Fairest of All (Whatever After Series #1)

by Sarah Mlynowski

Overview

Mirror, mirror, on the basement wall . . .

Once upon a time a mirror slurped up me and my brother, and magically transported us inside Snow White's fairy tale.

Then we stopped Snow White from eating the poisoned apple. Hooray! Or not. If Snow White doesn't die, she won't get to meet her prince or get her happy ending. Oops.

Now it's up to us to fix Snow White's story. And then, fingers crossed, find our way home.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545485715
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	04/01/2013
Series:	Whatever After Series , #1
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	20,883
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.40(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Sarah Mlynowski is the author of BRAS & BROOMSTICKS, FROGS & FRENCH KISSES, SPELLS & SLEEPING BAGS, PARTIES & POTIONS, GIMME A CALL, and TEN THINGS WE DID (AND PROBABLY SHOULDN'T HAVE). Originally from Montreal, Sarah now lives in the kingdom of Manhattan with her very own prince charming and their fairy-tale-loving daughters. Visit Sarah online at sarahm.com.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for WHATEVER AFTER #1: FAIREST OF ALL

"An uproariously funny read. The swift pace of the tale and non-stop action . . . will enchant readers from the first page." -- Kirkus Reviews

"Hilarious . . . with unexpected plot twists and plenty of girl power." -- Booklist

"This delightful kick-off to the series demonstrates Mlynowski's prowess at writing for middle-graders." -- Publishers Weekly

"Giddy, fizzy, hilarious fun!" -- Lauren Myracle, author of LUV YA BUNCHES

"I tore through FAIREST OF ALL in one sitting and loved, loved, loved it! It's inventive, hilarious, and full of adventure and surprises" -- Leslie Margolis, author of The Maggie Booklyn Mysteries

"Sarah Mlynowski's spunky heroine injects some girl-power into Snow White for a wonderful reading adventure the whole family will enjoy. Tons of fractured fairy tale fun!" -- Meg Cabot, author of Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls and The Princess Diaries

From the Publisher

Eleven-year-old Abby and her seven-year-old brother, Jonah, are living in a new neighborhood and going to a new school which is fine with Jonah. Abby, on the other hand, is not happy about the changes. For starters, the kids in her class do not play tag the way she does. They play "Freeze Tag" instead. Shortly after their move, Jonah wakes Abby up to tell her about the strange mirror in their basement. In the hopes of getting Jonah to quit talking about the mirror, Abby follows him into the basement only to discover he is right. The mirror sucks them, some furniture and lots of law books into a different world—Snow White's world, where they stop her from eating the poisoned apple. Ooops, realizes Abby, now Snow won't be rescued by Prince Charming and won't live "happily ever after." So Abby and Jonah set about to correct their blunder, but Snow, of course, is confused and not of much help to begin with. The tension ratchets up when Abby catches on that time in Fairy Book Land moves faster than real time. They have only so much time to fix Snow's story and get home before their parents discover they are missing. Naturally, every plan they try goes awry, but eventually the siblings straighten out the story and connect Snow White and Prince Charming. Best yet, they get back to their house before Mom and Dad notice they've been missing. Abby also learns that life does have a way of changing, whether you want it to or not. She decides that Freeze Tag might not be that bad. Fun read, full of lots of humor. Reviewer: Sarah Maury Swan

Children's Literature - Sarah Maury Swan

Gr 3–5—When fifth-grader Abby and her younger brother, Jonah, move from Chicago to boring small-town Smithville, they think the exciting part of their lives might be over. Then Jonah discovers a hissing mirror in the basement. After he knocks on it three times, it swallows them both up and spits them out in a fairy-tale land called Zamel. They arrive as Snow White's evil stepmother is attempting to poison Snow with an apple, just like in the story. They save her from that fate, but soon realize their huge mistake. If Snow doesn't eat the apple, the prince never gets to rescue her, and she never falls in love with him. They have actually ruined her happily-ever-after. Somehow they have to get his attention, but it won't be easy. This is essentially "Snow White" retold, with enough amusing changes thrown in to keep readers giggling. Some of the dwarfs are girls, one of them is ridiculously handsome, and the mirror's name is Gabrielle. While Snow White is annoyingly vapid, Abby's conversational narration is witty and charming, and Jonah's one-liners are snappy and clever. A light, fun adventure.—Mandy Laferriere, Fowler Middle School, Frisco, TX

School Library Journal

A magic mirror, a slightly bossy sister and her inquisitive 7-year-old brother captivate in this rollicking remake of a classic fairy tale. An aspiring judge, 10-year-old Abby especially likes fairy tales' clarity; in fairy tales, "good is good, and bad is bad." However, Abby's orderly world is overturned when her brother Jonah accidentally awakens the eerie mirror in the basement of their new home. Suddenly, they find themselves in Snow White's world--just in time to valiantly foil the evil queen's poisoned-apple plot. This is cause for celebration until they realize that now "Snow" no longer requires rescuing by the prince. Comical misadventures ensue as the pragmatic Abby and exuberant Jonah attempt to resolve their dilemma, with many surprises along the way. Mlynowski blends elements from the traditional tale with the Disney movie version and adds her own modern twist. The result is an uproariously funny read. The swift pace of the tale and non-stop action combined with Abby's quick wit will enchant readers from the first page. While Snow's story is satisfactorily settled, the author leaves enough beguiling mysteries to keep readers eagerly anticipating the siblings' next adventure. (Fantasy. 9-12)

Kirkus Reviews