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athenas_bookshelf's review
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
crosswarrior7's review
4.0
This is probably a low 4, perhaps a high 3, but I'll leave it at a 4 star. I was so happy when I stumbled upon this book because I absolutely adored Stepsister. Donnelly did a fantastic job creating more dimensions to that retelling while adding this sort of mythical happening in the background, and that carries on to this book, though the mythical aspect was more evident, and I must say, I greatly enjoyed that.
I will start by saying that I did prefer Stepsister to this book. Stepsister felt a bit more alive and a little more developed than Poisoned. Poisoned oddly felt more fairy tale-y in the sense that Sophie felt more like a story princess and less like a full blown character. However, it was done very well, so it was like this odd but perfect combination of 2D and 3D. So although I really enjoyed it and liked it, it put it a little below Stepsister for me.
But to focus purely on Poisoned! *high fives self for guessing who the villain was* But yes, this book is an amazing mixture of Young Adult writing and fairy tale storytelling. It had a message that felt very important in today's time about how, like the summary says, kindness is the ultimate form of strength, and I really felt victorious watching Sophie make it through her tale by all her acts of kindness catching up to her and helping her along the way. I also felt the poison of society's words seeping into Sophie, and the sucky (good) thing was, I could sometimes see where they "anti-kindness" camp was coming from :/ Like, there is logic behind how they think, and it sort of made me ache for them, but also made me so happy when kindness still won out.
I really enjoyed the characters throughout this story, especially Will and a grave robber whose name escapes me at the moment. Sometimes it felt like the characters had too perfect a thing to say, which is probably part of what took it down to a somewhat 2D notch, but outside of those moments, they were still really great characters.
The story also had a fun way of treating its magic like magical realism. There was nothing big and flashy. There was just this random magical spider who could make silk that could do great things, and there were dwarves, and there were monsters, but the world didn't seem to see them as fantastical or magical. They just were, and then there was this whole other part of their world that was magical in the form of a Crow King and his sister, and somehow that mixture of the magical more feeling like magical realism and the bigger magical feeling like the fantastical created a very, well... magical feeling. And man, did I love the concepts done with the Crow King and his sister, especially since they were like the spirits found in Stepsister. Entities embodying things we all feel and experience.
The ending also made me super happy, because it left it open for more standalones stemming from this world, and I am completely here for it. Even if this book wasn't as much a hit out of the park as I felt Stepsister was, it was still a very enjoyable twist on the well-known tale.
I will start by saying that I did prefer Stepsister to this book. Stepsister felt a bit more alive and a little more developed than Poisoned. Poisoned oddly felt more fairy tale-y in the sense that Sophie felt more like a story princess and less like a full blown character. However, it was done very well, so it was like this odd but perfect combination of 2D and 3D. So although I really enjoyed it and liked it, it put it a little below Stepsister for me.
But to focus purely on Poisoned! *high fives self for guessing who the villain was* But yes, this book is an amazing mixture of Young Adult writing and fairy tale storytelling. It had a message that felt very important in today's time about how, like the summary says, kindness is the ultimate form of strength, and I really felt victorious watching Sophie make it through her tale by all her acts of kindness catching up to her and helping her along the way. I also felt the poison of society's words seeping into Sophie, and the sucky (good) thing was, I could sometimes see where they "anti-kindness" camp was coming from :/ Like, there is logic behind how they think, and it sort of made me ache for them, but also made me so happy when kindness still won out.
I really enjoyed the characters throughout this story, especially Will and a grave robber whose name escapes me at the moment. Sometimes it felt like the characters had too perfect a thing to say, which is probably part of what took it down to a somewhat 2D notch, but outside of those moments, they were still really great characters.
The story also had a fun way of treating its magic like magical realism. There was nothing big and flashy. There was just this random magical spider who could make silk that could do great things, and there were dwarves, and there were monsters, but the world didn't seem to see them as fantastical or magical. They just were, and then there was this whole other part of their world that was magical in the form of a Crow King and his sister, and somehow that mixture of the magical more feeling like magical realism and the bigger magical feeling like the fantastical created a very, well... magical feeling. And man, did I love the concepts done with the Crow King and his sister, especially since they were like the spirits found in Stepsister. Entities embodying things we all feel and experience.
The ending also made me super happy, because it left it open for more standalones stemming from this world, and I am completely here for it. Even if this book wasn't as much a hit out of the park as I felt Stepsister was, it was still a very enjoyable twist on the well-known tale.
lenaoknihach's review against another edition
2.0
Kdo by neznal Sněhurku a sedm trpaslíků. A už jste četli nějaký retelling na tuhle pohádku? Já jsem četla snad jenom Winter (Měsíční kroniky #4), a proto jsem na Otrávenou byla moc zvědavá. Po autorčině předchozí knize - Nevlastní sestra - jsem si myslela, že můžu čekat stejnou pecku. No.. to jsem si ale jenom myslela.
