I think Stealing Snow was supposed to be a novel about self-discovery and creating your own destiny, and while I liked the idea of the main character Snow finding her true self, I was very disappointed with the novel. Snow was a misunderstood teen living in a psychiatric institute but had no real business being there. Most characters, while eccentric, were one-dimensional. And the world building lacked so many elements that it made the story hard to follow.
I'm not very familiar with the Snow Queen fairy tale so I can't even begin to compare it to the original story. Fairy tale retellings are so common these days that I can't help but wonder if these authors are checking off a list until every story has been reimagined. I loved Danielle Paige's Dorothy Must Die series, her version of what happens after The Wizard of Oz. However, I'm not a big fan of this new release. It doesn't have the same finesse as her previous books. I had great hopes for this new series but I was left very disappointed.
Snow has lived most of her life in a psychiatric institute but in my opinion, I don't think she ever belonged there. As a child she tried to walk through a mirror, injuring herself and another girl whom she tried to pull through the mirror with her. Honestly, that singular event shouldn't have institutionalized her. A child's imagination is a special thing and it could have simply been Snow playing pretend and hurting a friend and herself in the process. These days, I think we are too quick to diagnose children with behavioural problems and drugging them senselessly. Obviously, leaving the institute is the best thing that happened to Snow and without the medication, she's the same sarcastic person. However, you have to wonder, as soon as she stops taking her medication she gets pulled into the magical world of Algid.
She runs away from the institute in search for Bale, the only person she ever felt a connection to. She saw him disappear through a mirror and she feels responsible for what happened to him, especially since their first kiss rendered him numb and uncommunicative. Honestly, I don't see Bale's appeal. Snow's one and only goal in the novel is to save Bale yet we know very little about him except that he's a pyromaniac. We end up knowing more about Jagger and Kai, two boys she meets in Algid, and honestly I don't blame Snow for feeling attraction to both boys. She had very little contact with boys her own age in the institution and now she meets these fantastical, however one-dimensional characters, and she can't help but feel some attraction.
Jagger is the reason she's in Algid, the reason she found her way through the tree portal into her native and magical world. Through many different teacher, Snow slowly begins to learn how to control her magic, her snow. She also learns that she's a long lost princess (gasp!) yet no one she meets seem very forthcoming with information. So many things happen, one after the other, and that's where the author really lost me. She tried to introduce us to her magical world yet with very little description it was very hard to follow. The lack of world building and the constant shift in scenes, without description and without transition really spoiled the book.
Danielle Paige will have to come up with something special for the sequel in order to redeem herself and her new series. You would think a story full of secrets, magical fury, robbers, witches and royalty would be captivating yet Stealing Snow really wasn't for me. I had a difficult time getting through the book because of the confusing writing style and the strange pace of the book. I liked the premise of the story but the execution is what failed in my opinion. I doubt I'll continue reading this series since its first impression wasn't a great one. I would encourage anyone to form their own opinion about the novel, but personally, I have very little hope in Snow and her entourage. However, many renowned writers had positive things to say about the novel so my opinion may be the aberrant one.
I wish you'd enjoy it more. I kind of want it, but I'm not really keen on some of it happening in an institution. This book may be too dark for my tastes.
ReplyDelete