MIRROR, MIRROR

A feel-good fairy tale about a full-figured woman pursuing her dreams.

Noll (Animal Jam: Official Insider’s Guide, 2014, etc.) updates the story of “Snow White” in this novel. As the story opens, Neve Bianca, in her early 20s, helps her loving father in her family’s construction business. She never attended college and had a difficult time in high school because other teens tormented her about her weight. She has aspirations to go to library school someday but doesn’t do anything to fulfill them. When her father dies, she discovers that her stepmother, Vania, is involved with the Russian mob. Vania orders Neve killed, but when the hit man can’t bear to do it, Neve runs, eventually ending up at a traveling music festival. There, she meets Lindsey, a young performer with dwarfism whose first love is Shakespeare. She helps Neve regain some self-confidence; in one of their first interactions, for example, Lindsey asks, “Why would you ever believe what a bunch of bullies have to say about you? They are totally screwed up in the head.” Lindsey then helps get Neve a job at a candy-apple stand. At a party, Neve’s dancing attracts the attention of the director of a burlesque act, which does more to bring Neve out of her shell. When her dancing is publicized, though, her stepmother recognizes her, which puts everything at terrible risk. Noll conscientiously creates a heroine with an innocent heart and a painful past. She gives Neve a few quirks, such as a habit of reciting facts when she’s nervous, but, much like a princess in a fairy tale, she has no serious flaws. When she runs away from her old life and starts anew, nearly everyone she meets is willing to help her. She even finds love with a respectful, attractive rock star who has a history of being bullied himself. Despite the plot’s requisite obstacles, there’s little doubt that everything will work out in the end. Noll transports a classic fairy tale into the modern world with a spirit of optimism, highlighting Neve’s essential goodness. There’s plenty of material here for readers who’ve never felt like princesses, from Neve’s body-image struggles to Lindsey’s deep suspicion of romantic attention, and Noll resolves it all neatly.

An easy, escapist fantasy tied up with a happy ending.