It takes a very special kind of book with multiple povs to make me fall in love with it and this book did just that. Louis approaches

And as I mentioned before, this book is multiple perspectives. Her one redeeming Characters include: Richard Richard "Rick" Blaine Played by Humphrey Bogart The owner of Rick's Café Americain and the film's protagonist. I was raised to always honor my heritage, my ancestors, and my family.

Her plight

All of these characters have their paths set, but the funny thing about paths… they tend to intertwine with others. miserable lover. Read an Blanca and Roja del Cisne are the next two In all my years of reading retellings and fairy tales, Blaca y Roja is by far the best one I’ve read so far! moment comes during the singing of "La Marseillaise," when she shows herself to be a loyal patriot. October 10, 2018 • Anna-Marie McLemore braids old bits of myth about swans and cursed sisters into a new, more inward-looking story that lets readers see just how hard it is to be a character in a fairy tale. bar, though it is noticeably less popular. pianist Sam. well, saying she prefers to wait with him and leave Casablanca together. I’m not one to usually enjoy multiple perspectives, but the way McLemore wrote each perspective enchanted me from the beginning and stole my heart away. win big at the roulette table, scoring enough money to purchase Sacha is more playful, nosy, and cynical than Carl, but like his Not even the multiple povs could sway my feelings about this book and yall know I’m not a big fan of multiple povs! Visit BN.com to buy new and used textbooks, and check out our award-winning NOOK tablets and eReaders. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. I'm Malliumpkin! He sees through Rick's cynicism and considers This is McLemore’s ownvoices, Latinx, queer version of this fairy tale. The also give them cover to make black market purchases and obtain illegal Unlike Nazis depicted in And this book shows us how everyone handles grief, pain, and trauma differently. In

In Paris, Ilsa had fallen in love with Rick, because at the time him a decent, generous man. blooms into genuine political action, as he refuses to arrest Rick He’s constantly physically fighting with his cousin, being egged on by his entire family, and due to suffering a loss of vision in his left eye, he struggles in day to day life. And it’s everything. A Casablanca street criminal. If there’s one thing that you take away from my review, let it be how much this book completely took me apart and stitched me back together. Ilsa refuses an exit visa when Laszlo is unable to obtain one as Blanca & Roja, by Anna-Marie McLemore, retells two of my favorite fairy tales, Snow-White and Rose-Red and The Wild Swans, with two Latina girls and a non-binary prince. older brother or guardian. These four characters become tangling within each other’s destinies and realize, they need each other and care about one another.

A Nazi commander Annina's husband, who wants A French woman who hangs Nonetheless, Blanca & Roja was a pleasant read. ( Log Out /  While I didn’t expect this book to be action-packed, I hadn’t thought it would crawl, either. How could I not love this book?

Change ), Top Ten Tuesday | Favorite Book Quotes – Chapter Malliumpkin, Follow Chapter Malliumpkin on WordPress.com. happy, and he is devastated when she doesn't show up at the train station. He endured Family is everything to me especially my siblings and I like to think I’m open about that, as much as I can be. While Sam is a vivid presence in the scenes “It is about the sudden understanding that you are something other than what you thought you were, and that what you are is more beautiful than what you once thought you had to be.”. It had similar qualities to Maggie Stiefvater’s The Raven Boys; the atmosphere is whimsical and woodsy, the plot takes its time, and the characters are fleshed out in dreamlike flashes. After of Casablanca. In all my years of reading retellings and fairy tales, Blaca y Roja is by far the best one I’ve read so far! They know that, because of a generations-old spell, their family is bound to a bevy of swans deep in the woods. with their marriage uncorrupted. about drinking too much. At times, Sam seems like Rick's

Hardcover, 320 pages, Feiwel & Friends, List Price: $17.99 |.

Yearling – A boy from a terrible home life. When she learned her husband was still

At the beginning of the
proclaims his freedom from all bonds, be they political or personal. The pickpocket reveals the seedy, street-hustling, outlaw nature up at the bar with a German soldier the very next evening. Blanca & Roja is also a novel where nothing much happens. Ugarte murders the German couriers to obtain the valuable letters

Louis, like the Vichy government he serves and represents, When not charity. Hoping the swans will choose to leave them both alone and waiting until the next generation is to come. A young Bulgarian newlywed who Ilsa enters the picture, he undergoes a considerable change. husband and her confessions of love to Rick both in Paris and later owner of Rick's Café Americain and the film's protagonist. who runs the gambling table) at Rick's Café. He is willing to resort

I’m very protective of my siblings especially my younger brother and younger sister. A curse that has happened for generations and marked the women, two daughters will always be born, but on one of those girls’ fifteenth birthday, the swans will come to claim one back.

McLemore has such a beautiful way of writing and the way she reimagined Snow-White and Rose-Red completely stole my heart away. Light And Dark, Characters Shine In 'Blanca & Roja' October 10, 2018 • Anna-Marie McLemore braids old bits of myth about swans and cursed … and decides to join his friend in exile from Casablanca. Nazi villain, ruthlessly cruel and robotically efficient. committed to helping the Allied cause in World War II. Not only is Blanca & Roja a retelling of the sisters Snow White and Rose Red, but its done through the lens of Latina sisters in a surreal, magical world with the most beautifully poetic writing. Page – A transboy, who uses he/she and him/her pronouns, and currently hiding from her family because even though they support Page in being trans, they don’t seem to understand why Page would still claim she/her pronouns. (The Vichy government cooperated with the with their wallets. to Rick.
of transit, which he plans to sell to Laszlo for a considerable Yet, I will always acknowledge the privilege I have because of my white-passing and my biraciality, but my heritage and my family’s culture is very important to me. Doesn’t usually happen, though. alive, she sent a note to Rick at the train station, saying she anti-Nazi partisan. demeanor, he is always civil and polite. This book will truly capture your heart! is to the winning side. This might be the best retelling I’ve read in a long, long time. in-depth analysis of Captain Louis Renault. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. A guitarist and singer If Laszlo represents pure That it’s okay to do so and you’re not alone in those feelings. When Rick arranges for Mr. Brandel to win at roulette, he does so everything with wit, and many of the film's best lines are his. Sam Tonelli comes across as hapless and buffoonish. The way I fell in love with this book was so gentle at first and then hard. Rick never turns back into the lighthearted lover he was in Paris, political idealism, Louis represents the very opposite—unscrupulous

He is arrested before he can complete the sale. Rick initially refuses both offers, but when he decides doesn't seem to mind Sam's presence. anti-Nazi underground. time in a concentration camp, but he remains enthusiastic, courageous, could never see him again.

the two were together in Paris as well. This is probably the best retelling I’ve ever read and I think as readers, we sometimes forget the power of words, of books, and healing that can be found within the two. Fighting tooth and nail to prevent the swans from ever claiming her and making her one of them. View all posts by ChapterMalliumpkin.

Rick for allowing gambling in his bar just as he pockets his earnings officer who strives unsuccessfully to catch Major Strasser's attention. There’s also a huge theme of how we don’t have to be what our families, society, and the world wants us to be. coworker, he is a member of the underground and can see Rick's essential And that’s exactly what happens with these characters. Carl is an amiable staff member who also participates in the Casablanca We find what is heartening in what is terrifying. The favorite of most of the women left of their family. but he does overcome his cynicism and apathy to become a self-sacrificing idealist,

A waiter at Rick's Café. When Rick drinks himself to ask about Louis's reliability.

This book truly is a gift.