Name: Stealing Snow
ISBN: 9781536661729

Danielle Paige (Novelist)

Seventeen-year-old Snow escapes a mental hospital by racing into the woods where she finds herself in icy Algid--her true home--with witches, thieves, an alluring boy named Kai, and she discovers her royal lineage.

Stealing Snow

Danielle Paige

From Danielle Paige, the New York Times bestselling author of Dorothy Must Die, comes a re-imagining of "The Snow Queen" fairy tale. Seventeen-year-old Snow has spent the majority of her life within the walls of the Whittaker Institute, a high security mental hospital in upstate New York. Deep down, she knows she's not crazy and doesn't belong there. When she meets a mysterious, handsome new orderly and dreams about a strange twisted tree she realizes she must escape and figure out who she really is. Using her trusting friend Bale as a distraction, Snow breaks free and races into the nearby woods. Suddenly, everything isn't what it seems, the line between reality and fantasy begins to blur, and she finds herself in icy Algid--her true home--with witches, thieves, and a strangely alluring boy named Kai, none of whom she's sure she can trust. As secret after secret is revealed, Snow discovers that she is on the run from a royal lineage she's destined to inherit, a father more powerful and ruthless than she could have imagined, and choices of the heart that could change the fate of everything . . . including Snow's return to the world she once knew. This breathtaking first volume begins the story of how Snow becomes a villain, a queen, and ultimately a hero. "A lush and addictive fantasy woven from threads of magic, romance, and adventure by a master storyteller. Danielle Paige raises the bar with Stealing Snow." --Kami Garcia, #1 New York Times bestselling coauthor of Beautiful Creatures & author of The Lovely Reckless "A magical, exciting adventure full of secrets, thieves, and witches, with a unique, fresh twist on an old legend." --Jennifer L. Armentrout, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Wait for You "Just as a blizzard turns a familiar landscape into something both dazzling and deadly, Stealing Snow transforms the 'Snow Queen' into an adventure that's hauntingly beautiful and dangerously seductive." --Kass Morgan, New York Times bestselling author of The 100 "Eerie, edgy and enchanting, Stealing Snow will transport you." --Amie Kaufman, New York Times bestselling coauthor of Illuminae "One of my favorite fairy tale retellings! Danielle Paige is a master storyteller!" --Melissa de la Cruz, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Isle of the Lost

Briar's Reviews

Stealing Snow is a YA, fairy tale adaption of The Snow Queen.

I had no idea what to expect from this book and I still don't... I think I'll need the sequel to better understand how I feel about this book... But at this time, I don't know if a sequel is going to be made?!

Stealing Snow is based on The Snow Queen but has lots of elements of Snow White. Honestly, my local book store pegged it as Snow White to me, so I was a little shocked. I picked this book up because I loved Dorothy Must Die (plus it was on sale at my local book store and I'm a sucker for sales... go figure).

This book didn't blow me away as much as Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige (this author) did. It really felt like this book needed the sequel to keep moving the story going because it was left at such an odd place. I wanted more at the end... It wasn't just a cliffhanger, it just felt like the editor had cut out a large chunk. I felt a little bit cheated.

That being said, it was a good book! I'm not as fluent in The Snow Queen (even though I have read it, it's just been a while and there aren't many adaptions out there that I've read) so I didn't connect as well with this story as I wanted. I did re-read the fairy tale before I picked the book up, but it didn't help me much.

I see so much potential in this series - the potential love triangles, the heroic action scenes that could come, the fairy tales that could be woven in - but it didn't hit all of the marks in just this book. It really needs it sequel. Seriously. Danielle better write it. Don't make this book a one off, it won't do the book justice.

What I didn't like about this book:
1. Snow's mental illness felt... weird. It felt forced and out of place. Sure, she has a mental illness (potentially) but she bites people and takes pills. It wasn't flushed out enough for me to believe it or respect it.
2. She's special. Every girl in every YA seems to be the chosen one, but the trope didn't feel right here (at least, not with the twist ending...). 
3. There was way too much going on. I felt like my brain was being attacked because there was so many different plot points and half of which didn't get resolved. I like having my books able to stand on their own as well as be in the series - like most movies series. 

Things I did like:
1. Kai and Bale. I don't know why, but I kind of enjoyed it and I want more. I want to know more about that part of the story, but I've always been a sucker for love triangles in my YAs so that one is on me.
2. Danielle has the most elegant writing style. She's truly an artist and is SO GOOD with her words. I can't express enough how much I love reading her books because she knows how to write and connect with the reader.
3. The potential is extraordinary. With so many plot points introduced, this book is set up to be a series. I'd like to see what Danielle does with this story.

