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Dec 12, 2009

Lydia rated it:

Ever since I was a young girl, Snow White has always been my favorite "Princess" character. Although I grew up on the Disney version of Snow White, I'd read the original Grimm's Fairy Tale a few times as a teenager and liked that story as well.

Patricia Wrede approaches Snow White and Rose Red with an interesting twist on the story. Each chapter begins with a portion of the original tale, but rather than the story being disjointed and hard to understand, she smooths it out More...

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Aug 23, 2009

Krystle rated it:

I absolutely loved Patricia Wrede’s Enchanted Forest Chronicles when I read them in middle school so when I saw this in the store, I just thought I’d try it out. You know how I’m a sucker for pretty covers, I couldn’t pass this up. Just look at it! Haha. I love the colors, the girl, her, the mood and atmosphere of the image, and even the font! It’s so pretty! Not to mention it has some relevance to the story so it’s awesome as well.

Snow White and Rose Red was a fun read. It stayed ve More...

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Dec 11, 2011

Lynne rated it:

Wrede has moved her version of the fairy tale to Elizabethan England. Two sisters live with their widowed mother at the edge of town, in a wood that borders Faerie. Two Faerie princes -- both half-human -- live with their mother, the Queen, although one of the brothers was raised by his human father. Their fates become intertwined; thanks to the machinations of magicians John Dee and Ned Kelly in the human world and a plot against the brothers hatched in Faerie, one of the brothers is turned More...

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Sep 13, 2010

Rachel rated it:

I love Patricia C. Wrede, so I had high hopes for this book, especially since it takes on a fairy tale that has not been retold to death.

Apparently this was one of her earliest works, and it shows. Set in Elizabethan England, the characters speak in the dialect of the time, and it usually comes off sounding stilted at best--especially against the not-Elizabethan descriptions of everything else, as well as occasional bursts of modern-day speech by the characters--and at the worst like More...

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Aug 17, 2011

Bethany rated it:

While Wrede's works are usually written in such a way that they can be enjoyed by readers of all ages, her re-imagining of the Grimm fairytale Snow White and Rose Red does not contain much that would delight or amuse readers of any age.

The story strings together the somewhat disjointed tale of Snow White and Rose Red originally transcribed by Herren Grimm and makes of it a cohesive whole, bringing to the under-publicized story an element of romance and witchcraft and faerie that really More...

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Mar 23, 2011

*MystGrrl* rated it:

I love fairy tales and when authors re-tells an old favourite with their own spin on it my curiousity is always piqued.

The story is mainly about Rosamund (Rose Red) and Blanche (Snow White) who live with their mother at the edge of the forest that borders the Fairie realm. While the family makes their living off the herbs and plants they collect from the outer fairie territory, they've never offically met a fey creature and their mother intends to keep it that way. That is until a sp More...

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Mar 18, 2011

Kate rated it:

I think this was a lovely book, but I will never find of Wrede's book that does the same thing for me that Dealing with Dragons once did. This book, like Mairelon the Magician, did not have villains that inspired fear or respect. Also like Mairelon, it seemed a comedy of errors, where all the characters stumble across one another at the end, and bad guys are revealed, revelations are made, etc. There was little suspense, because I was never concerned for the protagonists. Usually I'm a patient r More...

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May 18, 2009

Angela rated it:

Fun little story with an interesting take on the world of "fairie." I loved the relationships between the sisters and their mother. I also really enjoyed the Elizabethan dialect - it took a couple of chapters for me to get into it, but I quickly found my footing in the language and it was a wonderful addition to the setting. Overall, a really great fairy tale re-telling.

When I first read this book, I made the mistake of completely missing the point that this fairy tale w More...

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Jun 27, 2010

Sarah rated it:

A decent fairy tale retelling, set in Elizabethan England, but not up to Wrede's usual standards. After the hysterically funny Dragons Quartet, I expected something more from this retelling.

Yes, it fleshes out the story. Yes, her writing is neat and elegant. But there's no extra spark to the story to make it memorable.

McKinley remains the finest fairy tale re-teller out there.

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Jul 04, 2011

Delores rated it:

I thought the pros were well done. It took me a little while to understand all of the conversations as the characters speak in Elizabethan England's English. I was disappointed in the character development. I didn't get to know the characters or how their relationships developed. I felt that they were kind of stagnant - not much character growth to speak of.

