Fairest of All by Sarah Mlynowski (Audio Review) ~ BookishRealm

Series: Whatever After, #1
# of Pages: 169
Publication: May 1st, 2012
Source: Library Audiobook
Narrator: Emily Eiden
Length: 3 hours and 20 minutes
Amazon | Goodreads | Audible

The first installment of Sarah Mylowski's New York Times bestselling series! Be the bravest of them all . . . Once upon a time my brother and I were normal kids. The next minute? The mirror in our basement slurped us up and magically transported us inside Snow White's fairy tale. I know it sounds crazy, but it's true. But hey -- we're heroes! 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. And then she won't get her happy ending. Oops. Now it's up to us to: - Avoid getting poisoned - Sneak into a castle - Fix Snow White's story But Snow White's REAL happy ending might not be quite what we expected . . .

The first installment in an exciting children’s series, Whatever After: Fairest of All is the tale of a brother/sister duo Abby and Jonah as they explore reimagined world’s based on some of the most famous/popular fairy tales. Serving as an exploration into the lives of Jonah and Abby, this first novel begins as Abby details the experience of moving to a new city and her attempts to not only get along with new kids her age, but even her attempts to manage to understand the new lingo. While she struggles at school, Abby and Jonah encounter an even greater mystery when they are sucked up by the mirror in their new basement and transported to the world of Snow White.

“Once upon a time, my brother and I were normal kids. The next minute? The mirror in our basement slurped us up and magically transported us inside Snow White's fairy tale.”

This novel contained to of my favorite elements. 1 -- It’s a children’s novel and 2 -- it’s a fairytale retelling. I typically enjoy most of the children and middle grade books that I read; however, the real expertise of this novel was in the crafting of the retelling. Mlynowski had the option to keep the traditional storyline affiliated with Snow White; however, she took several different turns and made it a story about female empowerment. Without divulging too much of the plot, it is imperative for readers to understand that this book is about finding a sense of independence and moving away from dependence on other individuals. It is books like these that inspire children to step away from the traditional roles they are often exposed to. For example, while I love my fair share of Disney movies, quite a few of them have illustrated princesses and their dependence upon princes to come and save the day. Mlynowski makes sure that her novel steers clear of this narrative.

“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. And then she won’t get her happy ending. Oops.”

Other elements that make this novel appealing include the humorous relationship between Jonah and Abby as well as the accessibility of Mlynowski’s writing. Jonah and Abby are like any other brother sister duo and their relationship drives a lot of the plot of the novel. While Jonah is adventurous and willing to try pretty much anything, Abby is more reserved and thinks about the consequences of their actions. The two characters balance each other out for the creation of a dynamic plot/storyline. Mlynowski not only writes these characters in a fun and interesting way, but she also makes the overall writing of the book accessible and easy to follow. This book proves to be great for younger readers who are exploring and adventuring into chapter books as well as older readers such as myself that simply enjoy reading children’s books.

I listened to this book on audio two times and I’m always intrigued by the ability of Emily Eiden to capture the voice of two children and a variety of other characters. She makes the story even more fun and intriguing than if it were read as a physical copy. In fact, after hearing Eiden’s narration, it became my goal to listen to all of these books on audio as opposed to reading the physical copies. All of the audiobooks in the series appear to fall in between 3-5 hours; however, I don’t anticipate finishing all of the books in the series before the year is finished. If you’re interested in learning more about Emily Eiden and hearing her narrate the books check out the clip below: