Name: Poisoned
ISBN: 9781471408144

Jennifer Donnelly

Carnegie medal-winning Jennifer Donnelly gives a stunning feminist makeover to the fairy tale of Snow White

Poisoned

From Jennifer Donnelly, author of the acclaimed New York Times bestseller Stepsister, comes a fairytale retelling that'll forever change the way you think about strength, power, and the real meaning of "happily ever after." Once upon a time, a girl named Sophie rode into the forest with the queen's huntsman. Her lips were the color of ripe cherries, her skin as soft as new-fallen snow, her hair as dark as midnight. When they stopped to rest, the huntsman took out his knife . . . and took Sophie's heart. It shouldn't have come as a surprise. Sophie had heard the rumors, the whispers. They said she was too kind and foolish to rule -- a waste of a princess. A disaster of a future queen. And Sophie believed them. She believed everything she'd heard about herself, the poisonous words people use to keep girls like Sophie from becoming too powerful, too strong . . . With the help of seven mysterious strangers, Sophie manages to survive. But when she realizes that the jealous queen might not be to blame, Sophie must find the courage to face an even more terrifying enemy, proving that even the darkest magic can't extinguish the fire burning inside every girl, and that kindness is the ultimate form of strength.

Jana Jenkinns 

3.5 stars. 
Decent read. Wasn't exactly what I expected but I did enjoy it. 

The chapters were really short, I think there were 96 in total. Something I'd recommend to someone who likes fairytale retellings. 

Full review to come on my blog.

ellie chase

4.5/5 stars

"They had books and songs, flowers and plum cake. They had one another."

Go ahead, rip my heart out, destroy it. I'm a simple person who melts for found family (I am even willing to overlook the giant bugs if that's what it takes to live in the Hollows) and characters named Will. This books gave me both, and then everything else I need. It was amazing.
The best Snow White retelling and the only one that actually made me like Snow White as a heroine- she just never appealed to me. 

Did I mention I would die to live in the Hollows?

I also simply love the way Donnelly used POV to create a richer villain arc and play it out more personally for the reader. It's creatively and well done.

Kennedy Schneider

This book to me felt very middle grade. Like something I would read when I was in middle school. The writing style gives me a younger audience sort of feel. Which is fine, there is nothing wrong with that. The plot itself has a lot of potential, though I was a little confused as to the point of view in the beginning. But I eventually figure it out. I do love a good fairytale retelling and this one is going places.
I really liked that it's told from the huntsman's point of view instead of being entirely based around Snow White or "Sophie". I did really enjoy that.
What has concerned me about Sophie is that she has no political experience whatsoever. She is going to need that in order to rule. And I know that the queen is going to be there to help, but as we all know, she isn't really the nicest person on the planet. She does seem very skilled at horseriding, but that is all she can really do. I'm wondering if she will gain most of her skills throughout the rest of the book or if she gets help along the way.
Overall I think it is a very good book with a ton of potential. I can't wait to read more.

Sheila Masterson

This book was a delight. I loved this retelling about where the heart of hatred and evil starts and it was so beautifully done. Such a grounded fairy tale retelling.

Beautiful Sophie, with lips as red as blood, skin as pale as snow, and hair as dark as night, is about to come of age and inherit her father's throne. But Sophie's stepmother wants rid of her - beautiful she may be, but too weak and foolish to reign. And Sophie believes her, as she believes all the things that have been said about her - all the poisonous words people use to keep girls like her from becoming too powerful, too strong. When the huntsman carries out his orders of killing Sophie, she finds a fire burning inside her that will not be extinguished, and sets off to reclaim what was taken from her. Jennifer Donnelly turns her feminist eye to this most delicious of fairy tales and shows Snow White as she's never been seen before.

Yi Yaw

Alice

True to her retelling style, Jennifer Donnelly doesn't give us a pretty, tamed version of the fairytale. In fact, she gave us the real ugly spin here: in Poisoned, the princess does get her heart cut out by the huntsman. But because fairytales are full of intricate magic, the princess lives on. By going against everything she was taught by her stepmother and her court, princess Sophie goes on a journey to save herself and the kingdom that she should rightfully govern.

I really wanted to enjoy Poisoned as much as I did Stepsister, but it was written in the stars that I wouldn't.

Don't get me wrong. It is a good book. The first 20% basically said "read this with stars in your eyes and a racing heart". It's just that comparing it with all of Stepsister's action, heartwarming characters and magical feeling, it seemed a bit dull.

Let's start with the main character. At the beginning of the book, she's complex, strong. But from around 30%, she gets really whiny and silly - there's a reason, but it really makes her not relatable and unlikeable. 

Most of the other characters all seem a bit 2D, except for the queen (and I loved the seven brothers and their friends). But I still had this constant feeling that all of them were... rushed. The love interests are not very deep and the whole romance aspect seemed skimmed over. The two ominous siblings were no replacement at all for Chance and Fate from Stepsister.

As for the plot, it was definitely not as compelling. There was less going on and Sophie's obliviousness regarding her plan made part of her journey frustrating. The beginning was very promising, but from about 20%, the story felt more Middle Grade than YA. And Poisoned doesn't really radiate with the feminism that Stepsister displayed (sorry if I keep comparing, but that's the sad reality of younger siblings.)

I was still captured by Donnelly's writing, though, and loved some of her world building and the premise. The pace was good (320 in two days, when I could definitely have binged it in one day if I didn't have essay deadlines). If the main character had been less silly, I think this would have been a four-star read.

