This style made me think of star vs the forces of evil, especially the cover!
Unfortunately, i didn't end up finishing this book. I couldn't keep my focus on it. I guess it just wasn't for me. But I'm sure it will do well with the right audience!

This graphic novel is a Snow Queen retelling. I really liked the art style and the way the story was modernized by adding VR (virtual reality) to the story. I'm not the target audience for this graphic novel, but I think 3rd to 6th graders would really enjoy this and the others in the Far Out Fairy Tales series.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Snow Queen is one of those lesser known, harder to understand, fairy tales. So any interpretation of it is worth reading. This is actually a fairly straightforward version, the details simply translated into the digital realm instead of approaching the story from a different angle. The characters have little depth and there isn't much in the way o emotional pay off.

The art was amazing! Really loved it. It was detailed and just looked super cool.
The story was less good. I just didn't really vibe with it. It was a bit all over the place and I don't really get why it was a retelling. If it wasn't, it would have been better, I think.
Overall a fun and quick read and am curious to see the other ones in this series.

I had a lot of fun reading this book. We see a well known story get a modern retelling in a way that was exciting and a joy to watch unfold. There are moments when things seem hopeless but Gabby refuses to give up. As this story comes to a close life for these best friends is never going to be the same.

does it in graphic novel form, and makes them appropriate for grades 3 and up. This is a retelling of the Snow Queen by Hans Christian Anderson. In it two friends get split up when one enters an experimental VR game. This was Kaden, he was looking for help becoming a better gamer. However, Gabby is going to have to save him since there is a wicked AI that does not know the meaning of friendship and will keep Kaden forever unless she can pass all the levels and unlock his life. This was fun. It wasn’t too complicated. At the end of the story is a break down of the original tale and also how the author changed up to story for their modern version. Plus, the illustrations are so fun and vibrant. Overall, I am glad this series is around, and I am really glad they are venturing past the standard fairy tales.

the snow queen's gaming quest has such cute and zany character design and fun, vibrant illustrations all throughout. i admit i hadn't caught that it was a modern retelling of han christian andersen's the snow queen despite it being in the title, but that just means the concept is creative. unfortunately, i don't think i am the target audience for books like this. it goes by fairly quickly, and we don't learn enough of the leads to actively root for them. i found myself liking the supporting cast better and wishing that the story would focus more on them (personally i really liked the prince!). and there are some minor details that could have been expanded on. still, the snow queen's gaming quest can be a gateway for getting more kids into reading because of its fast-paced, fun plot.

I read every Far Out Fairy Tales graphic novel I could get my hands on in 2018. When my library stopped buying them I assumed the series had finished and thought no more of it. Boy, was I wrong. I have so many to catch up on! Woohoo!

Getting the twisted treatment this time around is Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen, which I haven’t read. Yet.

We meet best friends, Gabby and Kaden, in the not-too-distant future. They love doing fun things together like building robots, virtual reality (VR) gaming and hoverboarding. Incidentally, Kaden’s hoverboard design isn’t all too dissimilar from Marty McFly’s so we know the kid has good taste.

Feeling insecure because Gabby always wins at gaming, Kaden is on the lookout for something that will level the playing field. Enter the Megabrain 2000!

Unbeknownst to Kaden, he’s about to get trapped inside the game with S.N.O.W., a lonely AI. Now it’s up to Gabby to play the game of her life to rescue her friend before it’s too late!

This is a fun, action packed addition to the series. The story was engaging and the characters were easy to connect with.

I did wonder how “ultra-secret” the VR headset could be if Kaden learned of its existence from a magazine. I don’t remember ever finding out what the acronym S.N.O.W. stood for. These are only quibbles, though.

I adored Omar Lozano’s illustrations. The colours are vibrant, the characters are expressive and the urgency of Gabby’s quest is evident.

The gutters change from white to black whenever the characters are in the VR world. I loved the snow bees and the Rose Boss but the character that delighted me the most was Prince.

I always enjoy the bonus material at the end of Far Out Fairy Tales: a summary of the original story, some of the differences between the original and Far Out versions, questions to encourage the reader to think about what they’ve read and a glossary that explains potentially tricky words.

I can’t wait to catch up on the stories I’ve missed.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Stone Arch Books, an imprint of Capstone, for the opportunity to read this graphic novel. I’m rounding up from 4.5 stars.

Fun and fast paced! Perfect for a quick escape into the gaming world. Could be used as a comparison with The Snow Queen.

