney fans will appreciate the nods to the original, and all readers will appreciate the way the story fleshes out the story beyond what the movie could offer.

Spoiler time!

I like how we see Ingrid was not always a terrible person. At first, she is caring sister, though not as popular as Catherine, which rankles her considerably. Finding the mirror after becoming the apprentice of a dark magic user was definitely the turning point in her life. The mirror is evil and manipulative. It also speaks in rhymes for some reason, but it reads more like poetry and not cheesy as might have been expected.

Ingrid is told by the mirror that she can become the queen of the land, and she is furious when her sister Catherine achieves that dream instead. Ingrid eventually agrees to live in the castle with her sister, although she is careful to bring the mirror. She gives an order to her guards that is accidentally misconstrued, and they kill her old master, the true owner of the mirror. She may have not meant for that to happen, but she doesn’t show much regret.

Each step along the way, Ingrid sets limits to herself that are ultimately bypassed as she is further corrupted. She could not possibly kill her sister. But she does. She would never a kill a child. She gives the order for the huntsman to do so as soon as the child grows up.

She becomes increasingly obsessed with the mirror, and eventually even speaks in rhymes just like it does. At this point, she is hardly even human anymore, drenched as she is in dark magic. She begins to hallucinate Catherine and her old master judging her. Finally, in a misguided attempt to turn the tide, she turns herself into an old crone to trick the prince into eating a poisoned apple and falling into a sleep indistinguishable from death.

In the end, the mirror tells her she must choose between it and her crown, and she refuses. As a result, the mirror is destroyed by Snow, who is heartbroken that her prince appears dead and demands solitary confinement for the Evil Queen. This is a cruel punishment, though it is not execution, because of the effects that solitary confinement can have on the mind. However, it may be justified in this case. Even though Ingrid is arguably already too far gone to be redeemed, sparing her is an impressive feat of self control and mercy. I suspect since she was never able to cast the magic to turn her young again instead of a crone, she will not live much longer.

I appreciated how the book ended, happily as expected despite the diverging path the story took. The reason I rated it 7 stars was because Ingrid was the real star, and Snow’s journey was less interesting.