I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the POISONED by Jennifer
Donnelly Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the
giveaway!
About the Book:
Author: Jennifer Donnelly
Pub. Date: October 20, 2020
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Formats: Hardcover, eBook,
Audiobook
Pages: 320
Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org
From Jennifer Donnelly, author of the acclaimed New York
Times bestseller Stepsister, comes a fairytale retelling
that'll forever change the way you think about strength, power, and the real
meaning of "happily ever after."
Once upon a time, a girl named Sophie rode into the forest with the queen's
huntsman. Her lips were the color of ripe cherries, her skin as soft as
new-fallen snow, her hair as dark as midnight. When they stopped to rest, the
huntsman took out his knife . . . and took Sophie's heart.
It shouldn't have come as a surprise. Sophie had heard the rumors, the
whispers. They said she was too kind and foolish to rule -- a waste of a
princess. A disaster of a future queen. And Sophie believed them. She believed
everything she'd heard about herself, the poisonous words people use to keep
girls like Sophie from becoming too powerful, too strong . . .
With the help of seven mysterious strangers, Sophie manages to survive. But
when she realizes that the jealous queen might not be to blame, Sophie must
find the courage to face an even more terrifying enemy, proving that even the
darkest magic can't extinguish the fire burning inside every girl, and that
kindness is the ultimate form of strength.
Interview:
Hey Jennifer!
First I want to say welcome to Two Chicks on Books I’m glad you could stop by
for a chat! POISONED sounds AWESOME and I can’t wait for everyone to read it!
Thank you so much for
hosting me! I’m so excited for readers to meet Sophie, POISONED’s main
character, and follow her on her journey.
For the readers: can you tell us a
little bit about the POISONED and the characters?
POISONED is a retelling
of SNOW WHITE. Ever since I first heard the story, as a small child, I’ve been
both terrified and fascinated by the talking mirror. I’ve always wanted to know
who, exactly, is inside it and what it wants from us. I wrote POISONED to find
out. I can’t tell you who it is – that would be quite a spoiler – but I can tell
you that it doesn’t have our best interests at heart.
There’s an evil queen
in the story, of course, but she’s not the one we’ve been told about. This
queen is a ruler first and foremost, with bigger concerns than a few wrinkles,
but like the queen in the classic tale, she listens to the voice in the mirror
and allows it to take her power.
Sophie, the Snow White
character, is a kind, gentle girl, but in the queen’s court, no value is place
on kindness. Sophie is constantly told all the things she’s not – not tough
enough, shrewd enough, strong enough. When the queen orders
her huntsman to take Sophie into the woods and cut out her heart, Sophie faces
a harrowing choice: she can hide, stay silent, and acquiesce to the queen’s
brutal reign, or she can rebel and use the very thing that’s wrong about her to
pursue what’s right.
A handsome prince is makes an appearance
or two, as do seven mysterious men of the woods, but there are a lot of new
character in this retelling including a rather cheerful grave robber,
waldwichts (a monster made of sticks), wunschfetzens (drippy, quivery little
guys who pull your memories out of your ears), a handsome, quiet archer, and
his not-so-quiet grandmother, to name just a few.
What are you working on now?
My third fairy tale retelling,
and a new historical novel. They’re very different books, and I’m obsessed with
both of them.
Were any of the characters in the
book inspired by people from your real life?
There are always bits
and pieces of real people collaged into my characters. We writers are thieves;
we steal the intangibles – a person’s smile, the way he tilts his head or wears
his years – stash them for a bit, then use them in our stories.
Who was your favorite character to
write?
I loved writing all of
them – Sophie, Adelaide the evil queen, the huntsman (who narrates a good deal
of the book), and the person in the mirror. Loved writing him!
What is your favorite passages/scenes
in POISONED?
Very tough to answer
this because I don’t want to give anything away. I loved writing the prologue
and setting the stage for what’s to come. I loved writing the prince and the
archer. And the huntsman. And the end, loved writing the end – there’s a
bit of a twist there, but you’ll have to read the book to discover what it
is!
Who is your ultimate book boyfriend?
Bartleby the Scrivener.
He must be. I quote him all the time.
What inspired you to write fairy tale
retellings?
A lifelong quest for
answers. I’ve always wanted to know what made Cinderella’s ugly stepsisters so
mean. Who decided they were ugly? Who gets to decide that anyone is ugly? And
why do we allow it? What made the evil queen in Snow White evil? How did
she have so much time to gaze into a mirror – didn’t she have a realm to rule? And
who, or what, is inside that mirror?
Lightning Round Questions
What are you reading
right now? Or what do you have on your TBR that you’re dying to read?
So many
books! My TBR stack is teetering! Ash by Malinda Lo, The Night
Country by Melissa Albert, A Map to the Sun by Sloane Leong, Toast
by Nigel Slater, Luster by Raven Leilani, Home by Marilynne
Robinson, The End of the World by Geraldine McCaughrean, Laughing
Shall I Die by Tom Shippey – the stack only ever seems to get taller.
Instagram, Twitter or
Facebook?
All of
the above.
Favorite Superhero?
Turtle
Girl. She gets turtles safely out of the road so they don’t get run over. (I
made her up.)
Favorite TV show?
Halloween
Wars
Sweet or Salty?
Sweet. Salty
doesn’t even come close.
Any Phobias?
Poached
eggs on top of salad greens. When I see that, I run.
Song you can’t get
enough of right now?
Gaga’s Joann.
I heard it playing the other day and was just as blown away as the first time.
Fall/Winter 2020 Movie
you’re most looking forward to?
Does a series count? If so, Season Two of His Dark Materials.
The actors are all amazing, Ruth Wilson is terrifying as Mrs. Coulter,
and Iorek Byrnison is one of my favorite literary characters ever!
Thanks so
much Jennifer for answering my questions! I can’t wait for everyone to read POISONED!
You’re very welcome! I hope you and your readers enjoy POISONED!
About Jennifer:
Jennifer Donnelly is the author of A
Northern Light, which was awarded a Printz Honor and a Carnegie
Medal; Revolution (named a Best Book by Amazon, Kirkus
Reviews, School Library Journal, and the Chicago Public
Library, and nominated for a Carnegie Medal); the Deep Blue series; and many
other books for young readers, including Lost in a Book, which
spent more than 20 weeks on the New York Times bestseller
list. She lives in New York's Hudson Valley.
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon
Giveaway
Details:
3 winners will receive a finished copy of POISONED, US Only.
a Rafflecopter giveawayTour Schedule:
Week One:
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10/1/2020 |
Review |
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10/2/2020 |
Review |
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10/3/2020 |
Review |
Week Two:
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10/4/2020 |
Review |
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10/5/2020 |
Review |
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10/6/2020 |
Interview |
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10/7/2020 |
Review |
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10/8/2020 |
Review |
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10/9/2020 |
Review |
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10/10/2020 |
Review |
Week Three:
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10/11/2020 |
Review |
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10/12/2020 |
Review |
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10/13/2020 |
Review |
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10/14/2020 |
Review |
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10/15/2020 |
Review |
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10/16/2020 |
Review |
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10/17/2020 |
Review |
Week Four:
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10/18/2020 |
Interview |
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10/19/2020 |
Review |
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10/20/2020 |
Review |
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