Retelling fairy tales is a tricky business--mainly because they have already been retold so many times in so many ways. Take a look at the recent trend of "retold fairy-tale" movies: Hansel and Gretel, Red Riding Hood, and Jack the Giant Killer, just to name a few.
However, Jane Yolen's newest book Snow in Summer: Fairest of Them All ends pretty much the same way that the original version does. And therein lies the problem with all re-tellings: We already know how the story ends. Snow White will emerge from her sleep, the prince will be waiting, the seven supporting characters will rejoice, and all will be well.
Snow in Summer, so named by her flower-loving mother (spoiler: Mom dies,) is a likable but ultimately passive protagonist. She has better survival skills than her predecessor and takes an active part in the ultimate defeat of her enemy, her Wicked Stepmother, but the song mostly remains the same all the way through: Snow in Summer (Summer to her loved ones, Snow to her stepmother) loses her mother at age seven, and her father falls into a state of permanent mourning that causes him to neglect his daughter. Her kindly Cousin Nancy looks after her, and try as she might to rouse Snow's father from his grief, she and Summer are unsuccessful. Then one day a beautiful Woman of Mystery bewitches Summer's father and he decides to marry her.
Thanks to switching narratives, we get to hear the Wicked Stepmother's story--she gave seven years of her life to a warlock she calls "the Master" in exchange for his teaching her all the magic skills he knew. She ultimately rebelled by stealing the spells he didn't want her to know and killing him. She has married Summer's father because he owns the last bit of land that needs to be sold to make way for a new railroad. The stepmother plans to make his death look accidental, inherit the land, and sell it herself.
"Stepmama" wants to make Summer her apprentice the same way she was the Master's, and attempts to subdue Summer's spirit into obedience through emotional and physical abuse. She keeps Summer's father subdued with strong potions so he can't interfere, but Cousin Nancy notices and intervenes more than once on Summer's behalf. When the stepmother realizes that Summer shows no willingness to learn magic, nor can she be forced, the story takes a much more traditional turn as the stepmother plots Summer's death.
Props must go to Yolen for giving us a Wicked Stepmother with more depth and motivation than one-dimensional evil jealousy. She is not jealous of Snow in Summer's beauty (and of course, Snow in Summer is one of those pure, selfless souls who Doesn't Know She's Beautiful.) but rather wants her as an ally. She treats her cruelly because it was how she was taught, and she insists that she is not unkind because she knows how to kill painlessly. At her core, though, she has the same lust for power and control as any fairytale villainess.
The heroine Snow in Summer is not saintly (and doesn't sing to animals, thank God) and Yolen makes her human, giving her believable doubts, uncertainties and fears about her father's enchantment, as well as the amount of control Stepmama exerts over both their lives. She is not a worldly child, being raised in a small West Virginia town in the 1920s in a time when most girls her age got married at fourteen. She is spirited and loyal, and knows enough about the woods to survive long enough to meet the seven "dwarves," who are actually German immigrants in this re-imagining.
The end of the book feels like the weakest part. There is no romance in the story between Summer and her potential "Prince Charming." The character himself is not introduced until the last part of the story, and we know very little about him. But you can probably guess how he and Summer end up. Everything is wrapped up in a neat little ending, which I won't spoil for you, but is very predictable.
Aside from the well-trodden theme of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, the story is marvelously written. The characters are very interesting, each with their own distinct voice. The West Virginia setting is beautifully described without being overly prosaic. There is an appropriate amount of mystery and tension in the right places as well, keeping the reader intrigued even when they already know the story....which is, ultimately, how a retold story measures success.
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