Happy Valentine’s Day book lovers! I just realized I haven’t shared a book review yet in 2021. My wonderful husband bought me 5 book boxes for Christmas and I’ve read almost all of those books, plus a few Netgalley ARCS, so I’m very behind on my reviews. I’m going to try and catch up! Today I’m here with a book review for Blanca & Roja.
About The Book 📚
Title: Blanca & Roja
Author: Anna-Marie McLemore
Publication Date: October 2018
Publisher: Feiwel Friends
Suggested Reader Age: Young Adult
Genre: Magical Realism, Retelling, LGBT
Rep: trans
Triggers: physical abuse
http://www.laurenhannah.net/book-trigger-list/
Click Here for a Content Warning Database I personally think books should have ratings just like TV and movies.
About The Author
“Anna-Marie McLemore (they/them) is the author of THE WEIGHT OF FEATHERS, WHEN THE MOON WAS OURS, WILD BEAUTY, BLANCA & ROJA, DARK AND DEEPEST RED, MISS METEOR (co-authored with Tehlor Kay Mejia) and the forthcoming THE MIRROR SEASON. A lot of what they write could be called magical realism. Much of it is inspired by fairy tales. Almost all of their stories find their heart in the traditions they grew up in and the communities they belong to.”
http://author.annamariemclemore.com/p/welcome.html
My Review
› Blanca & Roja is a book inspired by the short stories Snow-White and Rose-Red by The Brothers Grimm and The Wild Swans (1838) by Hans Christian Andersen. The Wild Swans is about a king who had 11 sons and 1 daughter, Eliza. The king married a wicked woman who sent Eliza away to live with a peasant’s family and the eleven sons were turned into swans. When Eliza turns fifteen she finds her brothers and discover they are still under the evil queen’s curse, swans by day, men by night. A fairy tells Eliza that she can help her brothers through courage and perseverance by gathering nettles that will blister her hands, break them up into flax to weave into eleven coats that will break the curse on her brothers. She goes through hell and manages to save them.
The Brothers Grimm’s Snow-White and Rose-Red is based on “The Ungrateful Dwarf” (1816) written by Caroline Stahl. According to Tor.com, Stahl’s story is about sisters Snow-White and Rose-Red who meet a mean dwarf. After the dwarf is killed by a bear the sisters find the dwarf’s treasure and their poor family is saved. Wilhelm Grimm’s story gives the sisters magical abilities. One day a talking bear knocks on the door and they all become friends and he helps them get revenge on a mean dwarf.
› Blanca & Roja is told in multiple perspectives: Roja, Blanca, Page, and Barclay.
“The story of the ugly duckling was never about the cygnet discovering he is lovely. It is not a story about realizing you have become beautiful. It is about the sudden understanding that you are something other than what you thought you were, and that what you are is more beautiful than what you once thought you had to be.”
› Red-haired Roja is blonde-haired Blanca’s younger sister. Their family’s curse brings los cisnes, the swans, when the younger sister turns fifteen. They will choose a sister to take, who will turn into a swan forever. Blanca’s aunt told her she can be saved from being taken by the swans if she can get a blue-eyed boy to love her. Instead of falling for blue-eyed Barclay, Blanca likes Page Ashby, a boy who liked being called he/him and sometimes she/her. Barclay ends up in the body of a yearling bear. Roja befriends the yearling by feeding him and he starts visiting her on a regular basis. The four of them work together, and sometimes against each other, to try and figure out who they are and what their future will be.
“There will always be two daughters. But we will always take one back.”
“You can scream and cry if you want,” he said. “But what you have in you is power. You let it wring you and throw you around like you’re a doll, Papà said. “And if that’s all you let it do, you’ll be a fool forever. Because that power, that anger in you, that is the best thing you have. So claim it. Pick yourself up and use it.”
› I use the CAWPILE method to rate books.
0-3 Really bad
4-6 Mediocre
7-9 Really good
10 Outstanding
› Characters: 9
› Atmosphere: 8
› Writing Style: 10
› Plot: 7
› Intrigue: 7
› Logic: 8
› Enjoyment: 8
Average 8.1
1.1-2.2 = ★
2.3-4.5 = ★★
4.6-6.9 = ★★★
7-8.9 = ★★★★
9-10 = ★★★★★
My Rating ★★★★
› Final Thoughts
• Blanca & Roja is a beautifully-toasted piece of bread with the most delicious avocado making the original stories look like burnt toast. If Stahl and Andersen would cry tears of joy being able to see how their ideas led to a stunning story about sisterly love, magic, self-acceptance and others learning to accept people for who they are. Blanca & Roja did give me some Summer of Salt (Katrina Leno) vibes. If you like The Wayward Children series then this might be a book you’d also enjoy.
When The Moon Was Ours ★★★★★
The Weight of Feathers ★★★★★
Blanca & Roja ★★★★
Dark and Deepest Red ★★★
Smitten For Fiction 