I think fans of 
  Cinderella Is Dead
 would like this.

Trigger warnings: (view spoiler)[giant spider, fire, self-harm, description of blood and violent homicide, corpses, skeletons, death (hide spoiler)]

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received the arc and e-arc from the publisher for Rockstar Book Tours. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Poisoned

Author: Jennifer Donnelly

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 4/5

Recommended For...: retelling, fantasy, ya

Publication Date: October 20, 2020

Genre: YA Fantasy Retelling

Recommended Age: 16+ (violence, gore, self harm TW, suicide TW, child abuse TW)

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Pages: 320

Synopsis: Once upon a time, a girl named Sophie rode into the forest with the queen's huntsman. Her lips were the color of ripe cherries, her skin as soft as new-fallen snow, her hair as dark as midnight. When they stopped to rest, the huntsman took out his knife . . . and took Sophie's heart.

It shouldn't have come as a surprise. Sophie had heard the rumors, the whispers. They said she was too kind and foolish to rule -- a waste of a princess. A disaster of a future queen. And Sophie believed them. She believed everything she'd heard about herself, the poisonous words people use to keep girls like Sophie from becoming too powerful, too strong . . .

With the help of seven mysterious strangers, Sophie manages to survive. But when she realizes that the jealous queen might not be to blame, Sophie must find the courage to face an even more terrifying enemy, proving that even the darkest magic can't extinguish the fire burning inside every girl, and that kindness is the ultimate form of strength.

Review: For the most part I really liked this book. It stuck with the source material well (a lot of Brothers Grimm inspiration) and the story and plot were so well told. The characters were also well developed and the tone of the book was just as spooky as the story.

My only complaint is the pacing of the book. It's a bit too slow for my tastes. My other issue is that the ending is a bit too unclear.

Verdict: It was a great book!

Becky Clark

Phenomenal. Absolutely speechless.

In the first five chapters so much has already happened, the story is so different from the fairy-tale many of us were told as children but it remains relevant to the original story line. I am hooked to the story and could defiantly see that it was going to be filled with the right ingredients too make a great fantasy book. 

Seeing the young princess struggle with her instincts over her expectations is a great topic that was added in. Showing that the opinions of other can affect the outlook we have on life and the choices we make. 

My heart does reach out though to the young boy Tom, and Sophie. They have already been through so much in such little time. 

Can guarantee it will make a great read to anyone looking for a fairy-tale retelling.

everlinet

A very well written retelling of Snow White (not the Disney one, you know?), which is one of my favorite fairytales.
I loved Stepsister written by the same author, and this was similarly funny and cute in many aspects, but had deeper meaning as well.
I know many people loved the feminist aspect of the Stepsister novel, but I personally always prefer when the heroines aren´t as badass as many modern readers want them to be. This had both, in quite a nice harmony. Sophie, the princess Snow White, is kind and loving and has a big heart full of love, but the story teaches us how important that is - and that having a good heart is not a weakness. That´s a very lovely meaning behind the book, and also the fact that love can destroy hate, fear, pain and even death.
This book is about realization that what we think is our weakness may be our strenght. And that the villains have backstory, and did not become "evil" just like that without a reason.
 Definitely a story I will gladly let my children read once I have them.

Sophie made many bad and stupid decisions along the way (sometimes I rolled my eyes), made friends, learned. I adored how lovely the story was, with deep meaning yet written so nicely and lightly - some sentences and conversations were really funny.
I expected a lovely retelling and I got it. It is probably not "wow" book with surprising plot, but it was also not boring, and I enjoyed it. I suggest reading it if you need a relaxing lovely read based on a known fairytale, that will make you smile.

Keila van der Plaat

Amazing world building with an ambiguous narrator - you see a glimpse of the what the future holds, which draws in the readers, especially with the cliffhanger in the prologue. 
The multiple perspectives within the novel which sets up for a beautiful re-evaluation of the original fairy tale, of both the protagonist and the antagonist, along side the narrator - the 'sidekick'. But the multiple perspectives also creates an unreliable narrator - as no one characters knows all the information, so the reader receives a portion of the story from different places.
The novel creates emotional tension with its descriptive words giving goosebumps to the reader.
The only issue is the short chapters - putting a bit more into it allows for the reader to be drawn in for longer as chapter breaks create a momentary distraction from the text.
I cannot wait to see where it goes.

Kimi 

I loved Jennifer Donnelly Stepsister (Cinderella retelling) so of course, I'm excited about this Snow White retelling. The story was an average of three stars for me. I didn't love it as much as I loved Stepsisters. The strong feminist character wasn't present in our main character Sophie. The evil queen wasn't present much nor was she a strong feminist character as well. I stand for the huntsman (Will) and Snow White (Sophie), I absolutely loved the relationship building and wanted more. The story really picked up toward the end and wished it didn't take so long for it to finally take on a life of its own. Overall, a really good retelling and I would read this book first then Stepsisters to finish off strong.

Emily 

I have always loved Jennifer Donnelly so I know that this will be amazing once I finally get the chance to get my hands on it. 

Firstly the cover it beautiful & you can tell from it that is a retelling of Snow White and if you know me then you know that I love retelling they are my favourite type of books to read. 

A feminist retelling of Snow White will be amazing and for the the princess not to be a helpless maiden is the best type of protagonist to have, I know that this book will be very inspiring & send a good message to lots of young impressionable girls.

This book will 100% be on my shelf the moment that it is released, it will be an interesting twist on the classic Fairytale that we know and I think everyone should check it out.

Poisoned

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