I was writing a blog about the traditional fairy tales and my novel Kingdom Come. At the end I recommended some fairy tale retellings of that particular story. I suddenly had an idea. What if I read them to compare their treatment of the Snow White character? Not rate the books against each other for the “best,” but create different characteristics to compare and contrast how each book treats this fairy tale. Using the categories, readers could intuit a recommendation for which retelling they would like to pick up.

There are a lot of retellings of Snow White. I could read retellings for over a year and not run out, so I had a few rules when selecting which ones to read:

1. The Snow White character has to be present for a significant part of the book. Prequels, a character that is like Snow White but isn’t really that character at all, or any characteristic that really changes her character so she’s not Snow White anymore (no zombie Snow White).
   1. As it turns out, a few of these books snuck into the list but not knowingly so
2. The Evil Witch character has to be present for a significant part of the book.
3. The plot has to resemble the Snow White story. A lot of novels put Snow White in the title but the synopsis I read has only the slightest resemblance to the story.
4. The story has to be over 50 pages. No short stories, but novellas and graphic novels are welcome.

Snow White’s Name (it’s often not Snow White)

Snow’s Sweetness factor: 0: Evil, conniving / 1: Flawed, fallen  / 2: Flawed, redeemable  / 3: Only minor flaws / 4: Sweet as pie

Evil Queen’s machinations: 0:  Uninspired – she throws curses and does stuff with apples / 1: Meh – She’s got a bit of sizzle in her spells but she’s your basic sorceress / 2: Cool – Pretty standard, but has a few tricks up her sleeve / 3: Intense – Smiled every time she came up with something / 4: Wow – Didn’t see that coming at all, but it fits the legends perfectly!

Dwarfs (Note that dwarfs do not need to be present): 0: MIA / 1: They’re dwarfs without funny names / 2: They’re dwarfs with funny names / 3: They’re dwarfs with distinct personalities / 4: Forget the prince, hang with these dwarfs!

What did the author do with the mirror?  0: no mirror, / 1: blah-blah mirror, / 2: Minor personality / 3: Is at least snarky or interesting, / 4: The mirror was the best character. It should’ve wrote the book

Huntsman? 0: MIA / 1: Minor character, not much here  / 2: Has a role to play / 3: Major character, extends beyond the legend / 4: About as important as Snow

Honored the source material (Grimm, in particular): 0: Ignored the source material, only showed a little references / 4: IS the source material

Actress that should play Snow White for this book (optional). Actress that should play Evil Queen for this book (optional). Favorite line from book (optional)

• Title: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by the Brothers Grimm (All ages)
• Author: Brothers Grimm
• Snow White’s Name: Snow White
• Snow’s Sweetness: 4
• Evil Queen’s Machinations: 2
• Dwarfs: 1
• Mirror: 1
• Huntsman: 1
• Honored the Source Material: 4
• Actress that should play Snow White: (Apparently) Adriana Caselotti (voice in the Disney version)
• Favorite Line: “Looking-glass upon the wall/Who is fairest of us all?”

Summary: Grimm did it first, and Grimm did it best, but their story doesn’t match what most of us think of when we hear the name “Snow White.” Multiple attempts on Snow White’s life, unnamed dwarfs, evil stepmother’s cruel fate are usually unexpected for the first-time reader.

You should read this if: you have never read the original tale. If all you know is the Disney version, you’ll be amused at the differences. The story is far more entertaining than you remember it.

• Title: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Animated Feature by Walt Disney Pictures (All ages)
• Snow White’s Name: Snow White
• Snow’s Sweetness: 4
• Evil Queen’s Machinations: 3
• Dwarfs: 3
• Mirror: 2
• Huntsman: 1
• Honored the Source Material: 2
• Actress that should play Snow White: (Apparently) Ginnifer Goodwin
• Actress that should play The Evil Queen: (Apparently) Lana Parrilla
• Favorite Line: “Whistle while you work.”

Summary: While not a novel, I included it as it’s the iconic version of Snow White for most of us. It’s full of measurable scenes and songs, and if you view it as a re-telling, it works. It certainly worked spectacularly as the first full-length animated feature.

You should watch this if: you’ve never seen it, surely. Watch it again with an innocent heart and enjoy the experience.

• Title: Winter (YA)
• Author: Marissa Meyer
• Snow White’s Name: Winter Blackburne
• Snow’s Sweetness: 4
• Evil Queen’s Machinations: 4
• Dwarfs: 0
• Mirror: 1 (I’m counting the portscreen)
• Huntsman: 4 (Jaycin Clay)
• Honored the Source Material: 2
• Actress that should play Snow White: Letitia Wright
• Actress that should play Evil Queen: Lady Gaga
• Favorite Line: “I am destroyed!”

