Stitching Snow

October 20, 2014
Even by the rough-and-tumble standards of the frozen planet Thanda, Essie is unusualâshe likes to cage-fight angry men just back from working in the mines, and when Essie isn't fighting, she's a mechanic, fixing ships and tinkering with drones. After a stranger named Dane crashes on Thanda, Essie tries to help him, but ends up getting kidnapped. She's taken to Dane's planet, Candara, where his people plan to trade her to the king in exchange for the release of Candaran prisoners, one of whom is Dane's father. Essie is a valuable findâshe's actually a young princess who escaped the clutches of the stepmother who tried to kill her when she was nine. In this interplanetary retelling of Snow White, debut author Lewis reveals a talent for worldbuilding and creating complex, memorable characters. As Essie owns up to her past and takes control of her fate, SF and fairytale fans alike will enjoy watching her beat the odds and find romance in the process. Ages 14âup. Agent: Jennifer Laughran, Andrea Brown Literary Agency.

September 1, 2014
"Snow White" gets an upgrade in this clever, surprisingly gritty science-fiction version. Essie has spent eight years hiding in the hardscrabble mining settlements of Thanda, cage fighting for cash and "stitching" machine code, especially for her seven autonomous drones. When Dane, the charming offworlder she rescues from a shuttle crash, discovers that she is the long-lost Princess Snow, he can't leave behind such a valuable pawn in the ongoing interplanetary war. But what if Essie refuses to go home? Elements of the classic fairy tale are skillfully woven into this update, with a particularly delightful nod to the Disney dwarves. But Essie is no passive, pretty princess; she is tough, cynical, paranoid and prone to violent rages-rough edges that gradually make sense as the horrific truths about her childhood are revealed. Dane, in contrast, is the perfect prince: strong, gentle, devoted and (irritatingly) slightly better than Essie at everything. Sweet romance and graphic violence, earthy humor and chilling abuse, space-opera settings and vintage derring-do-they all intertwine with unexpected panache. If the wicked king and the downright monstrous stepmother are cartoonishly evil, their villainous schemes implausibly over-the-top and the climactic revolt against their tyranny ludicrously simple...well, the source tale is hardly free of plot holes, either, and who cares when it's so entertaining? A fine addition to the ever popular subgenre of fairy-tale adaptations. (Science fiction. 12-18)

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August 1, 2014

Gr 7 Up-Essie is the only female living in mining settlement Forty-Two and earns her keep by "stitching" or repairing junk-tech for the local miners. She is an unwelcome presence, despite her much-needed expertise, and leads a precarious and solitary existence. When a shuttle crashes, leaving a stranger named Dane without a functional ship, Essie begrudgingly agrees to help him. It turns out that Dane is on a search for Princess Snow, the royal heir who went missing eight years ago. Once he realizes that Essie is indeed the princess, he kidnaps her, intending to use her as a bargaining chip in a prisoner swap. Forced to divulge secrets that she has long guarded, Essie convinces Dane that she is no friend of the court and the two join forces. This is a superb sci-fi retelling of "Snow White." Lewis does a marvelous job of slowly revealing the backstory of Essie's royal childhood, her incestuous relationship with the king, and the mystery surrounding her real mother. Inventive nods to the original fairy tale, such as the seven droids Essie built and the death scene of the evil queen, are expertly done. This has strong appeal for sci-fi and fantasy lovers and fans of Marissa Meyer's "Lunar Chronicles" (Feiwel & Friends).-Amy Nolan, St. Joseph Public Library, St. Joseph, MI

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2014
Grades 9-12 In this offbeat take on Snow White, Essie, a part-time cage fighter and repairs genius on the subzero mining planet Thanda, has her life thrown into upheaval when a ship crash-lands. Inside, she finds the mysterious Dane, a young man from the planet Garam. They clash immediately, he from the upper echelons and she barely scraping by, but their romance builds gradually and irresistibly. Together, they seek a treasure that could change the galaxy and both their lives. They travel to other planets and meet revolutionaries while narrowly avoiding immigration control, which could imprison both of them, as well as hired killers with eyes out for anyone who could disrupt the status quo in the capital city of Windsong. Readers are thrown right into the actionthe novel opens with a cage fight between protagonist Essie and a minerbut progress from there is slow. There's a definite learning curve to the invented vocabulary, which may deter casual readers. Still. a gripping story with lots of moving parts and will likely appeal to fans of genre fiction.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)