Dark Shimmer

By Donna Jo Napoli

Book Overview

"Set in medieval Venice, this captivating fairy tale retelling by award-winning author Donna Jo Napoli explores belonging, beauty, and the transformative power of love through the eyes of a teenage girl. Dolce has grown up hidden away on an island in a lagoon. She is a giant, a freak, tormented by everyone but her loving mother. She spends her time learning the valuable secret of making mirrors. Following a tragedy, Dolce swims away and lands on an island where people see her as normal, even beautiful. Marin, a kind widower, and his little daughter bring Dolce to live with them in their grand palazzo. Eventually, Dolce and Marin marry. She secretly continues to make mirrors, not realizing that quicksilver endangers her . . . and so evil begins in innocence."

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385746555
• ISBN13: 9780385746557
• Release Date: September 2015
• Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 2.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.8" x 8.2"
• Age Range: 14 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 9 and higher

Customer Reviews

This book is a historical and gripping retelling of Snow White set in medieval Venice.

This book definitely exceeded my expectations. I almost got rid of it because the first couple chapters didn't pull me in, but the more I read, the more attached I was to find out what would happen next. The fact the book is a loose retelling of Snow White surprised me, and I adored it. The author does her research and even includes a bibliography of the sources she used in order to write her book. This book follows a character named Dolce, a mirror-maker who is raised on an island of dwarfs as the only big person. She doesn't know there are others like her until she meets Marin, an avid book collector, and his young daughter Bianca, and Dolce goes to live with them in high society. Throughout the book, we see Dolce slowly loose her grip on reality, and the plot morphs into one that echoes Snow White in the most wondrous way. This book deserves five stars and is now one of my favorite books. I'm so glad I decided to keep and read this book, because otherwise, I would have missed an amazing story. I can't wait to read other works from this author!