Dark Shimmer

Starred review from July 6, 2015
A comparative giant on an island of dwarves, Dolce has grown up isolated and reviled. She learns the valuable work of making mirrors, but when tragedy claims her mother Dolce flees to Venice, taking refuge with a widowed noble; his daughter, Bianca; and sister, Agnola. Napoli (Hidden) crafts a gorgeous puzzle drawn from fairy tale and medieval history: when the bones of the story piece themselves together, a stunning, beautiful, and tragic reflection of Snow White emerges, with Dolce as a Wicked Queen whose evil begins in the absolute, sincere desire to do good. Using liquid mercury to make mirrors to exchange for the freedom of the dwarves the Venice nobility keep as slaves, Dolce dooms herself to sickness and madness, seeing her once-beloved stepdaughter as a threat. The initial narrative focus on Dolce gives way to include the entwined perspectives of Agnola and her dwarf-lover, Pietro, as they cope with Dolce’s madness, and Bianca’s growth as she takes refuge with seven dwarves. An achingly lovely, sometimes frightening reimagining. Ages 14–up. Agent: Brenda Bowen, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates.

July 1, 2015
Everyone knows that stepmothers are evil, but rarely do we stop to wonder why. Growing up, Dolce knows she is different from everyone else on the island she calls home. She's taller than even the men, and only her mother shows her any affection. She does manage to gain some respect by working as an assistant to the mirror maker. Everyone knows making mirrors renders fingers and toes pink and hands shaky, so the people of the island are grateful that it's Dolce exposing herself to risk instead of their children. When her mother dies suddenly, Dolce flees the island and finds a whole new world in the city of Venezia, complete with family, beauty, and happiness. But can she escape her mysterious history? Napoli writes a revisionist version of "Snow White" that offers depth and cleverness and delight. Her characters transcend their original forms and expand their roles while remaining true to their original spirits. Only when Napoli strays from the storyline of evil and follows that of good, which is far less tantalizing and complicated by comparison, does the book lose its enchanted hold. Luckily, the interlude is brief, and readers are treated to a profound vision of painful love at the end of the book. A new and interesting romp over a well-worn path through the forest of fairy tale. (author's note, bibliography) (Fantasy. 12-18)

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July 1, 2015

Gr 10 Up-In this unique and gripping spin on the "Snow White" tale, Dolce is a giant and a freak, ridiculed by everyone on Torcello. Her mother is the only person who is kind to her, and Dolce struggles to find her way until she finds peace in mirror making. But when her mother passes away, Dolce leaves Torcello and finds a world full of other "giants." She soon meets and grows to love a nobleman and his daughter, Biancaneve, and quickly becomes a member of the family. All seems to be well with Dolce until she begins to go mad from prolonged exposure to quicksilver vapors from her mirror making, and her streak of madness leads her to believe that her mirror tells her she is no longer the fairest of them all. While her husband is away, she makes many attempts to kill her stepdaughter, who finds safe haven in a cottage filled with seven dwarves. While the pacing is a little slow at the beginning, the plot and concept are both well executed. Each of the characters is very well developed, and the unique Italian setting give this fairy tale an engrossing and original feel. VERDICT This well-written and brilliant spin on a familiar fairy tale provides a refreshing and thought-provoking point of view that will leave readers sympathetic to the evil stepmother.-Candyce Pruitt-Goddard, Sno-Isle Libraries, Marysville, WA

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2015
Grades 9-12 Fifteen-year-old Dolce has always known she is a freak. Despite the love of her mother, who named her after the Italian word for sweet, she can't help but feel lonely and hideous, ridiculed and avoided by the other inhabitants of the tiny Venetian island of Torcello. She is a giant compared to them, with a ridiculously small head and grotesquely long fingers. That is, until she is so driven by heartbreak that she leaves the island to brave an outside world she has always been taught was full of persecution and torment. As it turns out, Dolce is not the monster she thought herself to be, and the world she finds herself inthat of the glittering medieval nobility of Veniceis more subtle in its torments. Though Napoli's complicated plot sometimes leans heavily on contrived revelations, her exceptionally clever and well-researched arrangement of fact and possibility gives one of fairy-tale fiction's most irredeemable villains (Snow White's Wicked Queen) an intriguing backstory. This emotional tale is a surefire winner.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)