I received this book from the amazing LibraryThing in exchange for a fair and honest review. BTW, it comes out tomorrow, so if it’s not on your list yet to read, add it nowwwwwww!
Photo Credit: Goodreads
Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi is kind of like a modern day Snow White, but with lots of alterations. The story is told mainly by Boy, who is actually a girl, who escapes from an abusive father and makes a new life in a small town in Massachusetts. Boy marries and inherits a stepdaughter, Snow, who is pretty much the most perfect person ever. But when Boy and her husband have a child of their own, a family secret is revealed that causes many of the family relationships to be strained.
Boy, Snow, Bird is unique. It’s part Snow White, part family secret, but it’s all worth the read.
Have you read any books that have part of a familiar tale woven in?
Interested in getting your own copy? Check it out on Amazon & Indiebound. I get a small percentage if you purchase from those links, and it doesn’t cost you any extra.
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OK, you got me with the family secret!
Thanks for the recommendation.
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This is sitting in my stack waiting to be read this month. There have been a few books lately with familiar tales woven in — While Beauty Slept and a couple others
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I think you would love it. It’s got just enough touch of a fairy tale but none of the fantasy.
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The Snow White aspect kind of turns me off to this one… between your review and Andi’s, I’m thinking this would end up a “meh” for me. Hmmm.
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It’s not full Snow White, and it’s not too fantasy, because I’m not really a fantasy reader. I suggest if you feel iffy about it to read an excerpt before taking on the whole book.
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Weird, yet intriguing. I want to know why a girl named Boy and the secret if course. But sounds strange, which fairy tales do add that sense to a story at times.
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It’s a little strange, but also normal. Like there’s no fantasy element like you would expect, even though it has a touch of fairy tale.
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Hmmmm… I’m not sure how I’d feel about this one. I typically like fairy tale retellings, but I think I’m getting grouchy about them in my old age.
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Well this one is like a “real life” version without the fairy tale fantasy part. Maybe read an excerpt before deciding one way or another.
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Whoa whoa whoa. I thought the name Helen Oyeyemi looked familiar. Then I remembered she wrote Icarus Girl which was my favorite book when I was a kid. But I also can’t remember for the life of me what it was about haha. Is Boy, Snow, Bird an adult book or meant for younger audiences?
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Boy Snow Bird is an adult book. It’s like a real-life version of a Snow White-ish tale.
I’ve never read anything else by Oyeyemi. I just assumed her other books were all adult! I had no idea that Icarus Girl was a kid’s book!
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I’m googling it now and it looks like maybe it wasn’t a kid’s book haha. On amazon it was referred to as Adult/High school. But the main character is an 8-year-old, so I guess that’s why I thought it was. Who knows. I guess I just read whatever I wanted haha.
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I know I read plenty of adult books when I was younger, too, since I was an advanced reader. I know I was reading Stephen King at a super young age. . . and Wally Lamb, too.
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I like the creativity and the touch of fantasy… sounds like an interesting and unique book!
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It is. It’s a good twist on the tale you know, without the fantasy pieces.
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Does Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth count? It’s a re-telling within the contexts of the story of the original writer. I loved that and I’m a fan of retellings or books that have fairytales added into them so I’d give Boy, Snow, Bird a go, for sure.
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Oh that’s really cool! And yes, it would for sure count!
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This sounds like an interesting read. I had seen the cover around, but I didn’t know what it was about.
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I like the sound of this and that cover is gorgeous!
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I could see you loving this one, Mel!
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