The Good Stuff

Charming and sweet
Reminded me of some of Meg Cabot's middle grade
Perfect for the reluctant reader
Loved the humour, quirky and fun (very Canadian)
It was refreshing to read a novel geared towards young girls that was sweet and innocent. It was the sort of thing I would have loved to read at that age.
I know quite a few customers at my store that will enjoy this one - sold a copy of it last week to this sweet little girl - she read the first page and said mom we have to buy this
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Abby is the new girl in town. Everything is new. New home, new school, new teachers, new kids, new expectations. The new school doesn't have a library -- it has a media center. Her new classmates criticize her for saying pop instead of soda. And her old friends and Nana are far away.

But one thing in Smithville is so different that it changes Abby's perception of reality. The previous owners of her house left a huge old mirror bolted to the wall in the basement, and there is something really cree More...

Cute and Fun Fairytale with a Twist
Abby’s brother Jonah discovers a mirror in their basement, but this is no ordinary mirror. After the adventurous Jonah accidently opens the mirrors portal, Abby and Jonah are transported to the middle of Snow White’s fairytale.
Without thinking the pair thwarts the evil Queen’s attempt to poison Snow White with an apple. Great, they saved the day. But wait, if Snow White never eats the poison apple, then she never meets her prince, and won’t get her happily eve More...

I found this book only okay, but an eight or nine year old girl would LOVE this book. Frankly any elementary aged girl would love this book.

Abby is our main character and she just moved to a new town and is starting 5th grade. Unfortunately everything is new and different and she's finding it incredibly difficult to fit in and make friends. One night she is woken up by her younger, 7 year old brother, Jonah. Jonah claims that the mirror in the basement is hissing and turning purple. Abby is conc More...

this book is a modern twist on fairy tale that we all know, Snow White. The main character Abby and Jonah go THROUGH a mirror that hisses and turns purple. Jonah and Abby come out from the mirror and they are in Snow White's fairy tale. Jonah and Abby stopped Snow from eating the poison apple. They told the seven dwarfs and Snow her fairy tale where there from since they haven't heard aboutt it. They try to help Snow find her Prince, but Snow keeps running away and Jonah and Abby want to go home More...

I have been feeling like a reading curmudgeon lately, and wasn't really expecting to like this. What a wonderful surprise! The writing, characters, and humor were just fresh and dynamic enough to make this appealing. I also like the fact that it isn't too long or involved; ust right for middle grade reluctant readers or kids who don't want their books to take forever. (I live with one of those. She'll read for hours and hours, but will not pick up books that appear long or daunting.) I could ima More...

The very first thing I wrote in my notes for this book was: “Exhausting.” The story is told in the first person, from Abby's perspective, and I kept imagining her saying everything in a breathless and hyper voice. She had very particular ideas about how her world should be, and even went so far as to create a list of everything in Smithville that was uncomfortably not like how things back at her old home in Chicago were. A lot had changed in her life, very quickly, and she wasn't happy about it. More...

“Once upon a time my life was normal. Then the mirror in our basement ate us.” I’m not sure I’ve ever read a better beginning to a book. Have you?

Two children, 10 yo Abby and her 7 yo brother Jonah, move to a new house in a new town. A new house with a mirror in the basement that hisses, turns purple, and sucks you into fairy tales. In Whatever After Fairest of All, Abby and Jonah find themselves in the tale of Snow White, where Jonah prevents the evil step-mother from giving Snow White the appl More...

This is the beginning of a new middle grade series by popular YA author Sarah Mlynowski, which means, for you parents that like to plan ahead, that your child can transition with this author up to the next level when they're ready. Also, it's an adorable start to a series. I had the good fortune to go to a Scholastic event a couple of weeks ago where they put on dramatic readings of some books, and this was one. The reading was so hysterical, I picked up the book even though middle readers are n More...

I read Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn’t Have) by Sarah Mlynowski early last year. It wasn’t the greatest book, but I liked it. When I saw that she had a children’s book out, I thought it looked cute. Then my 9-year-old niece got it, and I asked if I could borrow it.

