This collection of poetry and prose is pure magic.

I’ve been a fan of Theodora Goss’ work for years, and I was extremely grateful to be able to read this collection. Other fans of Goss’ work might recognize a couple of the works in this collection, and they’re just as lovely the second time around.

I adored how the various stories and poems were interconnected in this collection, with several of the stories referencing others in the book.

If you’re looking for fairytales (both old and new) told with old-world charm in a modern, feminist voice, this is the collection for you.

I received an ARC of this from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love fairytales, I love Snow White, so I thought I'd really enjoy this collection of poems and short stories. What I constantly forget, is that I don't usually like collections of short stories and poems because they are usually too disconnected for me.
This novel was ok for me. I found myself more connected to the short stories and not so much with the poems but I'd definitely pick up something from this author again and give it another go. There were some really interesting interpretations on the fairytales.

For now, this is a lovely collection of short stories and poems retelling fairytales. I'd read the vast majority of them before, but still had some new ones to discover.

Of the ones I've read before, the short story "Red as Blood and White as Bone" still gives me a good little shiver. I love this story about the power of stories and belief and magic and love. It's magical. Of the poems, "Rose Child" is a continued favorite. I believe it won a Rhysling Award as well.

She included a couple from her previous collection, In the Forest of Forgetting. While I love those stories, I enjoyed seeing how her writing has changed. Her past stories still showcase her amazing use of language and fairy tale, but I'm drawn to her newer stories now. They're more adult, more nuanced, even when they're from the perspectives of teens, and are actually in a couple cases very teen appropriate. This isn't to say that those earlier stories aren't nuanced, because they are! But not in the same ways.

Of the stories I discovered for the first time in this collection, I loved "Blanchefleur," a retelling of "The White Cat," and "A Country Called Winter," a retelling of The Snow Queen. These are so much fun! Blanchefleur is one of the few stories Goss has ever written from the perspective of a male character. It's funny and compassionate and quite enjoyable.

"A Country Called Winter" is like if Goss decided to write a memoir through a fairytale, except she becomes queen at the end. This isn't the only story in the collection to do this--"The Other Thea" is the most obvious example (which I'd read before, in Uncanny Magazine if I'm remembering correctly). But I just loved A Country Called Winter. It's once again very fun and real and magical.

I've been toying with writing memoir/fairy tale essays--I've even written one which I'd forgotten about until just now! Babies really delete a lot of memory! It's fun to see such a master writer play around with the idea too.

If you enjoy Naomi Novik, Catherynne M. Valente, and Robin McKinley, you should give this a read.

[I wouldn't be surprised if I include this collection in some future Book Riot posts, as I'm always writing more fairy tale content]

[I'm also posting this review on Amazon]

Howdy, howdy! It’s the last Wednesday of the month, which means it’s book review time! Didn’t I just do this? Seems like it, but that was just to make up for January. February gets its own book. This month, I’m going to talk about Snow White Learns Witchcraft, which is a collection of short stories and poems by Theodora Goss. Technically, I received access to an advanced reader copy (ARC) through NetGalley, but they archived it without warning a few days after the approval and I hadn’t downloaded it yet. Sadness. Then, I realized it was releasing on February 5th, so I would have plenty of time to buy a copy and read it in time to review it. Happiness! Anyway, let’s get to it.

Snow White Learns Witchcraft is a little misleading as a title for the entire collection because Snow White isn’t the only fairy tale revisited among these pieces. Goss adds her own personal touch as she retells many beloved tales from Goldilocks to the Little Mermaid to Cinderella to some that I’m not even familiar with. A mixture of poetry and short stories, this collection is sure to have something for all fairy tale lovers to get lost in.

I think I’ll start with the short stories. My personal favorite was “Conversations with the Sea Witch,” but I admit that I’m biased because the Little Mermaid happens to be my favorite fairy tale. It tells the story of an old crippled woman who has lived her happy life with her prince and is now awaiting death. Each day her servants wheel her out on the balcony for fresh air and she has conversations with her friend, the sea witch who gave her legs. We get to hear about the witch and how she ended up the way she is. It’s a neat, quick story. Most of the stories in this collection come at their mother fairy tales from new and interesting directions. Some are set in olden times while others are in the present and many are somewhere between the two. Many of the tales are quick reads, but some drag a little. I think that’s why “A Country Called Winter” wasn’t as enjoyable as others for me; it felt slow. It was one of the tales I wasn’t familiar with, but it was predictable enough that I wasn’t pulled along the way I would have been if I didn’t know what was going to happen. Don’t get me wrong, I liked this story (and all the others), it simply wasn’t my favorite.

