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applegnreads's review
3.0
Why is this a juvenile book? Because it's Snow White and pictures? Well, it's neat but not for kids, they won't understand ticker tape or much else. Still, pretty, different take, etc.
book_concierge's review
2.0
This is an imaginative retelling of the classic fairy tale, set in 1930s New York City. In the throes of the Great Depression, Samantha White fights for her very life against a stepmother from hell.
Samantha is an heiress whose mother nicknamed her Snow White. But her mother died when she was young and her father, a lonely Wall-street genius, succumbed to the charms of a Ziegfeld Follies star with ruthless ambition. Snow is sent off to boarding school, returning to New York only after her father has died. But Stepmom is enraged to discover that her husband changed his will, leaving virtually everything to his daughter, unless the daughter dies before she reaches maturity. Stepmom knows that can be arranged….
This is a much darker story than Phelan’s other graphic works, and his illustrations are suitably black-and-white rather than in color. They give a dark, sinister, bleak feel to the whole work.
I did love how Phelan wove in some history of the Great Depression and the Hooverville communities. Using a gang of orphaned kids as “The Seven” was a great idea.
Of course, it’s a fairy tale, and as in the original, there will be a handsome prince to wake the drugged Snow White. The last four pages are rendered in muted pastels, which support the happy ending we crave. Still, I didn’t like it much. Perhaps the current situation in our country is bleak enough without another dark experience in my reading life.
Samantha is an heiress whose mother nicknamed her Snow White. But her mother died when she was young and her father, a lonely Wall-street genius, succumbed to the charms of a Ziegfeld Follies star with ruthless ambition. Snow is sent off to boarding school, returning to New York only after her father has died. But Stepmom is enraged to discover that her husband changed his will, leaving virtually everything to his daughter, unless the daughter dies before she reaches maturity. Stepmom knows that can be arranged….
This is a much darker story than Phelan’s other graphic works, and his illustrations are suitably black-and-white rather than in color. They give a dark, sinister, bleak feel to the whole work.
I did love how Phelan wove in some history of the Great Depression and the Hooverville communities. Using a gang of orphaned kids as “The Seven” was a great idea.
Of course, it’s a fairy tale, and as in the original, there will be a handsome prince to wake the drugged Snow White. The last four pages are rendered in muted pastels, which support the happy ending we crave. Still, I didn’t like it much. Perhaps the current situation in our country is bleak enough without another dark experience in my reading life.
rachel_tb's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
therealbel's review
4.0
This is Snow White, we all know this story - there are no surprises in this story. But what you get here from Matt Phelan is the most wonderful art, 1920s style, a glorious use of pencil and a quite simply beautiful reimagining with the occasional nod to the traditional.
bloomingrose92's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
relaxing
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I liked the overall message and story, and the new elements it added to the Snow White story. My main gripe is that due to the artistic style, it was hard to read the expressions of the characters, which made it difficult to connect with them and the story at large by extension. The 1920's setting was a nice twist. Not too sure about the age of Snow White and what seemed to be the male romantic lead, but I'm going on the hope that they were both adults. Overall, a pleasing but darker twist of a well-known story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore and Murder
Minor: Death of parent and Trafficking
lindseythelibrarian's review
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
geekwayne's review
5.0
'Snow White: A Graphic Novel' by Matt Phelan is a unique remake told mostly in a wordless style. The illustrations carry this mostly silent story.
It's the familiar story of Snow White, but this time, it's set during the depression. Samantha (Snow) White's evil stepmother is a former vaudeville star, known as the Queen of the Follies. Samantha's father, known as the King of Wall Street, is a stockbroker who managed to dodge the calamity of the market collapse. There are other unique story elements that I won't give away here.
It is a quick read, but I lingered over the illustrations. Matt Phelan has an eye for the periods he chooses to illustrate. I was a big fan of his book Bluffton, and I really liked this. After reading this, the choice of art deco font for the front cover made much more sense to me.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Candelwick Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
It's the familiar story of Snow White, but this time, it's set during the depression. Samantha (Snow) White's evil stepmother is a former vaudeville star, known as the Queen of the Follies. Samantha's father, known as the King of Wall Street, is a stockbroker who managed to dodge the calamity of the market collapse. There are other unique story elements that I won't give away here.
It is a quick read, but I lingered over the illustrations. Matt Phelan has an eye for the periods he chooses to illustrate. I was a big fan of his book Bluffton, and I really liked this. After reading this, the choice of art deco font for the front cover made much more sense to me.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Candelwick Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
lsparrow's review
4.0
i enjoyed this graphic novel and the retelling of a classic tale. i loved the illustrations
4saradouglas's review
3.0
I liked it okay, but it was very sparse. Most pages don't have any words, and those that do have just a quick line of dialogue and that's it. The art was nice, but I found it too dark to understand sometimes. The people were nearly indistinguishable for me at times, so it was a little confusing at times.