Girls Made of Snow and Glass

By: Melissa Bashardoust

Narrated by: Jennifer Ikeda

Length: 12 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

Breakout author Melissa Bashardoust delivers a feminist fantasy reimagining of the Snow White fairy tale.

Enchanting and empowering, this magical new audiobook is an updated version of the classic tale.

At 16, Mina's mother is dead, her magician father is vicious, and her silent heart has never beat with love for anyone—has never beat at all, in fact, but she'd always thought that fact normal. She never guessed that her father cut out her heart and replaced it with one of glass. When she moves to Whitespring Castle and sees its king for the first time, Mina forms a plan: win the king's heart with her beauty, become queen, and finally know love. The only catch is that she'll have to become a stepmother.

Fifteen-year-old Lynet looks just like her late mother, and one day she discovers why: a magician created her out of snow in the dead queen's image, at her father's order. But despite being the dead queen made flesh, Lynet would rather be like her fierce and regal stepmother, Mina. She gets her wish when her father makes Lynet queen of the southern territories, displacing Mina. Now Mina is starting to look at Lynet with something like hatred, and Lynet must decide what to do—and who to be—to win back the only mother she's ever known…or else defeat her once and for all.

Entwining the stories of both Lynet and Mina in the past and present, Girls Made of Snow and Glass traces the relationship of two young women doomed to be rivals from the start. Only one can win all, while the other must lose everything—unless both can find a way to reshape themselves and their story.

©2017 Melissa Bashardoust (P)2017 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"Narrator Jennifer Ikeda's pacing adds drama and intrigue to this twist on the classic Snow White story...listeners will enjoy this fresh take on a traditional tale that is filled with magic and strong female characters who must become allies rather than rivals." (AudioFile Magazine)

"In Girls Made of Snow and Glass, Melissa Bashardoust has given us exquisite displays of magic, complex mother-daughter relationships, and gloriously powerful women triumphing in a world that does not want them to be powerful. A gorgeous, feminist fairy tale." (Traci Chee, New York Times best-selling author of The Reader)

"Girls Made of Snow and Glass is like reading a particularly wonderful and vivid dream, complete with imaginative magic, delightful characters, and beautiful language. Melissa Bashardoust's debut novel is everything a fairy tale should be." (Jodi Meadows, New York Times best-selling coauthor of My Lady Jane)

Loved it!

It’s worth a shot story was kind of slow or bounced around a bit maybe not sure but it didn’t take long and all the pieces start coming together and then you were just like Luke. Really good book if you like these types of books with fantasy and magic a little bit it’s a good one I highly recommend it.

I love this new take on great story

I find it fascinating to read or in this case hear a new twist on a classic story the author did a fantastic job re imagining Snow white and gives us another story on the Huntsman once you get started you can't wait to go back and continue listening to the story. great character development not your usual Stepmom for sure. give it a try you will not be disappointed

Engaging

This story was a nice twist to an “evil” stepmother and her stepdaughter. And how love can change anything. I’m not good at reviews but it’s good book. Slow at first but once you get to the main problem. It’s all up hill from there!

Another banger from bashardoust

Really fantastic narration performed by Ikeda, she transports the listener and has a truly wonderful voice. The story was beautiful and sad, and was only given 4/5 because it seemed there were three or four endings only to give it a happy one. The magician is diabolical, the queen is sympathetic, Felix is a beautiful and surprisingly complex character, Nadia and Lynette’s characters both took hard lefts though in the final act. Queer friendly, which is always exciting as an older queer.

A Lovely Fairytale

I really enjoyed the characters in this book. The princess and Queen were so relatable! Their fears and thoughts were so complex and I couldn't help but to listen more as the story unfolded.

excellent alternative snow white

I loved it. the characters are dynamic and interesting and I really love the twist on snow white.

Lovely

One of the reasons why I decided to listen to this audiobook is that I love Jennifer Ikeda's narration skills, and this time she didn't dissappoint me. The story of Lynet and Mina mixes fairy tales in a masterful way, transporting you to this magical kingdom under a curse. Though the ending was quite obvious, the journey was the important thing and the characters became lovable little by little. I am not a fan of retellings, but this one, I loved it. I highly recommend it.

Recommended

Jennifer Ikeda is one of my favorite narrators! This was an interesting story and twist on Snow White.

Power, Fragility, and Transformation

This is a strong and interesting reimagination of the Snow White fairy tale. Melissa Bashardoust takes the elements of the original story and re-arranges them. Jennifer Ikeda's performance is excellent. When I began listening, I found the pace of this piece to be glacial at times. However, someone whose opinion I greatly respect had recommended it and so I stuck with it. The energy that Jennifer Ikeda brought held my interest. Once the story picked up, I became caught up in all of the relationships. For me, the strongest character and storyline were of the stepmother, Mina. This book contains adult themes and relationships that move beyond the scope of heterosexuality. I would recommend this book to anyone who is going through a major transformation, who feels restrained by the expectations of others, or who wants to leave the limitations of conventional roles behind.

Wowww!

What an incredible story! Original and quite imaginative. I’m an avid reader/listener. And I haven’t read anything this unique in a very long time. Very refreshing! Highly recommended.