Blood Red Snow White: A Novel - Softcover

Sedgwick, Marcus

Softcover

ISBN 10: 125012963X ISBN 13: 9781250129635

Publisher: Square Fish, 2017

Synopsis

Equal parts thriller, love story, and fairytale, Printz Medal-winning author Marcus Sedgwick's Blood Red Snow White is a gripping, romantic adventure novel based on the true story of Arthur Ransome's experiences with love and betrayal in war-torn Russia.

There never was a story that was happy through and through.

When writer Arthur Ransome leaves his unhappy marriage in England and moves to Russia to work as a journalist, he has little idea of the violent revolution about to erupt. Unwittingly, he finds himself at its center, tapped by the British to report back on the Bolsheviks even as he becomes dangerously, romantically entangled with Leon Trotsky's personal secretary.

Both sides seek to use Arthur to gather and relay information for their own purposes . . . and both grow to suspect him of being a double agent. Arthur wants only to elope far from conflict with his beloved, but her Russian ties make leaving the country nearly impossible. And the more Arthur resists becoming a pawn, the more entrenched in the game he seems to become.

Blood Red Snow White, a Soviet-era thriller about the author of the Swallows and Amazons series, from renowned Printz award winning author Marcus Sedgwick, is sure to keep readers on the edge of their seats. Sedgwick masterfully evokes the tumultuous atmosphere of Russia leading up to the creation of the communist Soviet Union, with colorful depictions of major historical figures like the Romanov tsar and tsarina, Grigori Rasputin, Leon Trotsky, and Vladimir Lenin.

Marcus Sedgwick is the author of Saint Death, The Ghosts of Heaven, She Is Not Invisible, Midwinterblood, White Crow, and Revolver.

Praise for Blood Red Snow White:
"Sedgwick uses vivid, fairy tale imagery to describe historical events." ―Publishers Weekly

"Drenched in atmosphere, [Blood Red Snow White] gives vivid depictions of snowy Russia . . . , eerie portrayals of Rasputin and the czar’s family, and the rise of Trotsky and Lenin. . . . trademark Sedgwick envelope-pushing." ―Kirkus Reviews

Praise for Marcus Sedgwick:
“Sedgwick is one of the most sophisticated, thought-provoking voices in YA novels.” ―Booklist on The Ghosts of Heaven

This title has Common Core connections.

Novels by Marcus Sedgwick:
Saint Death: A propulsive, compelling, and unsparing novel set in the grimly violent world of the human and drug trade on the US-Mexican border.
Blood Red Snow White: A gripping, romantic adventure novel based on the true story of Arthur Ransome's experiences with love and betrayal in war-torn Russia.
The Ghosts of Heaven: A Printz Honor Book! Timeless, beautiful, and haunting, spirals connect four episodes, from prehistory through the far future.
She Is Not Invisible: When her father goes missing, a blind girl talented in identifying patterns and her brother are thrust into a mystery.
Midwinterblood: A Printz Medal Winner! Seven stories of passion and love separated by centuries but mysteriously intertwined.
White Crow: A scary, thought provoking novel about secrets that are better left buried.
Revolver: A Printz Honor Book! A taut frontier survivor story, set at the time of the Alaska gold rush.

Graphic novel by Marcus Sedgwick, art by Thomas Taylor:
Scarlett Hart: Monster Hunter: A rip-roaring romp full of hairy horrors, villainous villains, and introducing the world’s toughest monster hunter―Scarlett Hart!

About this title

About the Author:

Marcus Sedgwick was born and raised in Kent in South East England, but now lives in the French Alps. His books have won and been shortlisted for many awards; most notably, he has been shortlisted for Britain’s Carnegie Medal six times, has received two Printz Honors, for Revolver and Ghosts of Heaven, and in 2013 won the Printz Award for Midwinterblood.

From School Library Journal:

Gr 9 Up—A historical novel based on the life of British author and journalist Arthur Ransome that is told in three distinct styles, each of which reflects an aspect of Ransome's career. It opens in the style of a fairy tale, brilliantly setting the scene in Saint Petersburg in 1913, when the bright, impetuous young writer leaves his wife and daughter in England, teaches himself Russian, and sets about collecting the stories that appear in his first book, Old Peter's Russian Tales, published in 1916. But by then, everything had changed. "The time for princes and tsars and grand duchesses and especially holy madmen was gone. In its place came a world of war and revolution, of tanks and telephones, of murder and assassination." Here the narrative shifts and uses flashbacks and the third person to report the events of the Russian Revolution and the civil war that followed back to the British press. Ransome becomes romantically involved with Evgenia, Trotsky's personal secretary, and is caught up in the dangerous game of political intrigue and information exchange. He becomes a pawn in the ongoing power struggle, and his every move is suspect, but he wants only to get himself and Evgenia safely out of the country. The narrative shifts to Arthur's first-person account of getting out and back into Russia and escaping with his beloved. An author's note, a time line, and Secret Service files are appended to inform readers about facts behind the spy thriller elements. VERDICT This well-written tale might be a hard sell to a lot of teens, but those who are fans of Sedgwick's earlier titles, history buffs, and readers of Ransome's classic "Swallows and Amazons" adventures will be intrigued by this colorful and multilayered work.—Luann Toth, School Library Journal

About this edition

• Publisher: Square Fish
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 125012963X
• ISBN 13: 9781250129635
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336