The poetry in this collection was wonderful. “The Ogress Queen” delights the senses as she ponders what delicacies Helios, Aurora, and their mother would taste like. “Diamonds and Toads” offers up an amusing situation that leaves the reader with a number of potential lessons it could be trying to teach. I’d like to believe it’s showing us that every bad situation has a potential upside if you’re willing to look for it. Like all fairy tales, each poem leaves us with a lesson. Some of these, the speaker comes right out and says, others we have to dig for.

The writing in this collection is as varied as the stories and poems. Goss captures each voice like she’s the sea witch. As I said earlier, the pace changes from piece to piece, but all in all this was a fast and fun read.

Ultimately, I’m happy that I went ahead and bought Snow White Learns Witchcraft. Fairy tales are some of my favorite reading material. This book was worth adding to my collection.

Overall, I gave this collection 4 out of 5 stars. I wavered between four and five because I always expect to not enjoy some pieces as much as others when reading a collection like this, so I shouldn’t let that affect my decision, right? But I settled on four because it seemed fair and true to how I felt about everything. If you like fairy tales, check this book out!

Admittedly, I have to say I really didn't expect much going in to this collection having stumbled across quite a few 'modern and twisted' takes on fairy tales that left me rather cold. Happily. that wasn't the case at all here. The verses work brilliantly well, the stories were beautifully told, and still managed to have a fair amount of originality in a genre that - one could argue - has been beaten to death.

Enjoyed this title a lot.

With thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Theodora Goss and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book. This was a pretty cool book. I enjoyed it. I would recommend it.

I have always loved fairy tales. This volume, filled with fairy tale retellings, original fairy tales and poetry inspired by fairy tales was a real treat. There wasn't a dud in the bunch -- the stories ranged from merely very good to absolutely fantastic. Two standouts for me were The Rose in Twelve Petals, which twisted history and fairy tale into a version of Sleeping Beauty that was no less than brilliant; and Red as Blood and White as Bone which twisted history again, this time with a melange of fairy tale motifs, into one of the very best stories I've ever read.

Snow White Learns Witchcraft originally appealed to me because it had Snow White and Witch craft in the title. Two things I absolutely must devour. I had never read any works by Goss, so this was my introduction to her world. I was pleasantly surprised by the fluidity and creativity that came from her collection. Each story was beautifully written, lyrical and almost able to be sung as it flowed off the tongue.
While the tales are a bit darker in nature, these are excellent short tales that can easily be enjoyed by a younger and older audience.
Whether you are looking to read the entire collection in one sitting, or are simply wanting a quick read to endulde yourslef on that break from work - Snow White Learns Witchcraft has something for everyone! I give this collection 4 stars!!

If you're into imaginative short stories that give a new take on old fairy tales, than this is the book you need to pick up next. Though I'm not a big fan of short story books in general, this one really changed my mind about them, and now I'm thinking I'm really missing out by skipping over them. If you're like me, then definitely check this out.

This book has fairy tales that we all know and love, such as sleeping beauty, and snow white, but gives them a new twist. A dog wanders into the castle that's frozen in time, and lives a life with a very happy ending because of it. Snow white wonders if there should have been more to her life. Prince Charming brings a bulldozer to sleeping beauty's castle.

I loved almost every single story and poem in this book, and that's something I wasn't expecting when I first started it. Honestly, I didn't think I was even going to be able to get through this book when I started reading it, but I pushed through and came out happy on the other side. It even has quotes that I would love to stick with me, like "No answer is better than a foolish one."

Overall, this is something I wouldn't have picked up at first glance, but I'm glad I got the chance to fully read it. If you're into fairy tale retellings with an interesting twist, than this is the book for you. Definitely check it out if you get the chance!

Thanks for reading!
(Radioactivebookreviews.wordpress.com)

I really wanted to enjoy this but unfortunately this was just lack-luster for me. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an E-ARC of Snow White Learns Witchcraft.

An absolutely beautiful collection of fairy tales by an absolute master of fantasy and the written word in general. This book of short stories and poems has sort of retellings and even sort of sequels to beloved fairy tales we grew up with. If you can I highly recommend you read this in one sitting. The tales are dark but also incredibly well written. Highly recommend!

