The Reflections of Queen Snow White

In The Reflections of Queen Snow White, what happens when happily ever after comes and goes?

About The Reflections of Queen Snow White

On the eve of her only daughter, Princess Raven’s wedding, an aging Snow White finds it impossible to share in the joyous spirit of the occasion. The ceremony itself promises to be the most glamorous social event of the decade. Snow White’s castle has been meticulously scrubbed, polished and opulently decorated for the celebration. It is already nearly bursting with jubilant guests and merry well-wishers. Prince Edel, Raven’s fiancé, is a fine man from a neighboring kingdom and Snow White’s own domain is prosperous and at peace. Things could not be better, in fact, except for one thing: the King is dead.

The queen has been in a moribund state of hopeless depression for over a year with no end in sight. It is only when, in a fit of bitter despair, she seeks solitude in the vastness of her own sprawling castle and climbs a long disused and forgotten tower stair that she comes face to face with herself in the very same magic mirror used by her stepmother of old.

It promises her respite in its shimmering depths, but can Snow White trust a device that was so precious to a woman who sought to cause her such irreparable harm? Can she confront the demons of her own difficult past to discover a better future for herself and her family? And finally, can she release her soul-crushing grief and suffocating loneliness to once again discover what “happily ever after” really means?

My Thoughts

Snow White was one of my favourite tales as a child and teen. I loved the innocence and underlying strength of Snow White. This story with Snow White begins many years after the childhood tale ends, with Queen Snow White facing the after effects of her husband’s death and her daughter Raven’s wedding.

Queen Snow White feels lost and alone. She finds no happiness in anything that used to bring her joy, not even with her own daughter’s wedding. She is struggling with her pain and instead of reaching out to others, she caves into her herself and suffers in silence. My heart broke for Queen Snow White just knowing the amount of pain she is going through. Her husband was her sole confident, the one person she could truly be herself with and her best friend. I think of my own husband and how close he is to me and I can’t even begin to imagine life without him. Your heart bleeds for her and you just want her to find the peace and strength we know is inside her and to heal the bond between her and her daughter, Raven.

It is in a state of loneliness and trying to hide from the guests that have in a way invaded her home, Queen Snow White finds herself climbing the stairs to her stepmother’s long forgotten rooms. Here she must face her past in her stepmother’s favourite object, a mirror. I loved how the mirror forced her to confront her pain and to look inside of herself, constantly reminding her that the mirror can only show her the truth not the way she remembers each memory. The story of Snow White makes her seems frail and dependent on her husband, when we see her through the eyes of the mirror we see a whole new picture. We see a strong young woman who has overcome pain and adversity and still sees the beauty in others. She suffered at the hands of her stepmother but instead of causing her to become a person who in turn does this to others, it makes her gentle, forgiving and righteous. I loved how we were guided through her life and those precious and terrifying moments in time, in order to watch her grow and understand her own strength and courage. Queen Snow White learns many valuable lessons throughout the novel, many of these lessons are ones that we all can easily forget in our own pain and even in our happiness. While my heart ached at times for Queen Snow White, I love how she slowly peels back the painful and happy memories in order to emerge a different woman throughout the novel. The story is beautifully written and is one I cherished from start to finish.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

Rating: 4.5/5

About the Author

David Meredith is a writer and educator originally from Knoxville, Tennessee. He received both a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts from East Tennessee State University, in Johnson City, Tennessee as well as a Tennessee State Teaching license. On and off, he spent nearly a decade, from 1999-2010 teaching English in Northern Japan, but currently lives with his wife and three children in the Nashville Area where he continues to write, teach English, and is pursuing his doctoral degree in educational leadership.

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.