Fairest of All is a retelling of Snow White’s story, and it was really cute. It was a super quick read (170 pages in under 2 hours!), but it was fun, too!

The book is told from Abby’s perspective, a 10-year-old girl with aspir More...

I received this book through the Goodread's First Read giveaways in exchange for my honest opinion.

I might be 23, but I completely adored this book. It gives that feeling of wanting to squish a baby’s chubby cheeks. (I know I am weird, you don’t have to tell me.) I would recommend this book to really anyone of any age. If you have kids or grandkids it would be a great book to read with them, especially if they love fairytales.
This book was creative and an innovative retelling of Snow White. It More...

Abby's parents move her and her brother Jonah to a new town. Here the kids do everything wrong. They call pop soda, they make peanut butter and banana sandwiches wrong, they even play tag wrong. Abby doesn't think she likes it here one bit. She likes it better than the world beyond the mirror though. When her brother is messing around in the basement one night, Abby and Jonah get sucked in through it and plop right down in a fairy tale. Now they have to right the things they've messed up in the More...

For Grades 3 and up, Age 8 and up, Whatever After book 1, Lexile: 420L

Review:
Mirror, mirror, on the basement wall . . .

Everything has changed in ten-year-old Abby’s life. Her parents, both lawyers, have no time for them any more. They moved them to a freaky old house in a new city with a creepy basement. This is her new life until her little brother Johan wakes her up one night telling her that the mirror is hissing. That is when their world it turn upside down and they are sucked into the mir More...

Easy read - perfect book for girls aged 9 to 12. Abby and her very curious brother end up being slurped into the magic mirror that Jonah found in the basement of their house. They find themselves in the middle of Snow White's fairy tale. And when Jonah stops Snow White from eating the poisoned apple, they feel great about having saved her life. But then they realize that by doing so means that she will never meet her prince and live happily ever after. So now Abby and Jonah have to be creative More...

Got this book at TLA at the Scholastic Author breakfast and now I have the time to read it.

Clever fractured fairy tale, Abby and her brother Jonah, get slurped into a magic mirror just in time to stop Snow White from eating the poisoned apple. Uh Oh! Now Snow won't be rescued by prince charming and live happily ever after and even worse how will Abby and Jonah return home before their parents discover they are missing? Lots of fun and adventure are ahead for Abby and Jonah while they try to sor More...

Alternative to Snow White, with a modern ending. Yes, there are squeals to come, I think our 2-4th graders will really like these books. Who wouldn't love these books? Abby loves the smell of musty, dusty, papery libraries as a comfort spot. Her little brother Jonah is an insomniac pest, and she gets to save the damsel in distress! Only problem is that once you save the princess, it changes the end of the story! Oh what will Snow do with her time since the prince didn't kiss her and save her lif More...

"Once upon a time, our life was normal. And then the mirror in our basement ate us." Ha!

I could see my 10-year-old self loving this book! I've noticed Mlynowski's deadpan sense of humor in her adult novels but I wasn't expecting so much of it in her new children's book. The humor fit in perfectly with the absurdity of the story line! The plot was shaky towards the end- I don't like it when authors resolve conflict through sheer luck. Overall, I think any little girl who enjoys fairytales would l More...

This is a very funny and unique twist on the Story of Snow White. My daughter and I read this book for a book club and she loved the main character Abby and her serious nature and the inside her head thoughts that brought out her humorous and frustrated side. Jonah is Abby's little brother who is always in search of an adventure and he gets them stuck in a situation that is purely unimaginable...they get thrown into the story of Snow White and end up changing the story! Definitely gonna continue More...

My New Year’s Resolution this year was to read more middle grades and tween fiction. When I have absolutely adorable books like Sarah Mlynowski’s latest in front of me, that task isn’t so hard. This is the start of a brand new series by Mlynowski in which our main character, Abby, and her little brother, Jonah, enter fairy tales through a magic mirror in their basement and alter their stories. I have always been a fan of anything to do with fairy tales, and especially love their retellings. We l More...

