THIS is how retellings should be done. What an incredible new take on the Snow White tale. When a book is self-proclaimed as "feminist", I tend to be suspicious, because so many authors tend to equate feminism to one kind of woman, and end up being limited and not at all what feminism means. Yet, this book surprised me, and I can't help thinking how important it is for girls out there to read this book, and see all the many different ways to be a strong female.
The new aspects added to the story were creative and refreshing, and the character-focus on this book was incredible. I laughed, I cried and I gasped through the whole book... isn't it amazing how a book about a story you are familiar with can surprise you still?

Arc Provided by Flatiron Books through Netgalley

Release Date: September 5th

Pitched as a feminist retelling, "Girls Made of Snow and Glass", doesn't disappoint in the least.
Told in the alternative pov's of Mina, the stepmother Queen and Lynet, the snow Princess, this is a story that most surely will stay with the reader long after its read...
What if there was more to the "tale" of the "evil" stepmother and her "naive" stepdaughter?
What if there was a story of trying to break with one's past and one's sorrow? What if you only wanted to be loved, but never quite achieved that?
How would you turn out with people trying to make a puppet out of you?

This is the story of two women both trying to find out their true natures in a grey world . A world of snow and cold. And of bitter family ties.
Along the way they will have to decide if they'll risk breaking those ties for a chance of finally being themselves. And of loving who they want.
"Girls Made of Snow and Ice" is a tale of self discovery, friendship, and of budding young love, interwoven with bits of magic...
In it, you have very different love stories. You have one between a woman with a heart of glass, and her creation. But for how long will it be her creation?
Another between two girls, both trying to survive in that world: One that has had everything given to her, except the love of a mother. And the other, who is trying to find her own station in a world filled with people who want to use her...
But for me, the most rewarding its between a mother and her child. Despite all obstacles, barriers, and wishes of kings.
The writing is skilfully done, taking the reader successfully into a cursed world of snow, and many were the phrases _ so beautifully written _that I would love to share with you guys.
Really a remarkable read.

I'm growing very fond of Flatiron as a YA imprint; I've loved all of their books so far. And I love this cover! Stunning. I'm going to be a bit vague in my review, since I don't want to give away too much of the "reimagining" twists of the this fairytale. In short, it wasn't what I was expecting, but I still really loved it. To me it was more a character exploration, with an emphasis on the relationship between the two girls (women?). Not always a page turner (and dare I say predictable), but I don't think that was a bad thing. Not quite as dark as I was hoping (ha!), but again, that's more a taste issue (and slightly skewed expectations. It was also not as queer as I wanted! Too subtle. For the most part, I loved this book, I just wanted things pushed a little deeper and to be slightly more edgy and perhaps have more non-ambiguous racial diversity.

WORST. RETELLING. EVER.

Don't do it. Do NOT do it. You're going to want to stab yourself in the eyeball with a rusty spoon.

At sixteen, Mina's mother is dead, her magician father is vicious, and her silent heart has never beat with love for anyone—has never beat at all, in fact, but she’d always thought that fact normal. She never guessed that her father cut out her heart and replaced it with one of glass.

When she moves to Whitespring Castle and sees its king for the first time, Mina forms a plan: win the king’s heart with her beauty, become queen, and finally know love. The only catch is that she’ll have to become a stepmother.

Fifteen-year-old Lynet looks just like her late mother, and one day she discovers why: a magician created her out of snow in the dead queen’s image, at her father’s order. But despite being the dead queen made flesh, Lynet would rather be like her fierce and regal stepmother, Mina. She gets her wish when her father makes Lynet queen of the southern territories, displacing Mina.

Now Mina is starting to look at Lynet with something like hatred, and Lynet must decide what to do—and who to be—to win back the only mother she’s ever known…or else defeat her once and for all. -Goodreads

This is a Snow White retelling and it doesn't become apparent til about half way through the book. I do not have any issue with this at all because this book was a really surprising and good read.

