Monday, June 11, 2012

Review: Fairest of All: A Tale of the Wicked Queen by Serena Valentino

Fairest of All: A Tale of the Wicked Queen
Author: Serena Valentino
Publisher: Disney Press
Publishing Date: August 18th 2009
Pages: 250
Genre: Young Adult Fairytale Retelling
Series: Stand alone
Source: Hardcover

Goodreads Summary: 

The tale of the young princess and her evil stepmother, the Wicked Queen, is widely known. Despite a few variations from telling to telling, the story remains the same--the Queen was jealous of the girl's beauty, and this jealousy culminated in the Queen's attempt on the sweet, naive girl's life.

Another tale far less often spoken of is the one that explains what caused the Queen to become so contemptuously vile. Still, some have attempted to guess at the reason. Perhaps the Queen's true nature was that of a wicked hag and her beautiful, regal appearance a disguise used to fool the King. Others claim that the Queen might have hated the girl for her resemblance to the King's first wife. Mostly, the Queen is painted as a morally abhorrent woman who never loved another being during the course of her miserable life.

In fact, the theories about exactly what cause the Queen's obsessive vanity and jealous rage are too numerous to catalog. This book recounts a version of the story that has remained untold until now. It is a tragic tale of love and loss, and it contains a bit of magic. It is a tale of the Wicked Queen...

Review:
I think everyone that reads my reviews knows I love retellings. What possibly can make a retelling better, when its from the evil side’s point of view.

This story is Snow White’s story before it was her story. This story begins when the evil queen enters the life of Snow White and her father. We see from the beginning what makes the Wicked Queen so evil and why she has it in for Snow White.

I really fell in love with the Queen, at the beginning she is very kind hearted and loves Snow White and Snow White’s father with all her heart. She is very motherly, very loving, fun and lively. We see the Queen make many friends and become loved by her kingdom then go through some pretty heavy stuff, get tricked, and then become evil. It took the entire book, but at the end I once again hated the Queen.

I really enjoyed the book. It was a fast and very entertaining read. I fit in perfectly with the story of Snow White, at least the better known version.

If you are a fairytale fanatic like me, I highly recommend this book.

Rating:


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