Snow has spent most of her like behind the walls of the Whittaker Institute. The high security asylum is meant to help rehabilitate troubled patients, like Snow, let go of their delusions.
But Snow doesn’t think she’s crazy. Not really.
Being near Bale makes like at the Institute bearable. At least until Bale claims he can see what Snow really is when they kiss. And breaks her hand in two places.
When mysterious hands grab Bale and pull him through a mirror, Snow knows that she has to follow. A voice in her dreams tells Snow exactly what to do in order to escape. Following the voices directions, Snow makes it outside and finds herself in the wintry world of Algid.
Snow soon learns that Algid is her true home and her father is determined to do everything he can to hold onto the throne–and keep Snow far away from it. As magic, mayhem, and trickery collide, Snow will have to decide who she can trust if she wants to rescue Bale and make it out of Algid alive in Stealing Snow (2016) by Danielle Paige.
Stealing Snow is the start of Paige’s new series which is a dark retelling of The Snow Queen.
Paige goes for a darker tone right from the start with Snow residing in an asylum that seems to come straight from the pages of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. While this setting offers a gripping backdrop for the opening of the story, it also often defies logic as readers realize Snow has been at the Institute since she was a child (and is, in fact, still only seventeen suggesting there should have been at least some type of schoolwork or high school equivalency studies).
The story picks up considerably when Snow actually arrives in Algid and more of the novel’s characters are introduced. Snow finds a veritable band of misfits as she makes her way through Algid trying to find her father, the Snow King, and rescue her love Bale.
Along the way Snow encounters numerous love interests, her own snow magic, and vast conspiracies that stretch between Algid and our world. While this series opener raises many questions about Snow, her family, and Algid, readers will have to wait for future installments for most of the answers.
Stealing Snow is a fast-paced adventure with a sharp-tongued narrator who isn’t afraid to be ruthless. Paige takes some of the familiar elements of The Snow Queen and shakes them up with an inventive reimagining of the this fairy tale and the frighteningly evocative world of Algid. Recommended for readers looking for a new fairytale retelling that is extra dark.
Possible Pairings: Poisoned by Jennifer Donnelly, Havenfall by Sara Holland, Splintered by A. G. Howard, Princess of Thorns by Stacey Jay, Reign of Shadows by Sophie Jordan, Winterspell by Claire Legrand, Cinder by Marissa Meyer, Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch, Ruined by Amy Tintera
*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*
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