With echoes of Snow White, this prequel to the other sci-fi fairy-tale retellings in the series explains how Levana came to be such a wicked queen and sets up Cinder's backstory for readers in the know. Though the ambitious and often-deluded royal never quite becomes likable, insights into her character awaken sympathy. A well-told, page-turning story with payoff for series followers. (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Meyer takes a short break between books in the Lunar Chronicles to explore the back story of evil Queen Levana.As the title suggests, here Meyer riffs on "Snow White," positioning Levana as the wicked queen. As the novel opens, Princess Levana and her older sister prepare for the funeral of their assassinated parents. Levana chafes at the knowledge that her sister will take the throneLevana is intelligent and politically engaged, while her lovely sister seems interested only in sexual conquest. The 15-year-old princess also yearns for kind, handsome guard Evret Hayle, who is unaccountably in love with his beautiful, pregnant wife. Physical beauty is something the scarred princess can achieve only by casting a Lunar glamour; fortunately, she is very skilled in the art. She is so adept, in fact, that she uses it to lure Evret to her bed and to the altar when his wife dies in childbirth; the only blot on her happiness is baby Winter, her stepdaughterand her sister, and the Moon's dwindling resources.With this book, Meyer sets herself a formidable challenge. Her overall story and the original fairy tale's structure both demand that Levana end the book thoroughly evil, creating a deterministic, negative character arc. Although she strives to make Levana initially sympathetic, she must also plant the seeds of her cruelty and megalomania; the result is that Levana goes from merely bratty to out-and-out repellent. The author also deprives herself of the opportunity to play to her strengths: quick, cinematic changes in scene and chemistry between her characters. With virtually no action and no sparks flying, the plot slogs along to an end readers know already, leaving them free to notice Meyer's malapropisms, grammatical errors and awkward metaphors. Fans should just wait for Winter, coming in fall 2015. (Science fiction/fairy tale. 13 up) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Gr 9 Up-This series prequel delves into Queen Levana's past, beginning with her parents' funeral when she was 15. Her vain and cruel sister Channery will now become queen, a position of power and responsibility. While Channery wants the former, she has no interest in the latter, and Levana knows that she would make a better queen. She also covets the love of Evret Hayle, a happily married royal guard with a baby on the way. After his wife's death, Levana uses her glamour to manipulate him physically and emotionally in an attempt to achieve her warped understanding of love. Once she has that, her thoughts shift to the other thing wants: the throne. Rebecca Soler meets the challenge of inhabiting Levana over the span of about 10 years, reflecting the changes in Levana's psyche with changes in her voice that alternate between light, calculating, and desperate. Without the action and wryness that characterizes the other titles in the series, this story is darker and moves at a slower pace. While it does give listeners insight into Levana's past and motivations, it will leave them even more anxious for the conclusion with the return of Cinder and company. VERDICT Recommended to fans of the series.-Amanda Raklovits, Champaign Public Library, IL © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.