Book Review: Whatever After: Fairest Of Them All

Author: Sarah Mlynowski
Publication Date: April 1, 2013
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Series: Whatever After # 1

Mirror, mirror, on the basement wall . . .

Once upon a time a mirror slurped up me and my brother, and magically transported us inside Snow White's fairy tale.

Then we stopped Snow White from eating the poisoned apple. Hooray! Or not. If Snow White doesn't die, she won't get to meet her prince or get her happy ending. Oops.

Now it's up to us to fix Snow White's story. And then, fingers crossed, find our way home.

Once upon a time my life was normal. Then the mirror in our basement ate us.

 

The kitchen is decorated all in red. Red sink, red table, red pots. I feel like I’m trapped in a giant bowl of cherry Jell-O.

 

I’m starting at Snow White. The real Snow White. I’m in her living room.

 

Not that they’d mind. She is really nice. And her cooking might be gross, but she does clean. She could even stay in my room. We could be BFFs. Even better than BFFs – she could be the older sister I never had but always wanted. Yes! She’d lend me her clothes, French braid my hair, and teach me how to do a handstand.

 

Snow didn’t eat the apple. Which means she didn’t get poisoned. And if she didn’t get poisoned, then she didn’t die. And if she didn’t die, the probably cute price didn’t bring her back to life. So she probably doesn’t marry the probably cute prince. Which means Jonah and I probably ruined her life.

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 learn in this book that Abby and her family have recently moved to Smithville and Abby is having a hard time fitting in, and all the while misses her old home. So an adventure is just what she needs!

 

In the first book in this series, Abby and Jonah are sucked into Snow White’s story. I love the chemistry and sibling bond between our two main characters. They really care for one another and are constantly looking out for one another. Jonah is quite the little funny guy as well. He is actually the first one who realizes that they are standing in Snow White’s fairy tale. His sister acts like he is annoying, but there are times in this story where readers can see Abby’s love and affection for her baby brother come through.

 

I loved the character of Snow White in this book, even though I thought she was played out to be a little too naïve at times. I wish we could have seen more of the dwarves because I was so intrigued with the fact that Mlynowski allowed three of the dwarves to be girls! They have small parts in the story, and I was saddened by this because they were one of the best parts. The dwarves are kind of essential to Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. However, I did like the twist on the story and I know that any young adolescent would find this story funny and very easy to read!

 

***Thank you to the publishers at Scholastic Press for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review***