Aesthetically, this is a gorgeous book. But Serena Valentino is up to an impossible task in trying to make the Evil Queen sympathetic. I mean... Gregory Maguire humanized Elphaba in Wicked, but there's just not very much to work with here. The Evil Queen was jealous of Snow White (her stepdaughter's) beauty and ordered her killed. Then tried to kill her with a poison apple. Then died. So, I think the author tried her hardest, but it just doesn't really work.