Review: Blanca & Roja

Blanca & Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Blanca & Roja is a Latinx fairy tale retelling of Snow White and Rose Red (best known from the Brothers Grimm version) and a variety of swan fairy tales (Grimm, Andersen, Musäus, Tchaikovsky), with strong influence from Andersen's The Ugly Duckling recast as a tale of discovering one's authentic self. The complex sisterly love McLemore gives us is more realistic than that in the original sister story, painted with affection, rivalry, protectiveness and worry. Blanca and Roja del Cisne (of the Swans), daughters of a cursed line in which one of two sisters must always become a swan, are seemingly opposite in nature and appearance but as one character notes, also so alike, as if they were braided together. Their "Yearling" bear, Barclay, and a non-binary character, Page, receive alternating chapters along with Blanca and Roja's chapters, weaving a story that is like a tapestry. The battle to save one sister from being taken by the swans forms the central theme of the book but there are also subplots about becoming who you are, about seeking justice, and that moment that you find out your family isn't what you think it is and how you can be cast into the wild by that knowledge.

McLemore's languid writing is always beautiful to read and the merging of the various tales and allegories is also well done. This is an enjoyable read that offers interesting perspectives on sibling love, the limits of family loyalty, and gender issues. A beautiful story for those who love fairy tale retellings.

"The story of the the Ugly Duckling was never about the cygnet discovering he is lovely. It is not a story about realizing you have become beautiful. It is about the sudden understanding that you are something other than you thought you were, and that what you are is more beautiful than what you once thought you had to be."

I received a paper ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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