Začátek mě bavil a říkala jsem si, že pokud to všechno půjde takhle dál, bude to bomba. Jenže to šlo všechno pomalu z kopce. Postavy mě vůbec nebavily. A přitom věřím, že 7 bratrů i Willa bych měla ráda, ale tohle bylo tak neskutečně moc uspěchané, že autorka neměla ani šanci ty postavy lépe vykreslit, dodat jim hloubku.
Na jednu stranu to sice bylo čtivé, krátké kapitoly hnaly děj dopředu, ale na druhou stranu to bylo nudné a nebavilo mě to. Musím přiznat, že pohádkově temné prostředí uměla ale Jennifer Donnelly popsat velmi dobře.
Začátek mě bavil a říkala jsem si, že pokud to všechno půjde takhle dál, bude to bomba. Jenže to šlo všechno pomalu z kopce. Postavy mě vůbec nebavily. A přitom věřím, že 7 bratrů i Willa bych měla ráda, ale tohle bylo tak neskutečně moc uspěchané, že autorka neměla ani šanci ty postavy lépe vykreslit, dodat jim hloubku.
Na jednu stranu to sice bylo čtivé, krátké kapitoly hnaly děj dopředu, ale na druhou stranu to bylo nudné a nebavilo mě to. Musím přiznat, že pohádkově temné prostředí uměla ale Jennifer Donnelly popsat velmi dobře.
adelle_bookworm's review against another edition
4.0
Nevlastní sestra mě bavila víc, mělo to větší šmrnc, tady mi to dost kazila Sophie, která je vážně hloupá (což je samozřejmě úmysl, ale nevím, jestli tak měla být fakt skoro až do konce knihy). Otrávená je taková nenáročná, má poselství jako teď každá druhá kniha a děj není tak akční. Ale jinak je to taky skvělá záležitost a autorčiny metafory pořád zbožňuju.
katykelly's review against another edition
4.0
Snow White rewritten, darker and with a moral/political angle.
For a teenaged audience, this dispatches with the 'jealous Queen' motivation early on. Sophie may be beautiful, but her stepmother does not ask the hunter to take her heart because she cannot stand that her rival is young and fair. The Queen sees her kindness as weakness, she cannot be her heir.
And so the famous story is set in motion, though it is through the assistance of seven strange new acquaintances that Sophie is saved, and begins a long and arduous journey towards finding her own strengths, learning what loyalty is, and understanding that not everything is black and white.
With princes, mirrors, fairytale creatures, the story feels like a children's story but with a more adult bent, more mature relationships and characters.
All narrated by one female reader on Audible, I actually forgot this, which doesn't often happen. She voiced the sweet Sophie, potential male love interests, the Queen, all very naturally and without me feeling it was overdone or pushed. This made a very engaging listen, definitely suited the audio format.
I enjoyed Sophie's character development and seeing inside the heart and life of the Queen, her possible motivations and history. Lots of action, a few too many coincidences with the repeated attempts on the princess's life, but the world was well-maintained and could easily be made into a series or film.
Thoroughly enjoyed the story and adventure. Adults as well as teenagers who enjoy a good childhood-reminiscent story but more geared towards an older audience will find this an entertaining read.
With thanks to Nudge Books for providing a sample Audible copy.
For a teenaged audience, this dispatches with the 'jealous Queen' motivation early on. Sophie may be beautiful, but her stepmother does not ask the hunter to take her heart because she cannot stand that her rival is young and fair. The Queen sees her kindness as weakness, she cannot be her heir.
And so the famous story is set in motion, though it is through the assistance of seven strange new acquaintances that Sophie is saved, and begins a long and arduous journey towards finding her own strengths, learning what loyalty is, and understanding that not everything is black and white.
With princes, mirrors, fairytale creatures, the story feels like a children's story but with a more adult bent, more mature relationships and characters.
All narrated by one female reader on Audible, I actually forgot this, which doesn't often happen. She voiced the sweet Sophie, potential male love interests, the Queen, all very naturally and without me feeling it was overdone or pushed. This made a very engaging listen, definitely suited the audio format.
I enjoyed Sophie's character development and seeing inside the heart and life of the Queen, her possible motivations and history. Lots of action, a few too many coincidences with the repeated attempts on the princess's life, but the world was well-maintained and could easily be made into a series or film.