I received an electronic ARC from Capstone through NetGalley.
The Snow Queen is the latest fairy tale to be transformed in this series. Readers are transported to a future world where Virtual Reality games are incredibly realistic. Gabby and Kaden are best friends who do it all together. Kaden misunderstands something Gabby says and makes a series of decisions to become the best gamer ever. In the end, Gabby rescues him from the Snow Queen and they talk about their friendship.
Just like the original tale, this is a story of friendship. The commitment friends will go to in order to be there for their friends. I appreciate the spin to make S.N.O.W. feel welcome and part of their group. Love the updates so middle grade readers will connect with the ages old tale. Hoverboards, AI, VR gaming - who doesn't want to be part of that.

This was a short, fast read! I absolutely fell in love with the graphics and art style of the graphic novel. I loved the inclusion of technology/AI and video games. I also thoroughly enjoyed that at the end, it gave a synopsis of "The Snow Queen" and showed the differences that was in their retelling. I think that gives kids who aren't familiar with the original some background. The only thing I wish was that it was a smidge longer as it felt a little rushed. But overall, a wonderful read.

CUTE! My 9, 7, AND 14 year olds fell absolutely in love with this comic. They have only had a small amount of experience with the Snow Queen lore, so they sort of missed a few of the finer details that were slipped in. But all in all, the whole family thoroughly enjoyed this cute adaptation.

Even my partner thought it was adorable and had a ton of action for such a short story. I'd love to see a much larger collection from this author.

Thank you for the ARC from Capstone, Stone Arch Books, and NetGalley.

The story is fast-paced with nice art. Some of the character designs are really wonderful and stand out. The VR concept and the modernized re-telling of “The Snow Queen” by Hans Christian Andersen was well done and I'm sure some young readers will really enjoy this book.

This vibrant, colorful, and emotional story about friendship was enough to melt the heart of even a Snow Queen. The power of friendship wins again in this video game-centered story where Gabby has to save her friend Kaden from an experimental V.R. game.

Thank you to the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this. This little graphic novel is based on the original tale of the snow queen. This one follows Gabby who's a gamer and Kaden her best friend. Kaden is not very good at playing video games so he attempts to do something about it to solve his insecurities around his friendship with his friend Gabby. This was short and sweet, I am sure children and adults alike will enjoy this. The art was very stunning, very cool spreads, the scenes were easy to follow. I thought the A.I version of the Snow queen was amazing, I live for stories about Black kids, technology and virtual reality. I only wish this was longer. I rate this 4 out of 5 stars.

This graphic novel is a modern retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's "Snow Queen" complete with VR, robots, and videogames. Kaden and Gabby are best friends but when Gabby tells Kaden she wants to get new gaming partners to change up their gaming routine, he thinks she doesn't want to play with him anymore and tries to up his gaming skills so she will want to keep playing with him.
The art style is so beautiful and colorful in this graphic novel. The plot was easy to follow and fast paced. I really appreciated that the characters were introduced before the story began so I could get a sense of who was who before jumping into the story. The background information is denoted by a different color than the dialogue so it was easy to keep them separate from each other.
Overall, I really enjoyed this quick read and would recommend picking it up!

I love the incorporation of futuristic living of riding hoverboards and playing video games. This graphic novel was really fun to read, eye catching and whimsical. It was really cool finding out this is based off a folk tale and we're given a snippet of this stories origin. A great inclusion aspect is the index of the characters and a glossary page. I would love to get my hands on a physical copy of this title😍

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

This is a retelling of "The Snow Queen". with a twist that it's based on video games . The book had incredible themes such as friendship, loyalty and emotions. A great book!!

One of a series of ten books – and if this evidence is to go by, it's a set to collect. This really strongly turns the original Snow Queen fairytale into a modern equivalent, with a lad not exactly frozen by a bit of magical mirror entering his heart and a Snow Queen taking him away, but by sneaking into a secret gaming tech lab and getting kidnapped by the AI in a VR game world. Really bright and readable comic art gets the story across, the strong female character on the rescue mission for her sucked-in friend is welcome, and it would be so easy to get reluctant readers glued to this and then shocked to learn they were enjoying something based on something else that's nearly two hundred years old. Four and half stars for a book whose qualities are instantly evident.

Best friends Gabby and Kaden do everything together: hoverboarding, robot-building, and virtual reality gaming. Then one day Kaden goes off alone and gets his hands on experimental VR tech. When he powers on the headset, a rogue AI called S.N.O.W. takes hold of his mind and locks the boy deep in her digital realm! But Gabby isn’t about to abandon her best bud. Can she enter the game, fight through the levels, and solve the final puzzle to save Kaden before he’s lost to S.N.O.W. forever?- Goodreads

Short review!

This was an adorable retelling of "The Snow Queen". I like how relevant the author made the story by making it about video games. It is something that is easy to connect to. I loved the fact the art is in color. I know that seems something so small but it makes a huge difference when reading the story and completely changes how you feel as compared to black and white.

Overall, I think this is a good story for kids but I wish it was longer as it did feel rushed.

3 Pickles