Before dipping into the story, there needs to be an appreciation for how the author was able to use magic within this story. It wasn't a run of the mild magic as stated in the summary one girl has a heart of glass while the other is made of snow. The magic in this story isn't slap in your face from beginning and end but it was powerful and there was always a thin layer of when the explosion is coming. I liked that about this book; although it had a slow start once Mina's voice got stronger the book picked up.

I liked Mina better than Lynet. Mina was stronger, she wasn't sheltered nor did she whine a lot. Mina has a purpose and eventually Lynet finds hers and she does become a different person but there is a strength about her that still isn't there especially compared to Mina.

But what I really enjoyed about this book was the relationship between Mina and Lynet. There is love... genuine love between them as a mother and daughter and it was everything that I wanted in any Snow White retelling especially in the book "Fairest of All" by Serena Valentino. I really really loved seeing their relationship from the beginning to the end (I guess).

The romance in the story was alright. I would have appreciate more love and less obligation. It wasn't a strong or even close to the mother daughter fierceness. Therefore, I didn't feel that the romance was love and more something new,

Overall, this book is creative, I loved how it references the original fairy tale but it isn't the original fairy tale. Although it started off slow, when it picked up, it got good.
4 Pickles

First off, I want to declare that I was dubious about this book. I first heard of it through a friend, who sent me an article that dubbed it as “a feminist retelling of Snow White”. I’m always cringing when someone calls a book a feminist-anything, but I was willing to give it a try. When i saw that NetGalley had it in advance, I requested it, not really thinking I’d get approved. To my surprise, my inbox was telling me that Flatiron Books had approved my request and I was really excited (thanks Flatiron Books!). I delved into Bashardoust’s world without much background besides the fact that it was supposed to be feminist and a retelling of Snow White (which I may or may not have forgotten when I started reading it because I was tired).

I think it was essential for me to dive into this one without reading what it was about, because it led to me wanting to process everything written at face value. Girls Made of Snow and Glass was a magical tale of putting oneself first, as the opposite would allow for men’s greed and ignorance to burrow itself into women’s lives.

In this tale, the patriarchal notions of duty to a man in a position of authority and notions of how a woman should exist in public and private spheres are challenged by the main characters: Mina and Lynet. Lynet was a normal fifteen-year old girl in a fictional royal family; she wishes to be more than what she was born into, wanted to run away from her circumstances and, above all, be herself. This sounds pretty cliché, except for the fact that it’s GAY! Yes, you read right, G A Y. I won’t go into details, but it’s a very nuanced and mellow pairing that felt like ocean waves on a stroll by the beach. On the other hand, Mina was set up to be the wicked stepmother, except the narrative framed her more as a woman who’d been forced to assimilate into a patriarchal monarchy that didn’t appreciate her prowess as a tactician and desire to help those in need. Mina’s circumstances were constricted by her father’s ambition and her own intellect, which in itself is deemed as valuable by the author but not by people surrounding her, much as is the case with many powerful and influential women.

I really liked the characterization work the author put into the story, each character was fleshed out and I wanted to know more about each of them. I did think the author maintained the races of the characters vague, which was a problem for me, since it’s being marketed as a feminist fantasy book and there’s not a lot of visible racial representation. The plot I felt was slightly predictable, but I was delighted by the way the author threaded these characters reacting to each other. I felt the reveals came too early, that the reader was just given the characters’ secrets readily, rather than it being a slow reveal. I liked the author’s writing, I think it was really nice and had a beautiful poetic flow.

Girls Made of Snow and Glass was a wonderful read about the influence women have and, in summary, to never underestimate the power that their words and actions hold. At its center, it’s a story about two women coming together from two very different points in their lives and learning from and loving one another. Bashardoust’s story was intricate and a bit of what we needed in the realm of fantasy.

Rarely do I get to read a book that so clearly centers such complex, unique women. I loved the familial connection between Lynet and Mina, I loved the incredibly charming young romance between Lynet and Nadia, and the sometimes dreamlike language and worldbuilding lends that fairytale feel. This is a book where women are the core of each other's lives, and that makes the world a better place.

Ahhh I loved the premise so much and I'm very happy to report that the book definitely lived up to my expectations. I was over the moon when I saw that I'd gotten approved for this book.