"A young woman hunts for her wayward shadow at the school where she first learned magic--while another faces a test she never studied for as ice envelopes the world. The tasks assigned a bookish boy lead him to fateful encounters with lizards, owls, trolls and a feisty, sarcastic cat. A bear wedding is cause for celebration, the spinning wheel and the tower in the briar hedge get to tell their own stories, and a kitchenmaid finds out that a lost princess is more than she seems. The sea witch reveals what she hoped to gain when she took the mermaid's voice. A wiser Snow White sets out to craft herself a new tale.

In these eight stories and twenty-three poems, World Fantasy Award winner Theodora Goss retells and recasts fairy tales by Charles Perrault, the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, and Oscar Wilde. Sometimes harrowing, sometimes hilarious, always lyrical, the works gathered in Snow White Learns Witchcraft re-center and empower the women at the heart of these timeless narratives. Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Grand Master Jane Yolen, in her introduction, proclaims that Goss "transposes, transforms, and transcends times, eras, and old tales with ease. But also there is a core of tough magic that runs through all her pieces like a river through Faerie . . . I am ready to reread some of my new favorites.""

I enjoy retellings of Fairy Tales, but I really love when they're retold from a feminist POV.

A collection of short stories and poems. A retelling of fairy tales. I can't pick a favorite as they were all great in their own way. I found it to be very entertaining. The poems were fun. I received this book from Net Galley and Mythic Delirium Books for a honest review. The opinions expressed are my own.

I had high expectations for this book. The description, the cover and the reviews interested me, and it seemed a good one. Unfortunately, in the end it did not live up to my expectations. The concept of the book is interesting. Involves fairy tales but in a different way, sometimes weird but tastes are tastes.
I had a bad begging with this book, it couldn’t motivate me to read so it took me more time. The first stories weren’t enough to stick to the book but in the middle, it got more interesting and even If I didn’t like much there were some interesting stories.
From far the best story was Blanchefleur, I really liked it! Ivan, the main character was able to learn so many things with different characters, good things. I also liked other short stories and some poems but Blanchefleur was really the best.
Maybe was the weirdness or the way some stories were written that in the end made me not like it very much. So, it wasn’t the best book for me but to those who like short stories and poems maybe can be.

This is a fabulous collection of updated/modernized fairy tales. There are familiar characters - a girl with dark hair and white skin, a girl no bigger than a thumb, a princess who sleeps for 100 years...but they are all reimagined into poetry and lyrical prose that breathes new life into this old stories.

Standouts for me:
Ivan 'The Idiot" and Blanchefleur
Snow, Blood, Fur - A Red Riding Hood with a nice twist
The Red Shoes - which is my favorite ballet and this is a beautiful poem version
Conversations with the Sea Witch - a older, wiser Little Mermaid tale.

Theodora Goss has a talent at making timeless stories different and more memorable than before.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This collection of short stories and poems contains re-tellings of fairy tales. Many of them approach fairy tales by speculating what happens after the end of said famous tales. Snow White is relieved when she's no longer "fairest of them all" in old age. Goldilocks falls in love with and marries a bear. Rumplestiltskin becomes two separate people after he tears himself in two. The Little Mermaid ruminates on what she learned after she became fully human.

There also are poems from different perspectives, such as a poem written from the perspective of a doctor charged with amputating one of Cinderella's step-sister's toes.

The vignettes were set in different time periods, giving the entire collection an odd tone. It seemed the only thing each story or poem had in common was that it was grounded in some sort of well-known fairy tale.

Overall, I didn't find it to be a very cohesive collection and some of the stories were unclear and confusing. I don't often read collections of short stories for this reason. I'm a sucker for fairy tale retellings, which is why this book seemed appealing, but this collection just wasn't my taste.

Theodora Goss's SNOW WHITE LEARNS WITCHCRAFT is filled with wondrous new works inspired by fine old tales, taking the stories from “once upon a time” to the reality of now. I’ll touch on just a few of the many marvels.
"The Other Thea" brings a reminder that we need both of our selves, positive and negative, dark and light, to be whole and healthy. Also, I want to visit the Library of Lost Books.
“Blanchefleur” is an amazing story, complex, episodic, and full of wisdom and adventure, facing challenges and honing one’s abilities and being kind and true.
I enjoyed the exploration of bear-human kinship in “Goldilocks and the Bear” and fox and frog transformations as well. It’s a frequent element in myth, appreciating the qualities of our cousins in nature.
The need to achieve balance in “A Country Called Winter” feels very real indeed.
Perhaps my favorite, the response from the witch in the woods to “I’ve always wanted to be a writer” . . . “Good . . . You’re ready now.” One old tale tells the danger of leaving tales untold and songs unsung . . . better to share them.
By happy accident, I found myself alternating SNOW WHITE LEARNS WITCHCRAFT and Jane Yolen's HOW TO FRACTURE A FAIRY TALE, with one on my iPad for out-and-about and the other at home. It reminded me of storytelling programs at the National Storytelling Festival, complementary turn-taking, each building the other, sharing wisdom from the old tales, each in her own way. You might enjoy a similar pairing, a story or two from each, with time to think and feel deeply before moving to another.