Summary: Winter is the fourth book in Marissa Meyer’s excellent Lunar Chronicles and a fresh retelling of Snow White. An African-American Snow, it’s a completely unique take on the character. This book is the culmination of Meyer’s series so a lot of the plot doesn’t have anything to do with the Snow White fairy tale, and though Winter is the title character, she’s not the main character. But the way Meyer weaves in Grimm’s fairy tale on the moon—abandoned in the “forest,” and the glass coffin—is genius. And her ability to make Snow White sympathetic, heroic, and meek because of a noble choice that causes her to also be delusional is inspired. This Snow is one-of-a-kind!

You should read this if: you always wanted to read the Snow White story set in outer space.

Title: Poisoned Heart: A Snow White retelling (Emerald Realm Book #1) (YA)
Author: Abigail Manning
Snow White’s Name: Princess Arabella
Snow’s Sweetness: 2
Evil Queen’s Machinations: 3
Dwarfs: 3
Mirror: 3
Huntsman: 3
Honored the Source Material: 2

Snow White, with a dash of the Prince and Pauper thrown in for good measure, is the general narrative of Poisoned Heart. Most of the familiar elements from the fairytale have survived although not in a way the reader expects. A mystery, a romance, and a bit of magic all come together to build a gripping story of maturity and sacrifice. Full Review: Poisoned Heart
You should read it if: you want the fairytale to be more realistic, and you want a redeemable and charming Snow White.

• Title: A Darkness Found (YA/A)
• Author: T. K. White
• Snow White’s Name: Snow White
• Snow’s Sweetness: 2
• Evil Queen’s Machinations: 4
• Dwarfs: 0
• Mirror: 0
• Huntsman: 0
• Honored the Source Material: 1

Summary: An interesting take on how the Evil Queen started off as a good woman and descended into the torrid character we all love to hate is detailed in A Darkness Found. While Snow White herself is only in a few passages in the book, the plot adequately hits the beats of the fairy tale from a different point of view. Review A Darkness Found

You should read this if: you always wondered why the Evil Queen was so upset by Snow White.

• Title: Snow White (YA)
• Author: K. M. Shea
• Snow White’s Name: Snow White
• Snow’s Sweetness: 3
• Evil Queen’s Machinations: 1
• Dwarfs: 4
• Mirror: 1
• Huntsman: 1
• Honored the Source Material: 3
• Actress that should play Snow White: Felicity Jones
• Favorite Line: “…if you [Snow White] do not learn to forgive yourself for your past iniquities, years from now it will be you we are rescuing. Such thoughts open the doorway to darkness.”

Summary: While the queen and the mirror don’t rate high for this novel, it’s due to Shea’s clever twist on the retelling. In this story, the stepmother isn’t evil but possessed and Snow White is determined to restore her. You rarely get time with the evil queen or the mirror, but there are abundant scenes with the “dwarfs” here which makes this one stand out. This book feels more like high fantasy in many ways, and Snow White’s character, while true to her origins, evolves into the type of queen one would expect from such a gentle person. You don’t need to read the rest in the series, but I sense there’s more of a connectedness if you do. Overall, a delightful read.

You should read this if: you always felt wrong that sweet Snow would be part of the demise of her evil stepmother.

• Title: Snow White (YA)
• Author: Cindy C. Bennett
• Snow White’s Name: Snow White
• Snow’s Sweetness: 4
• Evil Queen’s Machinations: 3
• Dwarfs: 2
• Mirror: 0
• Huntsman: 1
• Honored the Source Material: 2
• Actress that should play Snow White: Millie Bobby Brown
• Actress that should play Evil Queen: Anne Hathaway
• Favorite Line: “You’re beauty is complete, Snow, from the blue of your eyes to the purity of your heart.”

Summary: I enjoyed this short re-telling of Snow White. I didn’t realize, before reading it, the unique hook the author had in the beginning of the novel. And when I thought I had it figured out, she went in a different direction. Every change was better than my expectations. Bennett did a superb job balancing a more traditional Snow White with a more modern personification. Though I wished for a bit more from the denouement, I finished it, wanting to read more in the series.

You should read this if: you always wanted someone to write a Snow White with modern sensibilities.

