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A review by annettebooksofhopeanddreams
Mirror, Mirror by Jen Calonita
4.0
Snow White is one of those tales that has so much potential, but seems a little old fashioned. The innocent young princess takes care of the 7 dwarfs by cleaning their home and cooking their meals. The evil queen uses a magic mirror, a poisoned apple and a huntsman to kill the innocent girl. And there is a handsome prince who sees a death girl in a coffin and feels the desperate need to kiss her.
During the last couple of years I've read some amazing retellings and therefore I was also really looking forward to this one and this book really doesn't disappoint. It's a retelling that stays very true to the Disney movie, partly in the scenes that are written down, but most of all in spirit. It breathes Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, it breathes the innocence of that movie, the sweetness of that movie and also in a way the lightness of it. This is mostly prominent in the writing style, which feels a little simple and childish at first, but fits Snow White as a Disney princess so well!
But, it also adds a lot of amazing things. I really love the backstory the Evil Queen is given and the depth that is added to her relationship with the mirror and the influence of the mirror on her. It makes her more than simply evil and wicked. It makes her complicated, layered and even somehow understandable. And there's much more time for the relationship between Snow White and the Prince to grow and to develop, which makes them not only way more equal partners, but which also makes their love more understandable and real.
The role reversing at the end is a nice touch, but it's certainly not what makes the story so awesome, because that would really ignore all the other important changes and additions that were done to make this tale much richer and a lot more interesting!
During the last couple of years I've read some amazing retellings and therefore I was also really looking forward to this one and this book really doesn't disappoint. It's a retelling that stays very true to the Disney movie, partly in the scenes that are written down, but most of all in spirit. It breathes Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, it breathes the innocence of that movie, the sweetness of that movie and also in a way the lightness of it. This is mostly prominent in the writing style, which feels a little simple and childish at first, but fits Snow White as a Disney princess so well!
But, it also adds a lot of amazing things. I really love the backstory the Evil Queen is given and the depth that is added to her relationship with the mirror and the influence of the mirror on her. It makes her more than simply evil and wicked. It makes her complicated, layered and even somehow understandable. And there's much more time for the relationship between Snow White and the Prince to grow and to develop, which makes them not only way more equal partners, but which also makes their love more understandable and real.
The role reversing at the end is a nice touch, but it's certainly not what makes the story so awesome, because that would really ignore all the other important changes and additions that were done to make this tale much richer and a lot more interesting!