This is probably the most interesting retelling of Snow White I have ever read. It’s almost hard to call it a fantasy. And aren’t most fairy tales fantasy? The fantasy is there, but it’s small. It’s still important to the story. But wow!

If you do not know the general basis for Snow White fairy tale, read no further, because that beloved fairy tale will be spoiled. This Snow White takes place in the US during the gold rush period. Gun That Sings is a beautiful Crow woman, who draws the unwanted eye of Mr. H. Mr. H. is a mining magnet. Gold, diamonds, rubies, etc, if it can be mined it can be his. And so can Gun That Sings. Her marriage was something that she never wanted. It was just a way to save her people, and from it a little girl was born. From that a little girl, who became known as Snow White was born. Snow was hidden from society. Mr. H. wanted no one to know of his little half bread. Not even his new wife and her magic mirror.

Mrs H. makes it her mission to wash the brown and turn a little girl something she can never be: Snow White. Something is off with Mrs. H, but all Snow has really wanted was a mother, but this mother’s love is rotten to the core. The magic mirror is something of a mystery. It reflects the moon and births children, but is it magic, or is it a figment of imagination? No matter what it is, for sure it is scary.

Snow eventually runs away from home. And true to the original story, a killer and a deer heart are soon to follow. A group of ragtag woman creating their own town safe from men and the wrecked desires of the world make up the “dwarves” of this story. The glass coffin is still the same, but does true love’s kiss wake Snow White? I’ll never tell. To find out read the book.

While this book is short (153 pages) it packs a big story. The language used may be hard to follow for some. It’s wordy in the best of ways. It uses language in such a way to call it literary YA instead of just YA. There is lots of metaphor, and lots of thought process. It’s a perfect story to practice ACT vocabulary prep because the great words that are rarely read anymore are used in perfect harmony. It’s almost like Shakespeare was reborn and this is his take. You have to take the words and chew on them to taste their full meaning. It no “she ran away” it is “she chases the porcupine”. This aspect makes the wild west setting come to vivid color life.

One intriguing thing the author does is change narrators half way through. Until Snow White runs away, she is the narrator telling us the story of the people around her. Telling us her want for love, and learning that love is pain, brown is bad, white is good, and girls have no power. Part three of this book begins “Snow White Stops Speaking - This is where Snow White gets off. Where she stops telling a story about other folk and starts being a story other folk tell.” Then the narrator becomes omnipresent. It’s well done and works so well with the story.
I have thoroughly enjoyed this story, and I could find so many things to talk about with a book club, or even a language/english class. I think of being made to study the Scarlet Letter and Death of a Salesman, and want to beg modern teachers to teach this book instead. Please. A fairy tale, not cleaned up by Disney, and modernized in such a way to feel completely at home in the original Brothers Grimm collection.