Title: Stealing Snow
Author: Danielle Paige
Purchase: Available October 6 in the UK and now in the USA
Overall rating: 4/5
Great for: Mystery and adventure lovers
Themes: Fairytales, mental health, trust issues, fantasy
Review: ‘Stealing Snow’ is a modern day retelling of the classic Snow Queen fairytale, based on the life of a girl who escaped from a psychiatric hospital.
Set in Whittaker mental institution, Snow was put there by her mother when she was 6 years old after she tried to pull her friend through a mirror.
Snow finds solace in her artwork which is part of her therapy and draws her torturous and violent dreams, but is this insanity, or memories?
Snow’s first kiss, Bale is anything but innocent and he turns to fire and violence. Paige handles this development in the story perfectly, it’s clear to see Snow struggling to come to terms with the revelations thrown at her.
When Bale disappears, Snow’s grip on reality fractures and a man appears instructing Snow to escape from Whittaker. Is he real? Can Snow trust him? Soon, Snow is transported to another world but her painful journey to find Bale has only just begun.
In parts, ‘Stealing Snow’ is slightly on the slower side, but Danielle’s attention to detail and character development is something to be marvelled at. ‘Stealing Snow’ gives us the perfect foundation for this beautiful and contemporary re-telling to take on a life of its own.