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Jul 10, 2010

Erin rated it:

This is definitely not Disney's Snow White. True, there is no sex or bad language, and violence is only discussed, not really depicted, but that's really where the similarities end. In Patricia C. Wrede's version of the classic fairy tale, Snow White and Rose Red are the daughters of a poor widow who ekes out a living by making herbal remedies to sell to the townsfolk. They live next to a forest, on the edge of the border of Faerie, in the Elizabethan era of England. Living in the village of More...

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Sep 25, 2009

Claire rated it:

Another edition in the Fairy Tale series edited by Terry Winding.

Set in Elizabethan England, Snow White and Rose Red are sisters living near a small village near the Thames. Their mother is a wise woman who keeps a low profile to avoid any accusation of witchcraft. She and her daughters become entangled in Faerie matters...
In a bit of sorcery gone awry, Hugh the half mortal son of the Faerie Queen is robbed of his faerie essence and turned into a bear. Blanche, Rosamond and th More...

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Jan 31, 2011

Holly rated it:

The fairytale of Rose Red and Snow White is sort of a weird, random one, so I wasn't sure how I'd like this retelling, but Wrede did an excellent job weaving the scattered fairytale into a cohesive and interesting narrative. It was hard to put down, to be honest. I liked the setting she chose and how she played up on the fears of witchcraft and the legends of faeries of the Elizabethan time to give her story a rich background and subplots. Also, I thought her use of Early Modern English was supe More...

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Feb 27, 2010

K. rated it:

Wonderful fun. She did a fine job of creating a world in Elizabethan England that mixed religion and magic. It was very different to have "witches" pray to God first to make their magic work. Herb lovers would like this book as most of the magic involved herbal concoctions.

Would have given it a 5 except for one part. For some reason unfathomable Wrede inserted a lame character, Joan Bowes, who seems like she's going to be pivotal (she asks in a lewd manner for the widow la More...

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Jan 08, 2010

Melanti rated it:

This book was a bit ... disjointed? Not disjointed in plot, but disjointed in language. All the dialog is in Elizabethan English, while the narration is all in modern English. While I like Shakespeare and other authors/playwrights of that time period, I just couldn't get into this one. As soon as I would catch the rhythm of the language in a long couple lines of dialog, there would be a break in it with a "she said" or "they walked out the door" etc. It broke the illusion More...

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Nov 29, 2009

Terri rated it:

I really did enjoy this retelling of the story of Snow White and Rose Red. I had never actually read this fairy tale and I found it particularly enjoyable to read the actual fairy tale at the beginning of each chapter and then Patricia Wrede's spin on that portion of the story. Wrede really created a good story that kept me interested the whole way. Lots of characters and an interesting plot.

My biggest problem with this book was that the writing was a little awkward. Wrede worked More...

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Apr 23, 2010

Kristy rated it:

you know it's not a good book when all you can think is 'when is this going to end'! I had no expectations for this book, but the story really could have been good, but it just wasn't written in a very reader-friendly text. Part of my problem was the dialoge was in an Old English Vernancular and the narration was in modern day English. Doesn't sound like that big of a deal, but really it was just a little too random for me. And, the particular dialoge the writer chose to include was just ridicul More...

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Jun 30, 2011

Christina rated it:

Probably deserves more than 2 stars, but I have found myself giving everything 3 stars lately ...

I enjoy fairy tale retellings. I particularly like how the author added excerpts of the traditional telling of the tale at the beginning of each chapter. However, I didn't find the story itself very exciting. There wasn't a climactic moment, and I didn't wonder what was going to happen next. It wasn't one of those books you can't put down.

I found the old English dialogue More...

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Mar 21, 2010

Ashton rated it:

I enjoyed this a lot. It was a really interesting story. I have not read the original tale, and I kind of want to now for a comparison. I liked how Wrede uses language appropriate to the period, but still manages to make it understandable and readable. It's kind of funny to hear people make assertions and have the familiar spunkiness that Wrede's characters so often do, expressed in Elizabethan era english. I don't know what's so funny about it. Maybe having just re-read some of her other books More...

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Jun 12, 2009

Jenny rated it:

What can be said about this book? It's sweet and entertaining, though a little less clever perhaps than Wrede's Enchanted Forest Chronicles. I found myself thoroughly enjoying it, but wondering if the intended audience (YA) would be able to get through the somewhat-forced dialogue of Elizabethan England.