[book:Girls Made of Snow and Glass|32768509] is a Snow White retelling—complete with strong female representation, diverse characters, and a F/F romance. Oh, and the "Queen" and "Snow White" characters love each other and aren't made out to be enemies. Feminist Snow White? Please count me in.

Mina is young when her evil magician father removes her heart and replaces it with one made of glass. She sets her sights on the King of Whitespring Castle and becomes step-mother to Princess Lynet. Where does the "snow" part come in? Yup, you guessed it, Lynet's made out of snow.

The mythology and storytelling is spot on and the narrative switches between Mina and Lynet in the past and present. It all works so well and I loved every second of it.

Thank you NetGalley and Flatiron Books!

Let me start off by saying that I LOVED the relationship between Mina and Lynet. Too often with stepdaughter/stepmother stories there is a lot of hate between the two, which is overdone in my opinion. So when I read this Snow White retelling, and their relationship was as amazing as it was, I was so happy.

Both have their own issues to deal with and they will all come to light throughout the story, because we get both Mina and Lynet's POV. I felt sorry for both of them as the plot unfolded, because they were both dealt crappy cards.

Don't even get me started on Lynet's creepy father. He was so icky.

Mina's relationship with the surgeon, Nadia, was slightly underwhelming. It was definitely a slow burn type, but there wasn't enough time for it to develop because of other things that were going on around them. I also felt that Nadia's character was not fleshed out enough for her role in the story.

Like I said, I loved Lynet and Mina's relationship, and my favorite thing was how the story did not pit them against each other like the original Snow White story did. Yes, Mina is an aging queen, and Lynet is her younger successor, but they are both SO much more than that. The book focused on their fears and how they grew to overcome them in their self discovery quests.

My main issue with the book is that it got to 55% and nothing really was happening. After that, the story picked up and got interesting but it was still slightly hard to get to that point.

I also do not know if this is truly a standalone or if there will be more, because it felt like even though everything got resolved at the end, it happened too quickly and felt like there was room for so much more.

If you loved fairytales but hate the ones that pit women against women, this one is for you! It's got a great mother/daughter storyline that will leave you feeling good.

What a lovely book! I enjoyed this retelling a lot! Sometimes the pace felt a little slow, but the originality was all there! But don't get me started on the king... I understood him, but he was just weird.

It’s the age of fairytale retellings so next up is a feminist take on the Snow White tale. This novel tells the story from both the point of view of Mina (Stepmom) and Lynet (Snow). In some ways it reminded me of Disney’s Maleficent or the TV Show Once Upon A Time in that we get this backstory on who the Queen was before she became the person we all love to hate. By swirling their stories together we can see how their relationship, and the impact others had on it, was destined for a disastrous ending unless they can rise above the journey they got forced on.

Melissa Bashardoust does a wonderful job of not falling into the trap of just relying on what others have done with these types of characters before. Instead of lifelong arch enemies she allows them to explore a softer, more supportive side to being in each other’s lives. This story is so character driven readers are lucky that Bashardoust knows how to write effective character development so that you really feel like you know who they are and about their motivations.

She sets up her scene work with lots of detail so you feel like you could be right there. It’s very heavy on exposition though the author is so creative in her writing you feel like you get swept away to this unique and hauntingly beautiful world with not time to get bored. One of the fun elements was playing a version of Where’s Waldo by finding the elements from the original tale she incorporated into this version; it’s like easter eggs buried in a movie.

As a mother of daughters I’m always on the lookout for books that showcase women in strong positions and I was glad to find a book that paints women in a positive light without resorting to boxing them into pathetic stereotypes.

Did not finish. I found it really slow to read and didn't keep my interest..

'Girls Made of Snow and Glass' is the best Snow White re-telling I've ever read. This is an amazingly clever re-imagining of the Step-Mother's motivations and history, and her relationship with the King and the young Princess.

Debut author Melissa Bashardoust captivates with vivid descriptions and open emotions, alternating perspectives between Queen and Princess.

An absolute gem. Beautifully done!