Blood Red Snow White
Author: Marcus Sedgwick
Publication Date: October 25th, 2016
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Synopsis: It is 1917, and the world is tearing itself to pieces in a dreadful war, but far
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My Review
Blood Red Snow White is supposedly a fairy tale retelling, and while the story was captivating and good, I guess I just didn’t see the resemblance to the fairy tale it was supposed to be a retelling of. Instead, it was more like historical fiction in my eyes. I’m a huge lover of historical fiction, so I really liked this book – albeit a tad bit weird, but whatever, I’m weird and I like weird things, so this book was right up my alley.
I hadn’t read anything else by Marcus Sedgwick, so I can’t say that I have any of his other works to compare it to. At first, with the lyrical storytelling, I did have a bit of trouble getting into the book, but as it went on, I found myself completely drawn into the story, the world building, and the characters. The whole idea behind the book was interesting, and it wasn’t a deep read at all, but something that really stole the hours away from me while keeping me on edge and completely stuck on it. It was enjoyable, not all that long, and the way that it was written made it highly enjoyable.
I don’t really think this book was all that young adult related…especially since in the beginning of the book the main character was in his twenties and getting married. I would say that this might be for an older young adult audience, but definitely not for anyone under 14, at least in my opinion.
I do have a soft spot for historical fiction, and this book really made me glad that I picked it up and read it. I’m definitely not a history buff, but I do have to say that while a lot of the events and characters do have factual events and occurrences going on, it isn’t the end of the world if you don’t know the real history behind some of the characters (although it will probably prompt you to read more about them, as it did me).
All in all, this was an enjoyable read, and one that I have to recommend to those who really like historical fiction.
Note: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
About the Author
Marcus Sedgwick was born in Kent, England. Marcus is a British author and
illustrator as well as a musician. He is the author of several books, including Witch Hill and The Book of Dead Days, both of which were nominated for the Edgar Allan Poe Award. The most recent of these nominations rekindled a fascination with Poe that has borne fruit here in (in The Restless Dead, 2007) the form of “The Heart of Another” – inspired by Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart.” Of his story, Sedgwick says, “This was one of those stories that I thought might be a novel originally but actually was much better suited to the tight form of the short story. I had the initial idea some years ago but was just waiting for the right ingredient to come along. Poe’s story, as well as his own fascination with technique, provided that final piece of the puzzle.” He used to play for two bands namely playing the drums for Garrett and as the guitarist in an ABBA tribute group. He has published novels such as Floodland (winner of the Branford Boase Award in 2001) and The Dark Horse (shortlisted for The Guardian Children’s Book Award 2002).
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Giveaway!
Win a set of Marcus Sedgwick’s books:
BLOOD RED SNOW WHITE , THE GHOSTS OF HEAVEN and MIDWINTERBLOOD (US Only)
Huh, is this actually focused on Arthur Ransome, the author of Swallows and Amazons? Interesting!
Nikki recently posted…Stacking the Shelves
I haven’t read any of the other books. I’m excited about Blood Red, Snow White because it sounds so interesting and creative. Thanks for the giveaway!