Stitching Snow: My Review

Author: R.C. Lewis

Publication: 2014

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Retelling

Rating: ★★★★☆

The story:

Stitching Snow is a clever and futuristic retelling of the well-kown fairytale Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

Essie lives on planet Thanda, earning money from fights and fixing drones for the mines. But she is also hiding something. Who in their decent mind would go live on the coldest planet? One day, a shuffle crashes, and she ends up rescuing its pilot, Dane. But Dane is more than a pretty face looking for adventure. Dane is trouble, and Essie ends up head first in the war she was trying to avoid in the first place.

My opinion:

I loved this book, even if weirdly I kept waiting for something more. It’s hard to explain. Maybe I just built crazy expectations, because this book was not all that I expected. It was great nevertheless, but something was keeping me from giving it 5 stars.

The setting is amazing, it’s set on different planets, which all have their own particularities, who could ask for more? Thanda is the cold mining planet. Garam is the deserted planet of the techs. Candara is the well-developped planet of those who have a special power, and are considered enemies of the crown. And finally, Windsong is the prosperous ruling planet, deciding everything for the others (and it’s where Essie comes from). We visit all the planets through the story, and I really liked that, it was fascinating.

As for the characters, Essie is both interesting and relatable. I found her rather endearing, she’s a character whose story you want to follow. Dane is more complex and mysterious. Through the book, we learn more about him. He is full of surprises and I really liked that he was more than what he appeared at first. The book also features several drones, friends of Essie. The most important ones are Dimwit and Cusser (who are, as you probably guessed, described by their names) and they are both weirdly adorable.

Now, the plot. It was overall rather predictable, especially the ending. If you have read The Lunar Chronicles, you may find some similar things (evil queen, mechanic heroine, drones/androids, hidden princess…) but it still has its own specificities, and that’s what made me like it. I also liked that as a retelling, it showed main characters who where flawed, but strong, and not-so-typical. A Snow White who is both a fighter and a mechanic, that’s something I thought I would never see, and yet here it is, and it was awesome!

Recommended for:

Fans of fairytales and retellings! If you loved the Lunar Chronicles and are looking for something similar then this is definitely the thing for you.

(And in case you were wondering, my lovely socks are from New Yorker’s and my awesome bookmark is from MyBookmark on Etsy ♥)