Overall, this book wasn't as bad as the reviews led me to believe. I do want to keep reading this series because Danielle is wicked cool with her words (pun intended) but I don't know what to expect. 

Two out of five stars.

Courtney

Julia Lotz

Danielle Paiges Romane waren mir bisher nur durch Instagram und Dorothy Must Die ein Begriff. Bevor mir Thienemann Snow vorstellte, wusste ich nicht, dass sie neben dem Zauberer von Oz Retelling auch an einem Schneekönigin Retelling arbeitet, welches ich euch heute vorstellen möchte. Snow lebt in unserer Welt in einer Psychiatrie und das Schlucken von Tabletten sowie der Alltag mit den anderen Jugendlichen gleicht einer ständigen Wiederholung von Ereignissen. Bis zu dem Tag, an dem ihr bester Freund Bale verschwindet. Snow kann fliehen, folgt seinen Spuren und findet sich plötzlich in Algid wieder. Das, so erfährt sie, ist ihr wahres Zuhause und sie niemand geringerer als die Prinzessin. Doch ihr einziges Ziel ist es, Bale zu finden und zu retten.

Snow war für mich ein sehr klassisches Jugendfantasybuch, dass Snows Heldenreise in den Vordergrund rückt und ansonsten sehr stark Romantasyelemente mit einbezieht. Das macht das Jugendbuch zu einem tollen Buch für zwischendurch und Dank des Schreibstils, der sowohl sehr gut als auch sehr zügig zu lesen war, wird dieser Effekt noch einmal verstärkt. Besonders an Snow ist es, innerhalb der Geschichte eine große Entwicklung durchzumachen. Diese ist auch sehr gut erkennbar und das ohnehin schon sehr starke Mädchen wächst im Verlauf der Geschichte an sich und an ihren Aufgaben. Durch den Fokus auf ihren Charakter, traten die anderen Charaktere stark in ihren Schatten und blieben eher blass. Das war nicht weiter schlimm, allerdings hätte ich mir gerade beim Genre Romantasy ab und zu doch ein wenig mehr wissen und Präsenz der Loveinterests gewünscht. Von denen gibt es insgesamt drei, denn neben Bale stehen besonders in Algid Jagger und Kai Snow zur Seite. Ihr solltet also definitiv Lust auf Romantasy und Liebesdrei- bzw- vierecke haben, bevor ihr zu Snow greift.

Auch inhaltlich bleibt Danielle Paige weiterhin dem Romantasy-Jugendbuch treu. Die Story selbst steht neben der Charakterentwicklung sehr stark im Vordergrund und wir erfahren sehr wenig über die Welt selbst, die eigentlich von ihrem Aufbau sehr interessant klingt. Snow absolviert während ihrer Reise mehrere Stationen und kommt somit sowohl dem Versteck von Bale als auch ihrem Vater, der sich als ihr Feind entpuppt, immer näher. Obwohl die Geschichte zu Beginn noch sehr langsam und unspektakulär voran schreitet, konnte mich Snow besonders zum Ende hin deutlich mehr in seinen Bann nehmen. Auch einige Wendungen und überraschende neue Informationen konnten mich am Ende noch einmal überzeugen. Insgesamt bleibt das Buch im Gegensatz zu anderen Büchern des Genres jedoch sehr blass und hat viel unausgeschöpftes Potential.

Snow ist ein wunderbar leicht zu lesendes Romantasy Jugendbuch für Zwischendurch. Besonders die Entwicklung der Protagonistin Snow stach für mich besonders hervor, wohingegen die Geschichte selbst einem klassischen Jugendbuch gleicht und nicht aus der Masse hervorzustechen vermag. Wer dennoch leichte Unterhaltung aus dem Fantasybereich sucht, ist hiermit sehr gut unterhalten.

Tamara Al-Qaisi-Coleman

Seventeen-year-old Snow lives within the walls of the Whittaker Institute, a high security mental hospital in upstate New York. Deep down, she knows she doesn't belong there, but she has no memory of life outside, except for the strangest dreams. And then a mysterious, handsome man, an orderly in the hospital, opens a door - and Snow knows that she has to leave ... She finds herself in icy Algid, her true home, with witches, thieves, and a strangely alluring boy named Kai. As secret after secret is revealed, Snow discovers that she is on the run from a royal lineage she's destined to inherit, a father more powerful and ruthless than she could have imagined, and choices of the heart that could change everything. Heroine or villain, queen or broken girl, frozen heart or true love, Snow must choose her fate ...A wonderfully icy fantastical romance, with a strong heroine choosing her own destiny, Danielle Paige's irresistibly page-turning Snow Queen is like Maleficent and Frozen all grown up.

chloe mcpherson

I think if I had read this book when it first came out I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more, but reading it in 2019 there are many flaws. 

