Poisoned: A Snow White Retelling by Mary Mecham
After the huntsman told her to flee into the woods, Snow White stumbles upon a small cottage overrun by seven brothers. The youngest, Oliver, is child-like and full of exuberance for life, even though he can’t speak. The oldest, Malcolm, is Oliver’s grumpy guardian and he isn’t thrilled to have the princess crashing at the cottage.
When her stepmother poisons her and subsequently dies, Snow believes Charles is her Prince Charming, and she sets forth to learn how to rule her country with him as her guide.
But the pressures and expectations of the throne are a lot to take in, and Snow seeks solace in spending time with Oliver… and maybe his older brother too. With everything going on, the grumpy seem less grumpy and the charming less charming.
Will Snow figure out how to stand up for herself and what she truly desires?
“If you always tear through life in a desperate search for peace, you will never find it. It is only when you allow yourself to let go of what you cannot control that peace will find you, whatever your circumstances are.”
– Mary Mecham, Poisoned
Disability inclusion is a passion for Mecham, and that shines through this story in the portrayal of Oliver. I love how she showed the different sides of someone with a severe intellectual disability, while providing a forum for readers to learn how to interact and better understand such people.
I did struggle to read parts of this story because the topic of gaslighting is a difficult one for me, so I often found myself only reading a few pages at a time. That said, it’s well written, and we get to see Snow struggle with it before slowly coming to understand what was happening and finally standing up for herself.
There was one instance where Snow made the deliberate choice to kiss someone other than her fiance which I didn’t love.
Poisoned is a fun take on the story of what happened to Snow White after she was awakened by “true love’s kiss.”
4.5 Roses. It’s a beautiful story, but I struggled with parts.
Some kissing. Themes of jealousy and gaslighting
No violence
No swearing
