Emily Winfield Martin’s Snow & Rose is an enchanting MG fairy tale

SNOW & ROSE, by Emily Winfield Martin, Random House Books for Young Readers, Oct. 10, 2017, Hardcover, $17.99 (ages 8-12)

I love classic fairy tales, especially obscure ones. Add in some beautiful illustrations, and I’m hooked. So it should come as no surprise that I immediately fell in love with Snow & Rose, by Emily Winfield Martin.

Inspired by the tale Snow White and Rose Red, Snow & Rose tells the story of two sisters who find themselves uprooted from the home they’ve always known and missing a father who disappeared without a trace.

When Snow and Rose last saw their father, he was headed out into the woods. Now, the sisters and their mother live in a small cottage in those very same woods. While their mother moves through life as though moving through quicksand, the girls take it upon themselves to explore.

As the girls wander, they realize the woods are not so lonely as they once thought. New friends are made and magic discovered. But not all is happy in the woods. There’s a dark force just waiting to take advantage of two young girls. It will take all of Snow and Rose’s might and the help of some unexpected creatures to expel the darkness forever.

Snow & Rose is just the sort of fairy tale I would have devoured as an 8-year-old, and I can’t wait to share it with my daughter when she’s old enough.

There’s an innocence to Emily Winnfield Martin’s writing that pairs perfectly with the subject matter. She perfectly balances the sad and scary with the wonder and excitement young people often feel. Her characters are well developed with strong emotions and compelling storylines.

Emily’s strong writing is paired with enchanting illustrations. Snow & Rose was conceived as a picture book and then grew into a full-length novel. While the illustrations aren’t necessary to the story itself — it stands well on its own — they do add a charm that takes the book over the top. I love the whimsical nature of Emily’s illustrations and know younger readers will enjoy them, too

Snow & Rose is by far one of my favorite fairy-tale retellings.