Redone & Twisted Fairy Tales

  I love a good fairy tale, changed and tweaked into a whole new story.  The link below is for the podcast if you'd like to listen.  Many of these ended up being YA titles, not because that's all I read but because, I suppose, the publishing industry still counts fairy tales as things for children, though I personally don't agree with that because the original fairy tales were definitely not tales for the young!  Anyway, what I decided to do was do this list, leave it as primarily YA, and next week I will be delving into Fairy & the Fae as a world which ends up being more adult titles, but there may be a bit of crossover.  Again, don't be afraid to read teen books, I promise they won't bite.....much.   hahaha

https://anchor.fm/alchemyofgenres/episodes/Retold--Twisted-Fairy-Tale-Stories-ehgb34


My favorite quote explains why I love fairy tales (and really all magical stories); it's from GK Chesterton, "Fairy tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten."


Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1); is a play on Cinderella, starring Cinder as a cyborg working as a mechanic.  She has a rough life, and a cybernetic foot that doesn't fit right (because she can't afford a custom model) and when her life gets intertwined with Prince Kai, she lands in the middle of an intergalactic struggle and (of course) a forbidden love.  I love this book, especially because this isn't the traditional passive female waiting for her prince, but still has a love story to tell.  Cinder has to fight to save herself and her world; and acknowledge who and what she is willing to fight for.

Each book in the series follows a different fairy tale, but stays in the same universe as this one, so they are a really fun and interesting read.






Fairest is a tween/teen book that I am thinking I should reread (it's been awhile).  Aza has the most amazing "fairest" singing voice and it is highly prized but she isn't the most beautiful so she isn't perfect and longs to be, in the hopes that this perfection will make her feel valued and happy.  She is summoned to be a lady-in-waiting for the queen who asks for a dangerous favor that whether she grants it or not, will change her life forever.  There is a magic mirror, a charming prince, a jealous queen, palace intrigue and an injured king as well as a girl who must find her own value and help save herself and her kingdom.  I love the agency the girl is given, and that it plays with the "mirror mirror" trope in a new way.



Fables is a graphic novel series where the idea is that fairy tales and fairy tale creatures are real, just from other neighboring worlds.  Something has happened to their worlds causing them to flee to ours, where the majority of them live in Manhattan, in a shielded but to all appearances normal neighborhood; and the distinctly non-human, live in upstate NY.  There is an overarching story, many smaller ones, and several mini-series' based on specific characters (specifically Cinderella and Jack).  I know I brought this up previously, so this picture is for volume 2 called Animal Farm, which plays homage to the Orwell story, while also playing with a variety of fairy stories (like the 3 little pigs).  If you enjoy escapism, you should definitely check this series out.  I am obsessed.







Rebecca remembers all the stories of Briar Rose that her grandmother told her; she never understood why the story she knew was so different from those that others knew, but didn't worry about it.  Then her grandmother dies and insists that she is the real Briar Rose and that Rebecca needs to find the castle, the prince and the spell-maker to figure out the story.  Along the way, Rebecca finds the intersection of story and reality as well as her family's Holocaust history.  This is an award winning story and is amazing for all ages.  Read it!





Beastly is a play on Beauty and the Beast (and there is a movie version of it also); it is fun but not "the best movie ever"....I enjoyed the book more.  It's set in contemporary times with a spoiled millionaire teen cursed to be ugly until he can break it.










Frogkisser I brought up in my LOL post, but it IS using a lot of traditional fairy tale characters & storylines, so I wanted to mention it here.  It is a fun and amazing book.











I mentioned Enchanted on another list, so for this one I will bring up #2 in the series, Hero.  (you should definitely read them all though!)

Saturday always thought she had no magic, until she accidentally conjures an ocean in the backyard.  So she sets off on a pirate ship only to find herself kidnapped and whisked away to the top of the world.  Can Saturday kill the mountain witch who holds her captive and save the world?  What other magic will she find in the mountain?







Goose Girls (Books of Bayern #1), is another tween/teen series that is fun for all ages.  The story follows the original tale pretty closely at the beginning, but in this one Ani, the goose girl and deposed princess, can magically talk to birds and bides her time planning not only to get back the prince (if she wants him); but to save a kingdom.

I love this series, which features strong girls finding their own strengths and overcoming obstacles, with a smidge of romance in it for fun.





East is based on a little known tale, East of the Sun, West of the Moon.  Rose longs for adventure so is happy to go off with a mysterious polar bear to live in a castle, until she makes a terrible mistake and has to choose to either run away(and pretend the mistake didn't happen) or go on a dangerous quest to fix her mistake.  How much will she risk for love?










Deerskin is a story for older teens or adults, and is based on a little known French tale from Charles Perault, Donkeyskin.

Princess Lissar is a beloved daughter of the kingdom, but is really overshadowed by the adoration and complete devotion her parents have for each other.  The Queen is the most beautiful woman ever and when she tragically dies, everyone, especially the King is devastated.  No one thinks about Lissar, until she hits puberty and begins to truly resemble her mother....and then that is all everyone talks about.  On her 17th birthday, something horrible happens and Lissar blocks the memory and escapes in the shape of a deer.  She is in self exile while she deals with her life, tries to figure out who she is and come to terms with all that has happened.  

This is a lovely story of strength and trauma and love turned evil....read with a box of tissues handy.






Fairy Godmother (Five Hundred Kingdoms #1) is written for adults, but really has no objectionable content if a teen wants to read it.  The idea is that the magic of the Five Hundred Kingdoms is tied to the story you were meant to do, and harnessing your ability to change your story enables you to have magic....and a Fairy godmother needs a fair amount of magic to help keep some stories alive while redirecting others so they don't destroy a life.  

Elena is supposed to her her kingdom's Cinderella but she doesn't want her Prince so she runs away, and in trying to escape destiny finds her fairy godmother who offers her an unexpected career opportunity.




I love this book cover and this story so much.  I especially love the idea of playing with what is the nature of a blessing and a curse; and how it all depends on context......

Dirbani gets a "gift" of having jewels and flowers falling from her lips when she speaks and Tana gets the "curse" of snakes and toads falling from her lips; and the reader follows the stories of both as they struggle to come to terms with their "gifts" in a country with many other problems.  








This is the first of this trilogy, and is a silly, fun book for young teens or the young at heart.  It is a very funny play on fairy tales and magic.  

Christian is a commoner who lives in a cave and dreams of marrying the beautiful princess, though he knows it's impossible.  Then he finds out that Queen Olympia plans to kill her daughter and he has to save her, which starts the dominoes rolling in a whole new direction.







Elizabeth has a job at an unusual library.  It houses a secret room where powerful items are locked away, like seven league books, talking mirrors and more.  Then items start to disappear and Elizabeth decides to try and catch the thief to save the library and possibly the world.

This book and the one that follows reminded me of the movies/tv series The Librarians, very similar but executed differently.  So much fun to read!





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