Thoroughly enjoyed the story and adventure. Adults as well as teenagers who enjoy a good childhood-reminiscent story but more geared towards an older audience will find this an entertaining read.
With thanks to Nudge Books for providing a sample Audible copy.
annettebooksofhopeanddreams's review
5.0
Ratings are always connected to expectations. The higher the expectations, the bigger the chance that a book will not get that five star rating. However, after reading from quite some people on my timeline that this book disappointed them a lot, I guess I had lowered my expectations a little, which means that eventually I could enjoy this book so much more than I thought. Although, I'm fairly sure that no matter what, those tears would have rolled down my cheeks anyway.
Because in a way this story might be more MY story than Stepsister was. Don't get me wrong. I loved Stepsister, but Stepsister was not about a girl like me. This story? This story is. Because as a very true Snow White, Sophie is a little naive. She cares (too much?). She loves (too fiercely?). She trusts (too easily?). And although I might have been hardened a little by time and experience, she reminded me a lot of my younger me. And in a good way. The kind of way that made me miss that younger version of me, who trusted strangers and loved without holding back.
Where Stepsister was about a fierce, brave and strong girl in a world where girls are only judged based on their looks and quiet behavior, Poisoned is about an entirely different female issue. It's about showing mercy, love, compassion, understanding and trust in a position of power. It's about that love being seen as a weakness and not as a strength. It's about softness not being fit to rule. And I'm glad that slowly, very slowly, Sophie discovers that all those whispers, all those voices, they've all been wrong. Love is power, love is strength, love forces people to do the unthinkable. And I loved how every time Sophie's trust was betrayed, she also got rewarded for a kindness in the past.
And as such I think the message in this book resonated even more with me, touched me even more. I never realized how badly I needed to hear that loving and caring and trusting is not a weakness. That you can be strong AND soft. That you can be brave AND kind. That you can be a leader AND a friend. And although the symbolism might be a little in our faces, I really loved how Donnelly introduced us to knew characters like Chance and Fate.
I really hope, despite the negative reviews, that Donnelly will play some more with those kind of themes. Because just like me, there might be a girl who didn't recognize herself in both Isabelle and Sophie and who also needs to hear that she's perfect just the way she is.
Because in a way this story might be more MY story than Stepsister was. Don't get me wrong. I loved Stepsister, but Stepsister was not about a girl like me. This story? This story is. Because as a very true Snow White, Sophie is a little naive. She cares (too much?). She loves (too fiercely?). She trusts (too easily?). And although I might have been hardened a little by time and experience, she reminded me a lot of my younger me. And in a good way. The kind of way that made me miss that younger version of me, who trusted strangers and loved without holding back.
Where Stepsister was about a fierce, brave and strong girl in a world where girls are only judged based on their looks and quiet behavior, Poisoned is about an entirely different female issue. It's about showing mercy, love, compassion, understanding and trust in a position of power. It's about that love being seen as a weakness and not as a strength. It's about softness not being fit to rule. And I'm glad that slowly, very slowly, Sophie discovers that all those whispers, all those voices, they've all been wrong. Love is power, love is strength, love forces people to do the unthinkable. And I loved how every time Sophie's trust was betrayed, she also got rewarded for a kindness in the past.
And as such I think the message in this book resonated even more with me, touched me even more. I never realized how badly I needed to hear that loving and caring and trusting is not a weakness. That you can be strong AND soft. That you can be brave AND kind. That you can be a leader AND a friend. And although the symbolism might be a little in our faces, I really loved how Donnelly introduced us to knew characters like Chance and Fate.
I really hope, despite the negative reviews, that Donnelly will play some more with those kind of themes. Because just like me, there might be a girl who didn't recognize herself in both Isabelle and Sophie and who also needs to hear that she's perfect just the way she is.
momsbookcollection's review
The chapters are very weird in this book, the story is not my favorite (not a fan of snow white) but also i just felt very bored when reading it.
aishah's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I was very confused for the first like 70 pages of this book, and I took me a while to get used to the writing. There was multiple povs I think 3 or 4. The fmc’s pov was easy to understand but for the rest of them I was like huhhh, because the writing was trying to be lyrical but it really wasn’t in my opinion. Or maybe it was my fault and I just don’t have the brain cells to understand it.
Anyways the fmc lowkey pissed me off because she was so naive and kind. She made the same mistake like four times, but I can justify it since it was because of her characterisation. It is a Snow White retelling after all, so she’s gonna have sympathy. I did like her character arc, and how she developed as a person.
Aspects of the original story were integrated well into the story, while still being kinda original. I did like the storyline and how it differed to original.
Overall the book was okay and definitely got better as you kept reading. But I probably won’t be rereading this book anytime soon or again.