• Title: The Shadow Queen (YA)
• Author: C. J. Redwine
• Snow White’s Name: Lorelia Diederich
• Snow’s Sweetness: 3 (not “sweet,” but charming nonetheless)
• Evil Queen’s Machinations: 3
• Dwarfs: 2 (not dwarfs, something far better, but only a couple stand out)
• Mirror: 1
• Huntsman: 4
• Honored the Source Material: 3
• Actress that should play Snow White: Gemma Arterton
• Actress that should play The Evil Queen: Emily Blunt
• Favorite Line: “If she [Lorelai] becomes a threat? Do you have any idea whom you attacked? There isn’t a single moment she isn’t a threat!”

Summary: Review of the Shadow Queen

You should read this if: you enjoy high fantasy and thrilling action and don’t care how much of a retelling you get.

• Title: Shadows on Snow (Mature YA, Adult)
• Author: Starla Hutchton
• Snow White’s Name: Leopold (This is a flipped fairy tale where Snow White is a man)
• Snow’s Sweetness: 4
• Evil Queen’s Machinations: 2
• Dwarfs: 4 (one of the best for the “dwarfs”)
• Mirror: 1
• Huntsman: 1
• Honored the Source Material: 2
• Actress that should play Snow White: Andrew Garfield
• Favorite Line: “Truth may be lost through retellings, but when the person they are meant for hears the story, no matter how diluted, they will know this truth as certain as they know the air they breathe.”

Summary: Shadows on Snow Review

You should read this if: you like the idea of a male Snow White yet still want the book to be written from a female perspective.

• Title: Six-Gun Snow White (Adult)
• Author: Catherynne M. Valente
• Snow White’s Name: Snow White (kind of)
• Snow’s Sweetness: 1
• Evil Queen’s Machinations: 2
• Dwarfs: 1
• Mirror: 2
• Huntsman: 2
• Honored the Source Material: 2

Summary: A post-modernist take on a mash-up between Snow White and westerns has little love for either. Here, the message is everything and characters and plot take second place. This can work in certain cases, but it doesn’t here. As a Snow White telling, superficially, it does the job. The Grimm version is followed, there is a character called Snow White, and it’s primarily set in the west. Unfortunately, it feels like, at the end, it hated its source material and made sure it poked its finger in the eye of expectations. I was left disappointed. 

You should read this if: you like postmodernism and are more into technique than a hero’s journey. 

• Title: A Dream of Ebony and White (YA)
• Author: Melanie Celllier
• Snow White’s Name: Blanche, also goes by Snow White
• Snow’s Sweetness: 3
• Evil Queen’s Machinations: 1
• Dwarfs: 3
• Mirror: 2
• Huntsman: 4
• Honored the Source Material: 2
• Actress that should play Snow White:
• Favorite Line: “These lands may have chosen to reject the High King and his ancient laws, cutting yourselves off from him, but that doesn’t mean he was cut off from you.”

Summary: A Dream of Ebony and White

You should read this if: you always thought everyone else saved Snow White and you wished she would save herself instead.

• Title: Snow White (A Graphic Novel) (10+)
• Author: Matt Phelan
• Snow White’s Name: Samantha Snow
• Snow’s Sweetness: 4
• Evil Queen’s Machinations: 4
• Dwarfs: 4
• Mirror: 4 (my favorite for best “mirror”)
• Huntsman: 2
• Honored the Source Material: 3
• Actress that should play Snow White: Claudette Colbert (if we could back in time)
• Actress that should play the Evil Queen: Myrna Loy (again, back in time, she’d be so perfect in this!)
• Favorite Line: “The same snow falls here.”

Summary: Marvelous. A graphic novel that retells the Snow White fairy tale set in the late 1920s with flappers and Wall Street. This is absolutely my favorite graphic novel. This book combines all the things I love into one offering. Snow White is a retelling that is more faithful to the Disney version than Grimm, but it retells it with panache. The use of color, the terseness, the pacing of illustration after illustration will leave you in amazement. This is Snow White as a black and white movie set in 1929 exactly when black and white movies were at the cinema. The lack of words recall silent movies also of that era. The genius of setting the novel in the past and using the style of the visual media (movies in this case) to tell it is inspired. And then the twists. Phelan nails changing the legend to update it to the “modern” (i.e. 1920s) elements one would see in New York City in that day. From Snow’s mother’s illness, to the “mirror,” to the dwarfs, to the “glass coffin,” every plot point has been accounted for, changed, and still makes sense. I’m in awe.

You should read this if: you’d like a completely unique take on a familiar tale, you like graphic novels, you don’t have time to read a novel and want something to read in one sitting, you like style and narrative complimenting each other, you enjoy retellings of Snow White. Heck, just go read this!