Snow lives in a mental Institute for most of her life because ... she bites people? When one night a mysterious man shows up in her room telling she must come with him because she’s the long lost princess. 

This book was very cliche, the whole time Snow complained about not wanting to be there all while she falls for every guy that pays her attention. 
I felt like there wasn’t much world building, it’s gonna be interesting to see what the sequel will be like.

andrea sofie williamsen

it may or may not have made me cry… i need a second book asap. slow start and took me some time to get into it but once she’s in the other dimension it really does get spicy. 

mary

Although I didn't enjoy it as much as the Dorothy Must Die books, it was still enjoyable! I didn't like the ending, but I'll definitely be continuing the series when book two comes out!

ashley hopkins

Cath

This book wasn't quite what I expected it to be. My feelings aren't quite solid for this one either. The book was far from flawless, but no doubt it had lots of potential.

The author actually did a brilliant job in crafting a whole new fantastical world. My problem with Fantasy is usually the way authors exaggerate in their world building, which makes it a pain to read. But not with this book. Algid was a very unique and interesting place, and I really hope to learn more about it too. The magical element in the story was very well done too! One thing about Danielle's writing is definitely the way she re-imagines the world she's created with the eyes of a unique persona, and although there were plot holes and a very complicated love sequence, the story still had that grip on you.

Also, this is probably just me, but the fact that the author included witches in the story made it feel more nostalgic. Danielle's Dorothy must Die series was all about witches and wizards, and I loved reading about them. I wish the story wasn't all about Snow. The other characters had so much more to tell, especially Jagger, Kai and Gerde! I really liked them! They stood out far more to me than the protagonist herself.

Which leads me to this... Snow was a horrible character. I feel like all i'm doing is comparing Stealing Snow to Dorothy Must die, but all my expectations were derived from reading the series. Therefore, it's safe to say that Snow was nothing but a pain in the neck. However, even if I weren't a fan of Danielle's other books, I'd still find the protagonist immensely rash and dim-witted. I won't go into further details, but it's disappointing to see that the main protagonist lacked in the character development she badly needed to go through.

Furthermore, the excessive amount of 'love interests' was completely unnecessary. Everything happened so abruptly, it's as if the story was forced to have some romance in it when it would have probably did fine without any at all. There was absolutely zero 'romance build-up', no chemistry, no spark, and everything was just so dull and stale, it was catastrophic.

Then again, it's only the first book, and with so much room to improve, I'm hoping that the second book takes a good turn of events. I'm rooting for you, Danielle. Here's to a great sequel!

Thank you so much Bloomsbury Publishing Australia for sending a copy over in exchange for an honest review!

Milana Marie Waller

it’s books like this that cause people to hate reading the way that the average person does. obviously i am not one of those people but god this book was awful ... i mean i absolutely adored the Dorothy Must Die series , especially the first book but this was just a mess . 

things i hated about this book:
- the overall unnecessary existence of it
- the characters and their lack of animation , they all kind of blended together
- it’s inability to keep me focused for more than two sentences
- the uncaptivating plot, if i can even call it that . if i we’re teaching an english class , it would be very difficult for my myself or my students to map this book on a plot line . i mean i guess there was a bit of rising action but there was zero character development or background story to get me to give two flying $@/&:/s about any of the characters
- the fact that i was excited for this and was greatly disappointed 
- the unrealistic emotions of Snow and her THREE love interests that also had me gagging ... like i said Dorothy Must Die is not like this @Knox was a perfect example of a suitable love interest in a fantasy world but yes these options were horrific 
- the far fetched and completely not backed up fantasy world i mean what EVEN WAS GOING ON I COULDNT TELL YOU i mean i respect that fact that this is a fairy tale retelling but i mean come on the execution was terrible it just felt so MINDLESS where was this supposed to be going i — you get the point. 

a n y w a y s . . .

In conclusion the best part of this book was the end, and the only benefit to this book is the addition it will make to my Read Standalone Hardbacks Shelf . Please save yourself the time and money this book will rob you of .

Haya

Halle Moir

Irah Sarmiento

Lauren Williams

Lauren Tabor

Allyson Clark

Luna Kurdish

From Danielle Paige, the New York Times bestselling author of Dorothy Must Die, comes a re-imagining of "The Snow Queen" fairy tale. This breathtaking first volume begins the story of how Snow becomes a villain, a queen, and ultimately a hero.

Stealing Snow

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