Fairest of All (Whatever After #1)

by Sarah Mlynowski (Author)

Fairest of All (Whatever After #1)
Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade
Series: Whatever After

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 . . .

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Publishers Weekly

This delightful kickoff to the Whatever After series demonstrates Mlynowski's (the Magic in Manhattan series) prowess at writing for middle-graders. In the cleverly tangled and quite funny story, 10-year-old Abby and her younger brother, Jonah, are sucked into the mirror in their basement. Landing in a forest, they follow an old woman to a cottage and end up preventing Snow White from eating the apple the woman offers her. Since she didn't eat the poisoned fruit and a prince won't revive her with a kiss, Abby laments that they've "ruined her life" and vows to "fix" Snow White's story. Mlynowski's story is studded with comical pratfalls, witty quips, and one-liners ("I'll take it! I'll take the yummy, juicy apple," a famished Jonah tells the disguised queen). The testy but devoted relationship between Abby and Jonah will resonate with readers, Mlynowski's twists on the original story entertain, and Abby's exclamatory narration grabs attention from the start. The ending hints at another trip through the basement mirror—a promising prospect. Ages 8-12. Agent: Laura Dail, Laura Dail Literary Agency. (May)

Copyright 2012 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

School Library Journal

Gr 3-5—When fifth-grader Abby and her younger brother, Jonah, move from Chicago to boring small-town Smithville, they think the exciting part of their lives might be over. Then Jonah discovers a hissing mirror in the basement. After he knocks on it three times, it swallows them both up and spits them out in a fairy-tale land called Zamel. They arrive as Snow White's evil stepmother is attempting to poison Snow with an apple, just like in the story. They save her from that fate, but soon realize their huge mistake. If Snow doesn't eat the apple, the prince never gets to rescue her, and she never falls in love with him. They have actually ruined her happily-ever-after. Somehow they have to get his attention, but it won't be easy. This is essentially "Snow White" retold, with enough amusing changes thrown in to keep readers giggling. Some of the dwarfs are girls, one of them is ridiculously handsome, and the mirror's name is Gabrielle. While Snow White is annoyingly vapid, Abby's conversational narration is witty and charming, and Jonah's one-liners are snappy and clever. A light, fun adventure.—Mandy Laferriere, Fowler Middle School, Frisco, TX

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

Praise for Whatever After:

"An uproariously funny read. The swift pace of the tale and non-stop action . . . will enchant readers from the first page." — Kirkus Reviews

"Hilarious . . . with unexpected plot twists and plenty of girl power." — Booklist

"The feminist in me adored it, and the mother in me loved how my daughter would long to cuddle in close as we read together." — Danielle Herzog, blogging for The Washington Post

Sarah Mlynowski
Sarah Mlynowski is the New York Times bestselling author of the Whatever After series, the Magic in Manhattan series, Best Wishes, Gimme a Call, and a bunch of other books for teens and tweens, including the Upside-Down Magic series, which she cowrites with Lauren Myracle and Emily Jenkins and which was adapted into a movie for the Disney Channel. Originally from Montreal, Sarah now lives in Los Angeles with her family. Visit Sarah online at sarahm.com and find her on Instagram, Facebook, and X at @sarahmlynowski.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780545485715
Lexile Measure
400
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Scholastic Press
Publication date
April 01, 2013
Series
Whatever After
BISAC categories
JUV037000 - Juvenile Fiction | Fantasy & Magic
JUV001000 - Juvenile Fiction | Action & Adventure
JUV013070 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Siblings
JUV012040 - Juvenile Fiction | Fairy Tales & Folklore | Adaptations
Library of Congress categories
Characters in literature
Characters and characteristics in literature
Brothers and sisters
Magic
Fairy tales
Virginia Readers Choice Award
Nominee 2015 - 2015
Bluebonnet Awards
Nominee

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