June 13, 2016
Paige (Dorothy Must Die) pivots from Oz to fairy tales in this underwhelming offering based on The Snow Queen. Whittaker Psychiatric Institute has been 17-year-old Snow’s home since she was six and tried to walk through a mirror with her best friend, mistaking it for the “looking glass” in Alice in Wonderland. Snow’s love for a fire-obsessed fellow patient, Bale, makes life bearable. When she breaks into his room one night, he’s dragged into a window-turned-mirror; Snow then escapes Whittaker and is drawn into the magical, icy world of Algid. To find Bale, she makes a deal with a boy named Jagger and must confront her true destiny. Snow’s devotion to Bale isn’t given much substance (nor is he), lending little backbone to Snow’s quest, which mechanically ticks off familiar boxes: Snow learns she has a magical talent, must use it to vanquish foes, and reluctantly develops feelings for another. There isn’t anything inherently wrong with the ordinary-girl-discovers-she’s-extraordinary trope, but Paige doesn’t do much to enliven it in this fairy tale twist. Ages 14–up. Agent: Joanna Volpe, New Leaf Literary & Media.