SNOW WHITE AND THE DRAGON (OR, SLEEPING BEAUTY AND THE SEVEN DWARFS)

Two determined girls work to cure a kingdom’s inhabitants of a sleeping curse and keep the Night Witch from seizing the crown.

In one week, timid, black-haired Snow will turn 13 and will become the next queen of Apfel; her mother, Elora, died days after Snow’s birth. Snow doesn’t feel ready, and her stepmother, Lucille, and Lucille’s lady-in-waiting are vaguely menacing. Meanwhile, in the Dreamwood, another nearly-13-year-old girl, strawberry-blond Rose, has lived with Edel, the Fairy of Flora, ever since she was found near Apfel as a baby. Savvy readers may guess some of the plot twists and connections among the characters, but the interwoven stories are engaging even if one suspects what’s coming. The impending Crown Ceremony provides a ticking clock that heightens tensions, and Apfel’s fate makes for high stakes. When the girls magically switch places, each finds herself in an unfamiliar environment. A disguised Snow travels with the Huntsmen in the Dreamwood, encountering bandits and a cockatrice, while Rose sleuths to discover the identity of the Night Witch and develop a cure for the sleeping curse that’s slowly overtaking Apfel. Inventive turns of phrase (“the moon is curved like a fang,” “wings as big as dread”) provide glimmering touches to this fractured fairy-tale mashup of “Snow White” and “Sleeping Beauty.” This volume stands alone, although it’s set in Reverie, and a few characters from the first Princess Swap book appear in minor roles.

An exciting and inventive double retelling.