Tear You Apart

October 15, 2014
This sequel to Kill Me Softly (2012) continues the adventures of the teen inhabitants of Beau Rivage, a town where fairy tales live again.Viv has the Snow White curse. Her stepmother, Regina, clearly wants her dead, and Viv already knows the Huntsman fated to cut out her heart. The trouble is, she and that Huntsman, Henley, have been in love for years. As Viv realizes that the time of the curse is fast approaching, their relationship becomes strained. Viv hopes that Henley won't kill her, but she can't be sure. When Regina hires another Huntsman to make sure Viv dies, Viv decides to escape into the underworld. There, she meets the prince who is supposed to save her and marry her to live happily ever after-and she doesn't like him at all. His father, the king of the underworld, turns out to be an extremely nasty sort indeed, one who will make Viv's happily-ever-after life into unending torture. Viv still loves Henley, but she's trapped in the underworld, and Henley can't get to her. Meanwhile, other fairy tales play themselves out all around Viv. Can Viv find a way to thwart her curse? As before, Cross keeps readers guessing as she unfolds her mashup, bringing the German Marchen versions into the story with satisfyingly gruesome effect. A fan-pleasing combination of fairy tale and thriller. (Fantasy. 14-18)

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November 1, 2014

Gr 8 Up-An otherworldly spin on the "Snow White" fairy tale and a companion novel to Kill Me Softly (Egmont USA, 2012). Seventeen-year-old Viv Deneuve is the Snow White figure in this tale. A dark-haired beauty with blood red lips, Viv is a sitting duck. If her jealous stepmother doesn't poison her first, then her cursed boyfriend Henley is charged with hunting Viv down and cutting out her heart. Her only chance of survival is to stay as far away from Henley as possible, but that's hard to do when she is desperately in love with him. When Viv is invited to an underworld club by the same prince who is supposed to break her curse, she wonders if she can leave Henley and her heart behind. But Prince Jasper isn't Prince Charming. And once Viv enters the underworld, Jasper's father isn't going to let her go home. The protagonist decides to take her fate into her own hands. Cross deftly takes the all-too-familiar Disney fairy tale tropes (fair maiden, handsome prince) and turns them on their heads. These tales are dark and sinister (Viv worries her prince has a dead girl fetish) and filled with a diverse cast of characters. At first, the protagonist isn't all that likable. She's abrasive and bitter and almost resigned to her fate. But once she sets her sights on freedom and justice, she becomes a more powerful heroine. A great read for fans of the television show, Once Upon A Time.-Kimberly Garnick Giarratano, Rockaway Township Public Library, NJ

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