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A Fairy Tale Retold: Spitting Gold, The Blue Fairy Book, Once Upon a Toad, and Toads and Diamonds

22 May

Spitting Gold
by Camelia Lowkis
Set in 1866 Paris and described as for fans of Sarah Waters, I couldn’t resist checking out Camelia Lowkis’s adult novel debut, Spitting Gold. The story focuses on Baroness Sylvie Devereux and her sister Charlotte Mothe. Sylvie has obtained upper class respectability with a loving husband and a comfortable home. Her sister Charlotte, however, is still struggling, living with a dying father and trying to make a living as spirit medium, something her sister had given up in her social climbing. When Charlotte, pulls her sister in for one last scheme it could destroy both their lives. The story itself was enjoyable with lots of intrigue, gothic melodrama, and some Sapphic romance, but what to me was most interesting was the the way in which Lowkis give us first one sisters perspective and then the other of what unfolded with part one and part two covering much of the same time, but from totally different unique and equally compelling view points. Perrault’s French fairytale, “The Fairies” or better known in English as, “Diamonds and Toads” is referenced several times about a “good” sister who is rewarded with wealth by a fairy and a “bad” sister punished, but in the end for the novel it is much more murky who is the “good” and who is the “bad.”

The Blue Fairy Book
by Andrew Lang
For those curious to read the story by Perrault, “Diamonds and Toads” that inspired Camelia Lowkis you can view one of the more popular adaptations from Andrew Lang’s The Blue Fairy Book which was originally released in 1889. The Blue Fairy Book was the first of 12 volumes of fairy tales from around the world, collected by Lang, an author, poet, and folklorist whose work I’ve seen many author’s look back on as inspiring their passion for reading. Other popular fairy tales it includes are “Hansel and Gretel,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Puss in Boots,” and “Snow-White and Rose-Red.” If you enjoy The Blue Fairy Book than you will want to check out other volumes, each volume is marked by a different color of fairy, ending with in 1910, The Lilac Fairy.

Once Upon a Toad
by Heather Vogel Fredrick
Once Upon a Toad is a child friendly update of the classic tale. In this juvenile fiction adaptation of the fairy tale, Cat Starr moves in with her dad and stepsister, Olivia, while her mother is on a NASA Mission in Space. After a visit from her Great Aunt Abyssinia, toads are appearing every time she speaks while her step sister gets diamonds and flowers. The story ups the zaniness with jewel thieves after Olivia and a government agency wanting to examine Cat.

Toads and Diamonds
by Heather Tomlinson
Heather Tomlinson’s young adult adaptation, Toads and Diamonds, takes inspiration from precolonial India for her retelling of the classic story. When Diribani goes to get water for her family, she meets a goddess and given the gift of flowers and precious jewels but her stepsister Tana instead finds herself speaking snakes and toads as a reward. But this story asks which is the gift and which is the curse, rather than simply setup the “good” vs “bad” sister dichotomy of the original tale.

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager

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A World War II Fantasy: Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

1 May

In the last decade or so, fantasy has taken on many forms. Before, many thought of those with a medieval like setting as falling into the genre of fantasy. Now, however, fantasy can have a multitude of time era inspired settings from modern day to Ancient Greece, and in the case of Divine Rivals, a World War II inspired setting.

Iris Winnow is desperately trying to keep the scraps of family together. Her mother suffers from addiction and her older brother, Forest, is missing from the front lines. The only hope to improve her situation is to win a promotion as a columnist at the prestigious Oath Gazette, a title she and her rival, Roman Kitt are competing for.

The setting takes place in the fictional world off Cambria with a World War II inspired setting with fictional gods that wage war over who will rule.

Rebecca Ross’ writing style is quite a sophisticated one, the tone and speech of the characters matching the era in which the story is set, but still easy enough to understand for readers without being over the top.

One of the more interesting aspects of this novel is why there is a war in the first place. Rather than a battle between countries or governments, it is instead a war of gods who had laid dormant for thousands of years before awakening and seeking dominance over the world. It’s an interesting idea that gets some exploration within the novel. However, there are two main focuses within the book itself. The first one is with Iris and her relationship with her brother, Forest. It is clear that they both have a strong sibling bond and that his going off to war has affected her deeply. The letters they write to each other are touching and make the reader root for them to be reunited.

The second focus point is on Iris’ relationship with Roman Kitt, her journalistic rival and love interest throughout the book. Roman is also quite the interesting character to read, haughty, but it’s clear he cares for Iris and the plight regarding her brother. While their relationship does technically fall into the category of enemies to lovers (a trope that has become quite popular) it’s done in a way where it doesn’t come off as them being cruel to each other and to go with the title of the book, they are more rivals than they are enemies.

The plot doesn’t race through its beats, nor does it slow down to a crawl, but instead it carries the reader right along as we join these two on their adventure. The ending will leave readers desperate to get their hands on the second book, Ruthless Vows, as soon as possible!

Written by:
Lauren Lapinski
Information and Digital Services Assistant

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