Book Review: Blanca & Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore

Blanca & Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore
Published on October 9th, 2018 by Feiwel & Friends
Genre: Magical Realism
Pages: 384
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
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The biggest lie of all is the story you think you already know.

The del Cisne girls have never just been sisters; they’re also rivals, Blanca as obedient and graceful as Roja is vicious and manipulative. They know that, because of a generations-old spell, their family is bound to a bevy of swans deep in the woods. They know that, one day, the swans will pull them into a dangerous game that will leave one of them a girl, and trap the other in the body of a swan.

But when two local boys become drawn into the game, the swans’ spell intertwines with the strange and unpredictable magic lacing the woods, and all four of their fates depend on facing truths that could either save or destroy them. Blanca & Roja is the captivating story of sisters, friendship, love, hatred, and the price we pay to protect our hearts.

This was absolutely amazing.

After reading McLemore's story in Toil & Trouble, her voice and writing style lingered in my mind for days. Every time I'd log into NetGalley, I'd see the cover of Blanca & Roja, just calling to me. So I downloaded it and it was one of the best reading decisions I've made all year. Everything you've heard about this book, from the blurbs to the positive review, to the catchy "Snow-White & Rose-Red meets Swan Lake" description in the PW announcement--this book delivers. It was exactly what I wanted it to be and now it's an all-time favorite I'll definitely be reading and rereading over and over again.

If you've read anything by Anna-Marie McLemore, you know she has a very distinct writing style. It's magical. It's lyrical. Her imagery is just beautiful. This book is stuffed full of it, and I think it's her best writing to date. I especially love how everything of hers that I've read so far has been full of nature and this is no exception. The sisters' mother has an enormous, bountiful garden; they live on the edge of a magical wood; there's a cranberry farm close by; one of the main characters grew up in an apple orchard. It makes you feel like you too are this close to the magic if you only step outside.

There are four main characters: sisters Blanca and Roja, and the two boys who come out of the woods, Yearling and Page. They are all just... haunting. These are people you won't be able to stop thinking about. I felt a particular fondness for Roja, who felt almost like an underdog, the forgotten sister stuck living in Blanca's shadow. I also really loved Yearling; he was just so broken and fragile and I loved his relationship with Roja, the way they pulled each other apart and pieced each other back together. I also really, really loved Page's role in the story, the way he was a sort of anchor for both Yearling and Blanca. The friendship between all four of them got me right in the heart. Whenever they were at odds with one another it was like a sucker punch right to the gut.

Outside of how magical and perfect Blanca & Roja is, it is also the perfect example of how easy it is to be inclusive in our writing. Page is genderqueer. He uses both he and her, but just boy and never girl. And Roja, Blanca, and Yearling all just respected that. Page and Yearling's grandmothers were in a relationship. Even something as simple as Yearling asking to be called by Yearling and not his other name, something that should be easy but somehow isn't in the real world, is respected in this book. So much of this book is about identity and I can't tell you how much it meant to read a book exploring identity that wasn't upsetting and didn't rely on queer pain to do it.

Five-star reviews are so hard to write. When a book hits that all-time favorite level, it becomes so personal. There's so much emotion in why you love something this much and it's so hard to articulate. But Blanca & Roja is the perfect storm of everything I love come together in one story. Retellings and fairy tales and culture and identity and friendship and queer love and family and absolutely masterful, beautiful writing.