The Raven and the Reindeer

I hesitated to read this book, having been scarred by the dark, cynical sci-fi [b:The Snow Queen 139986 The Snow Queen (The Snow Queen Cycle, #1) Joan D. Vinge https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388298425l/139986.SX50.jpg 522872] as a teenager, but I should have trusted the amazing Ursula Vernon/T. Kingfisher. Her version of the fairy tale is funny, horrifying, romantic and ultimately much more hopeful than either the original Hans Christian Anderson or the Joan D. Vinge version. First of all, the relationship between Gerta and Kay is so perfectly re-characterized as that awful teenage girl fantasy of “he treats me like shit but that's just because he's a wounded soul who needs me, and deep down he really loves me.” Ursula/T. could have been reading my high school diaries. Thank goodness Gerta realizes her true worth and finds someone who appreciates her just as she is. Then there's the animal characters, who are so perfectly anthropomorphized through speech and action. They feel like Disney sidekicks with an edge. The titular raven kicks the story into high gear with his arrival and as for the reindeer...I'm still crying.Best of all is watching Gerta use her decidedly unmagical self to fulfill her quest and in doing so, break through the boundaries of her fairy tale life, find her “herd,” and stop apologizing for herself. Hans Christian Anderson would roll over in his grave to see his fairy tale used for such a feminist empowerment, and I would pay to see it. A gem of a book.