Not too many of us know the fairy tale of Snow White and Rose Red, the sisters who care for a talking bear, only to find out he's an ensorceled prince... who has a brother. =) From t More...

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Aug 28, 2009

Laura rated it:

I loved the introductory note from the editor. Sounds crazy, I know, but it was such a nice little introduction to fairy tales and why a group of authors are doing a series on it. I never really understood this fairy tale when I was little, and the author's note at the end says she didn't either, though she loved it. She always thought it was disjointed and jumped around with not a lot of continuity. Her treatment of this makes it more "modern," even though it's set in the Elizabethan More...

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Sep 15, 2011

Janine rated it:

I remember taking a long time to read this because of the language and how some parts bored me, but overall I really did like it.

Remakes of fairy tales can be overdone and I can't stand modern remakes that much anymore, but this was good. The time period, though certainly not one of my favorites, was fitting for the story. I liked Rosamund best. She had a much more fun personality compared to Blanche. I also hated the parts with Dee and Kelly. John was far more interesting.

More...

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Apr 07, 2009

Midnight rated it:

Always having enjoyed the fairy tale version of this story, I was really impress what Patricia Wrede has done with this story to bring it more to life. I appreciate the fact that she tried to keep the dialogue accurate for the time period, but I fear that might be one aspect of the story that will deter some teens from reading the book. I enjoyed the fact that each chapter also started off with part of the original fairy tale, but it was not until I read the authors notes at the end that I rea More...

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Jul 18, 2009

Moira rated it:

A beautifully retold tale, if at times a little overelaborate. The Elizabethan setting and especially dialect are very well-done. Not a book to rush through -- you are almost forced to reread sentences to savour nearly every word. Robin is the best character -- everyone else is a little flat, and the Faerie characters are slightly cliched (beautiful, icy, heartless, cold, unearthly, &c &c). I liked the relationship between the two sisters, and the mother and her two daughters, very much. Th More...

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Apr 21, 2009

Kimberly rated it:

I vaguely remembered reading this book sometime back when the library was still magical in my eyes, turning up a seemingly perfect book that retold my favorite fairy tale in a new way just when I was wondering about it. I looked through many bookstores and library since, but only recently came across another copy, so I read it again.

To my delight, this is still an interesting retelling of the Snow White and Rose Red story. The 'thees' and 'thines' of the characters grated a bit more More...

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Jun 30, 2011

Jdaniels rated it:

Patricia Wrede's always been a favorite author of mine ... to the point where if her name is on a book, the book immediately makes it onto my "to buy" list! "Snow White and Rose Red" was no exception.

Frankly, though, I had a difficult time actually getting into this book. I think the hardest part for me was the setting. A magical story, about the realm of fairie and magic and witches and magicians - set in Elizabethan England, when any hint of magic or witchcraft More...

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Jan 07, 2011

Kathryn rated it:

A very fun story and a wonderful way to reimagine a classic fairytale. But I think it suffered from the period language. It slowed my pace of reading to a point that was distracting. I may have been less concerned if I'd been reading it in one sitting, but I read it during a busy time when I was constantly picking it up and putting it down. Each time I resumed reading, it took a few pages to sink back into the flow of the language, and this was, as I said, distracting without adding much to More...

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Dec 23, 2011

Katie rated it:

I love the Grim's story of Snow White and Rose Red. If you haven't read it yet, please go and find it and read it. It won't take long. After you read it, you are allowed to proceed with Snow White and Rose Red by Patricia C. Wrede.

It's a young adult novel but it gives the added challenge of having the characters speak in Elizabethan era English, which can be difficult for someone who hasn't seen it before or had much exposure.

The story is a great mash-up of fairy magic an More...

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Aug 13, 2010

Nancy rated it:

The Widow Arden lives near the city of Mortlak with her two daughters: the polite and reserved Blanche, and the bold Rosamund. Their cottage sits near the border that separates the human world from the land of Faerie. One snowy day, someone knocks on their door. When they open it, they are shocked to find a large bear. They soon discover that the bear is not really a bear, but a faerie prince cursed by human magic. With the help of the prince's brother, the two sisters and mother try to find a w More...

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Dec 18, 2010

Merle rated it:

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