Shelly's Book Blog

In The Remarkable & Very True Story of Lucy and Snowcap, by H. M. Bouwman, Lucy is a native islander and Snowcap is English, and at first they don't like each other very much. However, circumstances force them to work together to rid their magical island home of an evil that threatens them both. The story is set in 1787 on fictional islands northeast of America, but it is also based on history because the English who live on the islands arrived as shipwrecked convicts who were being transported to America to be indentured servants. The cover flap copy compares the story to The Princess Bride, and it is true that the two stories have much in common -- adventure, murder plots, etc. However, I would not have made the same comparison because Lucy and Snowcap lacks the whimsical, tongue-in-cheek humor of The Princess Bride. Lucy and Snowcap is more mystical and serious in tone. For example, the idea of men turning into stone, and the power of the "gypsy-um," or lifestone, seems to come more from a Lord of the Rings-type of mythology. In Lucy and Snowcap there is even a character known as the Gray Lady whose wisdom (and name, of course) are reminiscent of Gandalf.

I enjoyed Lucy and Snowcap in part because the two heroines are complex, imperfect young women who did the best they could in the difficult circumstances in which they found themselves. The plot moves along swiftly, yet the author makes sure that readers have a chance to get to know the characters and care about what happens to them, even if they are not all very likeable. This book is a comfortable blend of historical fiction and fantasy and I recommend it highly.