While I was putting together this list of other Snow White retellings in preparation for Winter's release, I realised something - I don't believe I've ever read a Snow White retelling. For me, Snow White has always been a fairytale that I was rather indifferent to. (It used to be my sister's favorite, though that was only because 'she had dark hair.') Needless to say, I'm even more excited to read Winter now!
But first, let's check out a few books that can give you your Snow White fix - either now, or after Winter.
In the kingdom of Ayortha, who is the fairest of them all? Certainly not Aza. She is thoroughly convinced that she is ugly. What she may lack in looks, though, she makes up for with a kind heart, and with something no one else has-a magical voice. Her vocal talents captivate all who hear them, and in Ontio Castle they attract the attention of a handsome prince - and a dangerous new queen. In this masterful novel filled with humour, adventure, romance, and song, Newbery Honor author Gail Carson Levine invites you to join Aza as she discovers how exquisite she truly is.
What if Rapunzel was Snow White’s evil stepmother? From the author of Godmother and Mermaid, The Fairest of Them All explores what happens when fairy tale heroines grow up and don’t live happily ever after.
Seventeen-year-old Snow’s life changed forever the night her stepmother, the Queen, sent her huntsman to cut out her heart. Fleeing for her life, Snow runs to the Silver Forest, a place as dangerous as it is enchanting, and begins an adventure she could never have dreamed.
With no one at her side but a rowdy band of carnivorous dwarves and an arrogant, rogue prince who’s too handsome for his own good, Snow must confront the challenge that’s been laid before her: Kill the Queen, and take back the kingdom that should have been hers.
Essie has grown used to being cold. Temperatures on the planet Thanda are always sub-zero, and she fills her days with coding and repairs for the seven loyal drones that run the local mines.
When a mysterious young man named Dane crash-lands near her home, Essie agrees to help the pilot repair his ship. But soon she realizes that Dane’s arrival was far from accidental, and she’s pulled into the heart of a war she’s risked everything to avoid. With the galaxy’s future—and her own—in jeopardy, Essie must choose who to trust in a fiery fight for survival.
Poisonous mists settled in the lowlands 17 years ago, rendering ninety percent of the land uninhabitable and killing over half the population. Most blame their misfortune on industrialization or the fey, but some curse Snow White, the princess who was born poisoned.
As the only person who can survive entering the poisoned woods without a gas mask, Snow White has dedicated her life to studying the poison and finding a cure. This obsession draws her deeper into the woods and its secrets, where nothing is as it seems. When Snow White saves a man who should never have been saved, she unleashes an evil more horrifying and destructive than the poison.
Prince Richard is cursed. Enslaved to a magic mirror, he must truthfully answer the evil queen when she uses it to call on him. To keep from betraying innocents, Richard wanders the countryside and avoids people. All her life, Gretchen has been teased for being small. When she hears of a hidden farm populated by little people like her, she sets out to find it—and is welcomed by the mostly male inhabitants. Lars in particular woos her with his gentle kindness and quiet strength.
Danger looms when Gretchen meets a runaway princess and offers her shelter at the Little Farm. Wandering nearby, Richard instantly falls in love with the beautiful princess, and is later compelled to tell the queen that she is not the fairest of them all. Enraged, the queen vows to find them and destroy them.
Azelia Pendragon was the most beautiful woman in the kingdom when her infuriating jealousy took over her sanity. After making a deal with a sly wizard, she loses her life to her daughter, Vidella Altaire. Vidella has spent her life in the dark about her past, but it all begins to unravel on her eighteenth birthday when the sinister spirit of her mother appears before her eyes. Now Vidella must figure out a way to kill the already dead Azelia on a journey filled with fear, pain, and self-discovery.
There we go, seven retellings to help your wait for Winter. Or to help you not let go of lovely fairytale retellings after Winter. And, I assure you, that seven was totally coincidental and in no way had anything to do with a certain number of Dwarves. (No, really, it just turned out that way.)
I'd love to know what you think about these and if I should read any of them. Besides Stitching Snow - that one I hope to get to this winter. I'm also always looking for more suggestions, so suggest away!
