Deep in the woods, a beautiful young princess with skin as pale as milk and hair as black as a raven has been killed by the queen's huntsman.
That's not how the story is meant to go, but there is no mercy here, no soft hearted huntsman who loves the princess more than he fears the queen. There is only fear, pain and revenge.
The seven brothers who live in the woods may not have magic, but they have enough compassion to do what it takes to save a slain girl on the forest, no matter how hopeless it seems.
They know better than most the darkness that is lurking in the trees.
Another lovely fairytale, carefully reworked by Donnelly's expert hand. The basic Snow White story is all there, but fleshed out with adventure, quirky characters and a whole lot of self-discovery. This is in some ways, all Donnelly's story.
I enjoyed the funny little nods to the Disney cartoon, such as the description of the brightly colored clothes Sophie had to wear because the brothers didn't have anything else, and the way she ends up with her classic bobbed hair. I also loved that little reference to Tanaquil, from Stepsister.
It took me a little while to get into this book, but eventually I couldn't put it down. Once you get to know them, the characters are wonderfully loveable and winningly flawed, although I felt I wanted to know more about all of them.
On the one hand, I thought the structure of the story was very scattered and both strangely episodic, and very repetitive. However, the other side of that is that it felt very much like one of the old classic fairytales. So many of them where strangely cobbled together series's of events, all leading to some final moment of discovery or destruction (usually the latter, let's be honest).
There is a childish tone of naivety and simplicity throughout which at first I didn't like, and then I liked a lot as I realised that the book is in fact quite well suited for older children.
It is harsh at times and very dark and violent, but no more so than many other things we allow children to enjoy, and on top of that it is empowering and uplifting and it commands the reader to understand that they themselves can overcome the most unlikely and soul crushing of circumstances.
One thing I love about Donnelly's fairytales is the way that she sets the stories down in their correct country: Stepsister in France, and this one in Germany. The little historical cultural touches do wonders for the atmosphere of the story.
There are a few more derivative elements (I personally could have done without the Anna/Hans scene from Frozen which played out halfway through) than Stepsister had, and I think it's a tad less inspired, but overall this is a wonderfully immersive fairytale retelling. I particularly like the King of Crows as an addition, and the way she wrote the seven brothers, even if I wished we had more time to get to know them before the adventures began.
Also, final thought: I never knew that I needed a story about a grave robber who has accquired keys to mausoleums across the country to sleep in as he travels, but now that I have it I need more.
Recommended for fairytale and folklore lovers, particularly if you loved Stepsister or Once Upon a Time or grew up on Gail Carson Levine.
That's not how the story is meant to go, but there is no mercy here, no soft hearted huntsman who loves the princess more than he fears the queen. There is only fear, pain and revenge.
The seven brothers who live in the woods may not have magic, but they have enough compassion to do what it takes to save a slain girl on the forest, no matter how hopeless it seems.
They know better than most the darkness that is lurking in the trees.
Another lovely fairytale, carefully reworked by Donnelly's expert hand. The basic Snow White story is all there, but fleshed out with adventure, quirky characters and a whole lot of self-discovery. This is in some ways, all Donnelly's story.
I enjoyed the funny little nods to the Disney cartoon, such as the description of the brightly colored clothes Sophie had to wear because the brothers didn't have anything else, and the way she ends up with her classic bobbed hair. I also loved that little reference to Tanaquil, from Stepsister.
It took me a little while to get into this book, but eventually I couldn't put it down. Once you get to know them, the characters are wonderfully loveable and winningly flawed, although I felt I wanted to know more about all of them.
On the one hand, I thought the structure of the story was very scattered and both strangely episodic, and very repetitive. However, the other side of that is that it felt very much like one of the old classic fairytales. So many of them where strangely cobbled together series's of events, all leading to some final moment of discovery or destruction (usually the latter, let's be honest).
There is a childish tone of naivety and simplicity throughout which at first I didn't like, and then I liked a lot as I realised that the book is in fact quite well suited for older children.
It is harsh at times and very dark and violent, but no more so than many other things we allow children to enjoy, and on top of that it is empowering and uplifting and it commands the reader to understand that they themselves can overcome the most unlikely and soul crushing of circumstances.
One thing I love about Donnelly's fairytales is the way that she sets the stories down in their correct country: Stepsister in France, and this one in Germany. The little historical cultural touches do wonders for the atmosphere of the story.
There are a few more derivative elements (I personally could have done without the Anna/Hans scene from Frozen which played out halfway through) than Stepsister had, and I think it's a tad less inspired, but overall this is a wonderfully immersive fairytale retelling. I particularly like the King of Crows as an addition, and the way she wrote the seven brothers, even if I wished we had more time to get to know them before the adventures began.
Also, final thought: I never knew that I needed a story about a grave robber who has accquired keys to mausoleums across the country to sleep in as he travels, but now that I have it I need more.
Recommended for fairytale and folklore lovers, particularly if you loved Stepsister or Once Upon a Time or grew up on Gail Carson Levine.