By Nico
There are countless stories about the del Cisne family, about sisters who grow up into swans. Blanca and Roja del Cisne know every one. And though the verity of each individual tale is nothing if not debatable, that hardly matters, because the sisters have been raised on the truth behind ever story: the knowledge that, every generation, two del Cisne girls are born. And before the youngest reaches adulthood, one of them will be transformed into a wild swan.
Soon, Blanca or Roja will leave her human sister behind and take, unwilling, to the skies. And there is no way of knowing which one of them it will be.
Blanca: pale-haired, kindhearted, who always smiles and helps others, a perfect fairy-tale princess.
Or Roja, her sister. Red hair to Blanca’s blonde, mistakes and manipulativeness to Blanca’s perfect smiles. The perfect, fairy-tale witch. The perfect swan—the one no one but their father will miss.
Despite their differences, their bond is unshakable, and Blanca and Roja are determined that neither of them will fly away on a swan’s white wings. But when the swans come despite all their efforts and two local boys are tangled in the magic of the wood, Blanca and Roja must find their own ways to outwit the magic that would tear them apart forever.
A stunning, atmospheric ode to sisterhood, Blanca & Roja is one of the most exquisite fairytale reimaginings I’ve read in a long time. McLemore (whose also wrote the equally amazing novels Lakelore and When the Moon Was Ours) weaves together ‘Snow White and Rose Red’ and ‘The Wild Swans’ into something utterly unlike either of them, a truly original fairytale with such depth and complexity that I couldn’t help but fall in love with it. Their writing is utterly beautiful, lyrical and poetic, and it pulled me completely into a world full of strange magic and unexpected twists. The conflicts and relationships between the four primary point-of-view characters were phenomenal, particularly Blanca and Roja—the distinct and incredibly realistic mix of love and secrets between them truly made both of their characters come alive. I highly recommend Blanca & Roja to readers ages eleven and up, particularly those who love books with elements of fairytales.
There are countless stories about the del Cisne family, about sisters who grow up into swans. Blanca and Roja del Cisne know every one. And though the verity of each individual tale is nothing if not debatable, that hardly matters, because the sisters have been raised on the truth behind ever story: the knowledge that, every generation, two del Cisne girls are born. And before the youngest reaches adulthood, one of them will be transformed into a wild swan.
Soon, Blanca or Roja will leave her human sister behind and take, unwilling, to the skies. And there is no way of knowing which one of them it will be.
Blanca: pale-haired, kindhearted, who always smiles and helps others, a perfect fairy-tale princess.
Or Roja, her sister. Red hair to Blanca’s blonde, mistakes and manipulativeness to Blanca’s perfect smiles. The perfect, fairy-tale witch. The perfect swan—the one no one but their father will miss.
Despite their differences, their bond is unshakable, and Blanca and Roja are determined that neither of them will fly away on a swan’s white wings. But when the swans come despite all their efforts and two local boys are tangled in the magic of the wood, Blanca and Roja must find their own ways to outwit the magic that would tear them apart forever.
A stunning, atmospheric ode to sisterhood, Blanca & Roja is one of the most exquisite fairytale reimaginings I’ve read in a long time. McLemore (whose also wrote the equally amazing novels Lakelore and When the Moon Was Ours) weaves together ‘Snow White and Rose Red’ and ‘The Wild Swans’ into something utterly unlike either of them, a truly original fairytale with such depth and complexity that I couldn’t help but fall in love with it. Their writing is utterly beautiful, lyrical and poetic, and it pulled me completely into a world full of strange magic and unexpected twists. The conflicts and relationships between the four primary point-of-view characters were phenomenal, particularly Blanca and Roja—the distinct and incredibly realistic mix of love and secrets between them truly made both of their characters come alive. I highly recommend Blanca & Roja to readers ages eleven and up, particularly those who love books with elements of fairytales.
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