Shortlisted for the Global Literature in Libraries Initiative's Translated Young Adult Book Prize!"In You Can't Kill Snow White, Beatrice Alemagna’s strange, organic paintings recreate the brutal envy that underpins the original Brothers Grimm story. Minimizing the prose—which is lucidly translated from the French by Karin Snelson and Emilie Robert Wong—and maximizing the unsettling emotionality of each image, Alemagna explores the heart and mind of the 'evil' queen, from whose point of view this version of the tale is told... Readers looking for the why that drives this envy will be disappointed. But the why doesn’t matter. You Can’t Kill Snow White asks us to bear witness to the experience and consequences of jealousy—and to acknowledge our complicity. What horrors have we inflicted on others? Whose hearts have we willingly devoured? And what do we stand to lose when we succumb to envy’s lure? In this, the story is clear: Envy burns us alive, leaving only ashes behind."
New York Times

Similar to how Klassen’s texture makes my brain play and fill in the world, Beatrice’s loose paintings in this one are an even more amplified example—toes on the line at times between representational and abstract art. The familiar fairy tale she’s retelling becomes a truly strange and foreign affair with this treatment… Like the remembrance of a dream, or a Polaroid from childhood… Beatrice’s book was a constant reminder for me to lean into the smudge and away from crisp renderings.
Shawn Harris

A retelling of 'Snow White' from the queen’s perspective, this picture-book for young adults... asks readers to understand and sympathize with the desperation and desire that drive villainy. The layered paintings capture emotions in ways that go beyond what is evoked by the text, making the more violent and dark aspects of the tale hit home. Immediately recognizable while reflecting things beyond our world, this fairy-tale universe... pushes at the bounds of the familiar. The queen’s anguish is depicted through close-up images of her stricken face that dare readers to look directly at her. The book’s greatest strength lies in its portrayal of the queen’s fear and rage and the disproportionate cruelty of her punishment... The art captivates: The beauty depicted in the story is almost sinister, and jewel tones are mixed with sickly greens and blacks. Collage and comic-style sequences enhance and add variety to the illustrations... Visceral and surreal.
Kirkus Reviews

“The second release under Enchanted Lion’s new Unruly imprint, which is devoted to picture books for YA readers, Alemagna’s dark, more authentic take on this classic fairy tale is well suited to the audience... There is a crudeness to Alemagna’s sweeping watercolors, with thick lines bleeding their muted tones into beguiling scenes punctuated by strokes of hot pink or white... It's a visceral reading experience that those with a penchant for fairy tales’ darker sides will revel in.”
Booklist