I frighin loved this one.

Theodora reminded me of Jane Yolen.
An awesomely woven retellings grasped my attention as soon as i started and ended up reading in one sitting.

The book was so gorgeous and need i say about the writing?? Amazing.

Theodora Goss is not only a student of the many variations of fairy tales, and a teacher of same, she weaves her own magic with every story and poem. Think you've outgrown fairy tales? She can rekindle the fascination. I know which are my favorite poems, but it will take several more readings to settle on the best of the stories. Highly recommended.

The cover of this book is gorgeous. It's what initially caught my eye. I can't help it; I always judge a book by its cover!

I am honestly not much of a poetry fan; I love Poe and I pretty much draw the line there. But the poems in this book read like stories and I enjoyed them just as much as I did the short stories. So I think this book will still definitely appeal to others who don't generally care for poetry.

What I didn't pick up from the synopsis is that this is a contemporary collection. In the beginning I really couldn't tell what time periods the settings used, but again and again I found myself reading about bulldozers, Facebook, and iPhones. It probably took me at least 60% of the book to realize the whole thing was actually modern. Once I figured that out, I stopped hoping for a classic setting and was able to enjoy the book more.

I felt the collection started off strong with some easily recognizable fairy tales told with unique spins, but that it started going downhill for me after about the halfway point. Around the middle of the book I realized this was not the historical collection I was expecting and hoping for. There were also a large number of selections regarding girls marrying bears. One was okay, but then there was another and another... I wasn't a fan of that theme to begin with so I didn't care for there being numerous stories and poems on the same topic. But after the middle section, it picked back up and I liked it better again.

There were a couple of times when I found myself disappointed at the end of a story. A few of them have open endings, and I'm not a fan of not knowing exactly what happens.

But as a whole, I loved this book. The standouts for me were:

"Snow White Learns Witchcraft." It's not what I expected but it had a feminist vibe I liked.

"Rose Child." The friendship and respect between the human and Thumbelina was really sweet.

"Branchefleur." I was only vaguely familiar with The White Cat before reading this rendition. So while I knew the direction it was going in, I greatly enjoyed the journey, I loved the characters, and was extremely satisfied with the ending. (Thank you for not chopping off the kitty's head!) This was my favorite selection in the book.

"Red as Blood and White as Bone." I like bloodthirsty revenge stories, and it was interesting to read it from a sort of bystander's perspective. (Speaking of which, I kind of hoped the girl was actually falling in love with her "princess." Since this is a contemporary collection, I would have really appreciated some LGBT content. I was disappointed to find none whatsoever.)

I thought the "The Gold-Spinner" and "The Princess and the Frog" had some excellent plot twists that, frankly, I like better than the original stories!

"The Sensitive Woman." I don't know if this is based on any particular fairy or folk tale and to me it didn't seem to fit the theme of the rest of the book; I just loved it because it reminded me of my wife!

"A Country Called Winter." This is a story whose characters are immigrants and foreign exchange students. I loved that take on the story. I especially loved the linguistic aspects that the author went into great detail about. I have studied six languages myself, so it was of personal interest to me. This would probably have been my favorite, but the unresolved love story it contains really left me feeling disappointed. But this story did contain my favorite line from the book: "Then the leaves turn and fall, like a splendid sunset lying on the sidewalks, and the first snows come, white and fresh, as though the earth is putting on her wedding gown." Beautiful.

"Conversations With the Sea Witch." This story really warmed my heart, even if it wasn't all happy. It felt realistic, from the fact that once the mermaid had two legs she never did learn to walk like a human, to the relationship between aged women when their loves have passed away.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read and review this lovely book. I'm giving it 4 stars out of 5 and posting review to Goodreads and Amazon (as "Eldweena"). I will certainly recommend it to my friends and would happily reread it in the future.