Snow in Summer in Into the Forest

Oct 19, 2015 Kate Forsyth rated it really liked it

Shelves: fairytale-retelling, ya-fantasy

Jane Yolen is a wonderful American children’s author known for her interest in fairy tales and folklore. I have read and enjoyed many of her books, in particular The Devil’s Arithmetic and Briar Rose. Snow in Summer is a reworking of the Snow White fairy tale, set in the hillbilly mountains of West Virginia during the Great Depression. The story is both familiar and unfamiliar, as the best fairy tale retellings are. It is not her finest work, but a must-read for anyone interested in the imaginat ...more

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May 21, 2012 The Winter Rose rated it it was ok

Shelves: young-adult

I picked this up because I saw it on the "Stories about Princess & Fairy Tales" display at a Barnes and Nobles. Since I adore fairy tale retellings, I decided to pick it up and give it a try. However this one did not live up to the alluring beauty that the cover entices one with.

To be fair, I did not read the full book - I only got to page 19. It's possible I may go back and pick it up again sometime in the future to get through the whole thing, but it wasn't capturing my interest and I have a n ...more

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Dec 25, 2011 Julia rated it really liked it

Shelves: based-on-folksong-myth, fairies-fae-faeries, magical-realism, alternative-history

Snow in Summer is Snow White set in the West Virginia mountains the years during and after World War II. Her father isn’t a king, but a farmer with rich bottom land, who can grow anything until his wife dies, and who over-grieves his wife’s death and falls under the sway of a magic user. Summer, though very young when her mother dies, takes care of her father, even does the farming for him, and then her Stepmother. Summer doesn’t leave her Stepmother, but when she takes her to a snake-handling c ...more

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Jun 25, 2013 Lacey Louwagie rated it really liked it

Shelves: youngadult, retelling, youngadultfantasy, fantasy, fairy-tales

What I appreciated most about this book was that it took the familiar story of Snow White and placed it in an interesting new setting: Appalachia after World War II. Although Yolen admits to taking artistic license with the places referenced in the book, her direct experience of Appalachia shows through in characters who are fully formed, respectful of and true to the culture rather than being mere stereotypes.

The pacing is a little uneven, with a lot more development afforded to Snow's early li ...more

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Sep 25, 2016 Jalilah rated it really liked it

Shelves: folk-fairy-tales

This is an imaginative re-telling of Snow White set in the Appalasians.
Had the ending not been so rushed, I would have given it 5 stars. I'd still recommend it. ...more

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Aug 01, 2013 Melanti rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: library, fairy-tales-folklore-and-mythology, historical, 2013, e-book, appalachia, middle-grade

I'm not sure why but I adore books set in the Appalachians so I was really looking forward to this rendition of Snow White set in 1940s West Virginia.

Unfortunately, while I really liked the setting, there's so many things that just didn't quite work. I loved the concept of a Wicked Queen that is a snake charmer and works with potions and simples... But the fact that the stepmother's magic was so low-key and unobtrusive meant that the few touches of overt magic like the talking mirror, the odd b I'm not sure why but I adore books set in the Appalachians so I was really looking forward to this rendition of Snow White set in 1940s West Virginia.

Unfortunately, while I really liked the setting, there's so many things that just didn't quite work. I loved the concept of a Wicked Queen that is a snake charmer and works with potions and simples... But the fact that the stepmother's magic was so low-key and unobtrusive meant that the few touches of overt magic like the talking mirror, the odd bear and the (view spoiler) really stuck out like a sore thumb.

(view spoiler)

It also bugged me that Summer didn't associate herself with Snow White at all -- did her books just not have that tale? Fairy tale heroes that know their tales are quite problematic, I know, but a more symbolic interpretation of the tale would have done wonders towards making it believable.

And last, I don't understand how the stepmother could have written her portion of the book, (view spoiler). It just makes no sense whatsoever.

I think if Yolen hadn't been quite so literal in how she included a few items - the mirror especially, the dwarves, and the (view spoiler) I think I would have really loved this book... Instead, all of the the seemingly out of place elements means it gets just three stars - and one of those is just in honor of what the book was trying to be instead of in honor of what it turned out to be.

P.S. Now that I'm done with the book, the cover is even more amazing! There's so many tiny details from the story worked into it! Whomever created it did a fantastic job. ...more

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Mar 01, 2014 Katy rated it liked it

I loved the first part of the book. But the last bit did not seem to fit the voice and story with the first part. It was a jarring mix of Mountain story vs German fairy tale at the end. So 5 stars for the first part, but only 2 stars for the ending.

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