Sarah Mlynowski Books In Order

Publication Order of Best Wishes Books

Publication Order of Don't Even Think About It Books

Publication Order of I See London, I See France Books

Publication Order of Magic In Manhattan Books

Publication Order of Upside-Down Magic Books

Publication Order of Whatever After Books

Publication Order of Whatever After Special Edition Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Sarah Mlynowski is a Canadian born author that writes young adult, adult fiction, and middle-grade fiction novels. She was born to Elissa Ambrose, the celebrated romance writer divorced from her father. Mlynowski went to McGill University, where she studied English literature graduating with Honors. After finishing her college studies, she would move to Toronto and go on to work with one of the biggest editors in the city, Harlequin Enterprises Ltd. A few years after getting into the publishing business, she would use her experience to publish her debut novel “Milkrun” that was a massive success. The novel has sold over 600 thousand copies across the world and been published in more than 16 countries since first publication. Her second novel “Fishbowl” was just as success even going on to be declared one of the Best Women’s Fiction books of 2002 by Waldenbooks. The novel gave her the confidence to quit her job, migrate to New York and begin her professional writing career. Sarah is best known for the “Whatever After” series of children’s novels that is a New York Times bestseller. Some of her other works include “Monkey Business”, “Me Vs. Me”, “As Seen on TV”. In addition to her novels, Sarah has coauthored a nonfiction title alongside Jane Write that is a guide on how to write chic lit. Her short stories have also made it into several anthologies over the years. Her novel “Me Vs. Me” has been optioned for development into a movie to be released in 2018. She currently lives in New York City with her family composed of her husband, and her daughter.

Mlynowski asserts that her “Whatever After” series is inspired by events in her childhood and some from that of her daughter. As a child, she had always loved the fairy tales and would make up stories that she would dictate to her mother who would write them down. What she loved even more were fractured fairy tales, which she went as far as fracturing herself. One of the stories that she remembers telling to her mother was “The Princess and the M&M”, which she particularly remembers since she loved chocolate and hated vegetables. She would exercise her creative license as an author when she would read the same fairy tales to Chloe her daughter who was a middle grader. As she read the classics to her daughter, she found herself hating some of the endings, making her change and fracture them. For instance, she did not like that the only way Cinderella could get away from her evil stepmother was through getting married to the prince, or that Hans Christians original version of “Little Mermaid” required Little Mermaid to lose her tongue and tail. Looking to inject some feminist perspectives, she developed the Whatever After series of novels. The first novel in the series was the rewrite of “Snow White” that she first published in 2012. Given her experience rewriting the classics in her childhood, it was very easy to slap together a rewrite of the novel, as she already has the image of Snow White not eating the apple and hence not needing to get married to a prince.

Sarah Mlynowski’s “Whatever After” series of novels is a tale of Jonah and Abby, a brother and sister duo who find themselves inside the world of fairy tales in “Alice in Wonderland” type of Situations. Once they are inside their favorite tales they go ahead to change the narratives to make them less unsavory. For instance, Abby’s best friend is the one who suffers the fate of being pricked by the cursed thorn bush rather than Sleeping Beauty. They also save Snow White from consuming the poisoned apple and totally rewrite the plot and ending of the story. The new fractured narratives follow the children as they participate in the classics and prevent them from having the bad endings they have in their originals. In an effort to make the stories congruent with the modern world’s realities, Mylnowski modifies the stories to reflect the modern day lines of thought. For instance, in her Aladdin stories still have two genies, but one is now Karimah a female elementary school teacher struggling to control her powers. Karimah now helps Jonah, Abby, and Aladdin defeat the evil magician and win over the heart of the princess. Inspired by her daughters’ experiences, the stories change as they get older, to reflect their developmental stages and challenges.

“Fairest of All” is the delightful first novel of the Whatever After series of novels by Sarah Mylnowski. The story of Jonah and Abby and their adventure inside one of our favorite fairy tales classic is excellent narrative for any middle grader. The siblings find themselves ported to a different world through a mirror in their basement. They are now in a story that is familiar though they have the power to alter things making them not so familiar. Abby turns out to be the cautious one and is very protective of her brother and Sleeping Beauty. Her brother is the more impulsive type and will typically act and ask questions later. The whole story takes a new dimension when Jonah and Abby prevent Snow White from consuming the poisoned apple as they seek to set the story straight. However, unlike in the real world setting the time is moving slower than back on ground level, allowing the children to figure out solutions before their parents wake up. As such, several days of adventure are crammed into one night that makes it possible for the two children to help Beauty without interference.

“If the Shoe Fits” the second novel sees, the two protagonists return to their magic mirror where they nearly spoilt the Snow White story in the previous novel. In this novel, they are ported into another fan favorite, the Cinderella story. Seeking to do things right this time round, they take all the care and help Cinderella and go back home without disturbing the alien world. Everything is going on well until Cinderella trips and breaks her foot, necessitating that the children stay on and help deal with the massive swelling. With the massive swelling of her foot, it is impossible for the glass slipper to fit. Now that she cannot wear her slipper, it will be impossible for the prince to recognize her putting their happily ever after in jeopardy. They now have to be innovative and help the poor girl so that all of them can have their happy ending. “If the Shoe Fits” is a delightful story that would delight any kid that loves fairy tales with a realistic bent.