Gayle Forman

In a Nutshell: Short story. Interesting concept. Above average writing. Started well. Ended a bit flat. Loved the idea though.

All of us know the three villainesses of the fairy tale world: the evil queen from Snow White, the wicked witch from Rapunzel, and the devious stepmother from Cinderella. However, do we know why they behaved the way they did? What happens when these three “wickeds” meet up and decide that they want vengeance for the way their names have been sullied? Don’t they deserve a happily-ever-after?

The concept of the book is fabulous. While it fits into the modern trend of retelling a story from the antagonist’s point of view, thus modifying our opinion about them through their version of events, the reasons provided for each woman’s behaviour covers quite relevant themes. As the three characters are given names in this story-- Elsinora, Gwendolyn, and Marguerite, it takes a while to remember who is who, but going with the flow works fine.

The ending comes as a surprise. In a way, it takes life a full circle and the three vamps realise that revenge might not be the solution to their woes.

While the story is quick and easy-going, the writing/editing brings it down. The narrative perspective didn’t make sense. There’s a mysterious “we” who are narrating the story to us, but after their identity is revealed at the end, the earlier narration doesn’t make sense, as they wouldn’t have known of many of the events that occurred earlier. Moreover, after the identity reveal, the “we” also refer to themselves by their names, thus mixing up the first person and third person. There are a couple of continuity errors as well. A round of edits would have improved the impact of the story.

Overall, a decent story that provides a somewhat-feminist retelling from the pov of three despised women from the fairy tale world. A good enough read, not a must-read.

3.25 stars.

This story is a part of the Faraway Collection and is available to Amazon Prime members.

(I don’t plan on reading the rest of this collection. I read this story only because my daughter badgered me to. She wanted to vent about the ending. Sheesh! For what it’s worth, she rated it 4 stars.)



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{My thoughts} – This book is written in a completely different style then the first which had caught me off guard. It’s not that the style change is a bad thing, I just think that consistency could have made it better.

The main focus of this book is Adam. The devastation he is left to endure after Mia leaves him for Juilliard. He goes through a lot of bad before he is finally able to pick himself up and realize that he can turn all that bad into something good, something powerful and something worth sharing with the world.

Somehow in the middle of him trying to sort his life out he ends up going to a concert where he sees Mia play. He watches her on one of the biggest nights of her life and even though he didn’t want her to know he was there she had found out. Once the concert is over she asks for him to be brought to her backstage they have a chat and he leaves. He is in a whirl of mixed emotions at this point and while he is walking away she is chasing after him and they resume their conversation.

This entire book is based on their conversation. They traipse all over New York City and they talk. They try to find common ground, they try to sort out everything, most of all they try to come to an understanding.

I laughed and I teared up while reading this book just as I did with the first. I have to admit even the the style was different it was still incredibly well written. I enjoyed reading it and I will more then likely try and read this series again sometime in the future. There is a lot one can learn from within it’s pages.… (plus d'informations)

{My Thoughts} – Mia is a seventeen year-old girl that has a loving family, a love for classical music and a caring boyfriend.

When this story begins there is a snow day announced so Mia and her family go on a road trip to visit some family friends. On their way there they get into an accident. I have to point out that the scene in which the accident takes place is remarkably well written. Once the scene starts to shift Mia is left on the side of the road looking back at the devastation that was once her car. She notices immediately that her mother and father have passed due to the accident. she starts looking around for her little brother but doesn’t find him, instead she finds herself and realizes that she is looking at her own lifeless body on the side of the road. Once she makes that realization the story starts to pick up at a much faster pace.

I really enjoyed reading this book because it helps to show that there are still teens that care about their families. That they aren’t afraid to bond with their families and love them. This book showed the close relationship that she shared with her family. The close relationship that she had with her music and the closeness she had with her friend Kim as well as her boyfriend Adam.

The thing I took away most from reading this book is that it’s okay to be afraid. It’s okay to be uncertain. It’s okay to want to give up and stop being strong, but when you have a solid support system it is possible to overcome anything. Mia has a choice to make in this book. Does she want to live or does she want to join her family? The idea that she gets to make this choice is brilliant because who doesn’t wonder about the afterlife or how one ends up there? Who doesn’t wonder if when it is their time to go will they be given the option to choose to stay or choose to leave?

I think this book would be ideal for any teenager that is wanting a decent read. Any teenager that is dealing with a power struggle within themselves trying to figure out which direction to turn. Teenagers that want to make the right choice for their lives but are uncertain of what that choice might be. Mia gets the opportunity to make a choice that will effect the rest of her life and by making her choice she will also effect the lives of all those that are near and dear to her. Often times, teenagers don’t think about the choices they make and how they can effect others around them. This book helps to show them that they can make a choice and that choice can be good or bad and depending on the choice can have a huge impact on the lives of those around them.

I think the only thing I disliked most about this book was the un-natural use of the f-bomb. I realize it was to help better understand the personality of Mia’s parents, but I disagree with it being used as many times as it was in such a short amount of time.… (plus d'informations)

{My Thoughts} – Mia is a seventeen year-old girl that has a loving family, a love for classical music and a caring boyfriend.

When this story begins there is a snow day announced so Mia and her family go on a road trip to visit some family friends. On their way there they get into an accident. I have to point out that the scene in which the accident takes place is remarkably well written. Once the scene starts to shift Mia is left on the side of the road looking back at the devastation that was once her car. She notices immediately that her mother and father have passed due to the accident. she starts looking around for her little brother but doesn’t find him, instead she finds herself and realizes that she is looking at her own lifeless body on the side of the road. Once she makes that realization the story starts to pick up at a much faster pace.

I really enjoyed reading this book because it helps to show that there are still teens that care about their families. That they aren’t afraid to bond with their families and love them. This book showed the close relationship that she shared with her family. The close relationship that she had with her music and the closeness she had with her friend Kim as well as her boyfriend Adam.

The thing I took away most from reading this book is that it’s okay to be afraid. It’s okay to be uncertain. It’s okay to want to give up and stop being strong, but when you have a solid support system it is possible to overcome anything. Mia has a choice to make in this book. Does she want to live or does she want to join her family? The idea that she gets to make this choice is brilliant because who doesn’t wonder about the afterlife or how one ends up there? Who doesn’t wonder if when it is their time to go will they be given the option to choose to stay or choose to leave?

I think this book would be ideal for any teenager that is wanting a decent read. Any teenager that is dealing with a power struggle within themselves trying to figure out which direction to turn. Teenagers that want to make the right choice for their lives but are uncertain of what that choice might be. Mia gets the opportunity to make a choice that will effect the rest of her life and by making her choice she will also effect the lives of all those that are near and dear to her. Often times, teenagers don’t think about the choices they make and how they can effect others around them. This book helps to show them that they can make a choice and that choice can be good or bad and depending on the choice can have a huge impact on the lives of those around them.

I think the only thing I disliked most about this book was the un-natural use of the f-bomb. I realize it was to help better understand the personality of Mia’s parents, but I disagree with it being used as many times as it was in such a short amount of time.… (plus d'informations)