As posted on Outside of a Dog:

I remember having a collection of fractured fairy tales when I was younger, and reveling in the familiar tales gone wrong. This interest has continued into my adult years as I devour retellings of my favorite stories like Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre. But fairy tales have always been close to my heart, (you can only imagine how fond I am of TV’s“Once Upon a Time”) so when a popular author like Sarah Mlynowski comes out with a new series of fairy tale books, cal More...

I love books that take a familiar story and give it a twist. This book aimed at 1st-3rd graders take the Snow White story and combines it with magical mirrors that time travel two siblings living in our time to fairy tale land where they throw a monkey wrench into the story of Snow White by saving her from eating the poisonous apple. They work through various funny episodes to right the story and have Snow White became the princess again, all the while trying to figure out how to return themselv More...

Abby and her younger brother Jonah are pulled through a magic mirror in their basement into a strange land where they meet a familiar-looking girl about to accept a luscious apple from an old woman. Recognizing the storyline just in time, they "save" Snow White, realizing only afterward that they have altered her story for the worse. (Who really wants to spend the rest of their life cleaning up after 7 dwarves?) Fans of alternate fairy tales will enjoy this book and the ending definitely suggest More...

The blurb on the back of the book sold this one for me. "Once upon a time, our life was normal. And then the mirror in our basement ate us." This retelling of the Snow White fairy tale uses the perspective of a modern 10-year-old obsessed with order and her responsibility for her younger brother. After the brother and sister accidentally are swallowed into fairytale world, they collide with the Snow White story. Although they keep the princess from eating the poisoned apple, they also mess up he More...

A fun spin on a beloved classic, Sarah Mlynowski takes what I loved about Snow White and gives this adventure a hilarious, modern day spin.

What if you had a magical mirror and it transported you into your favorite fairy tale, only not everything happens how you remembered it? That's exactly what happens to Abby and her younger brother Jonah. Only they don't end up in the Disney version of Snow White. When they're pulled through the magic mirror that lies in their basement, it some how puts them More...

This book fell short on several levels. The dialogue was superficial and cheesy. The conversations were melodramatic and reminiscent of something I had already read. I thought the main character was a little bipolar, sometimes she sounded too old for her age and then she didn't match up when her actions were immature and childish. The plot also needed help - it didn't really bring anything new to the table and was very droll. The book was SUPER short, I wished it would have been longer only so t More...

2013-14 Texas Bluebonnet Award nominee. Delightful fractured fairy tale for the tween set, ideal for reader not quite ready for Robin McKinley's or Donna Napoli's folktale retellings. Short chapters make for a good read aloud, wonder how long it will take for the students to figure out the Snow White angle? I like Abby's "brain squiggling" and asking if all the fairy tale people knew each other, I'd ask the same thing. Sure to be a hit!

I loved this book.If your buying it hardcover or paperback it is worth the money.From the second I saw it in my school's bookfair catoulage I just needed to buy it.I will be getting the whole series.This is a must have book.Its a fairytale with a twist.I would say this book is for ages 9-12 years, because they are young and would undersand it more than teens or adults and they already lived their childhood.

Very cute easy read chapter book about a brother and sister who step through the looking glass into a fairy tale. There they proceed to fracture the tale (mess it up) and spend the rest of the book trying to fix the story of Snow White. Cute, especially for girls in grades 2 - 5. A litle short on plot and character development, but a quick read and perfect for its intended age group.

once apon a time me and my brother got socked up in are basment mirow.
Good book for tweens teens and older children. Love the ending. It is a story of Snow White. But theirs a twist. Abby and Johna ruin her story. Can they save her story and get home befor their parents wake up? You will have to read it to find out. Great book I just baught the second book yesterday. Ican not wait to read the second book!

Pretty cute, and sometimes pretty funny, and the main characters are very likable. And I really enjoyed the twisted version of Snow White this becomes in the end. The book as a whole is a little too Meg Cabot (lots of lists and frequent repetitions of things that suck) for my liking, but I think this will definitely appeal to elementary school kids.