This week's topic is fairy tale re-tellings and is pretty much open to anything we want to list regarding them. I'm a fan of fairy tales and their rebooted modern descendents. My list is going to be a bit of a grab bag because the ten books I wanted to feature are related to fairy tales in a few different ways. I'm sorry I can't be more focused - this topic is like being a kid in a candy store and there's just to much sugar to really concentrate on one thing. Allrighty then!
Recent Retellings*
*Well at least for me they are recent
*Well at least for me they are recent
1) The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
There is isn't any thing particularly innovative or clever about this re-telling; it fleshes out and gives more depth to what is a very short but intriguing original tale and it does it well.
2) The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
I know, they are everywhere but I am firmly on this bandwagon and am SO enjoying this series. The books in the series have been a well planned and intertwining sci-fi twist on several classic fairy tales. Some of my very favorite YA books!
3) Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
This retelling of the Cinderella myth has such a perfect twist to it (Ella is given the "gift" of obedience and therefore must obey everything anyone tells her to do) while still having the flavor of the original tale. It's more realistic than the original story but is still pure magic.
Best Use of Fairy Tale Characters
This series of graphic novels takes all your favorite characters from fairy tale land and transports them to contemporary New York where they all live in an insular community, in exile from an evil that has taken over their homelands. This is not a tale for kids and it is so much fun. I've said it ad nauseum on this blog but I'll say it again - this was my fabulous introduction to Graphic Novels and I highly recommend the entire series to everyone. It's about to be wrapped up so if you wait just a few more months you can binge read (and believe me you'll want to) the entire series from start to finish (22 volumes I believe).
5) The School For Good and Evil by Soman Chainani
This was a surprisingly delightful middle grade read for me (my review) which turns the idea of good and evil on its head and not even necessarily in the way you'd expect. Parodies and thoroughly lambasts the black and white nature of most fairy tales with a fun and funny story.
This was a surprisingly delightful middle grade read for me (my review) which turns the idea of good and evil on its head and not even necessarily in the way you'd expect. Parodies and thoroughly lambasts the black and white nature of most fairy tales with a fun and funny story.
Best Fairy Tale-esque*
* As far as I know these stories are not based on a source fairy tale but they read like they are. Heavily influenced by fairy tales.
* As far as I know these stories are not based on a source fairy tale but they read like they are. Heavily influenced by fairy tales.
6) Stardust by Neil Gaiman
There's magic and a quest and a handsome commoner who becomes a prince and a crone who wants to cut the heart out of a lovely maiden....sounds like a fairy tale to me:). A lovely book and movie.
7) Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
An imaginative and unique story that has the feel of an old school fairy tale except that Sophie and Howl are grumpy and imperfect and completely delightful; i.e. they have character! This is again an excellent book AND movie which I just posted about.
An imaginative and unique story that has the feel of an old school fairy tale except that Sophie and Howl are grumpy and imperfect and completely delightful; i.e. they have character! This is again an excellent book AND movie which I just posted about.
8) The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
I am actually in the middle of this one right now and it is so obviously inspired by and is likely an ode to fairy tales. It gets quite meta- in fact, sucking Bastian the human boy reading The Neverending Story into the world of Fantastica and making him part of the story. Yet another good book and movie pairing though apparently the movie was only of the first half of the book. Hmmm... I'm sensing a trend here.
9) The Princess Bride by William Goldman
This is one where I prefer the movie to the book because the movie focuses on the fairy tale parody part of the book and leaves out most of the extraneous contemporary "story" line. Probably the most charming fairy tale parody, ever.
The Number On Re-telling I'd Like to Read Soon
10) Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George
I've heard lots of good things about it and The Twelve Dancing Princesses is a fairy tale I am not overly familiar with so I think it will be fresh for me no matter what.
The Fairy Tale for which I'd Most Like to Find a Good Retelling
11) The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Anderson
This is one of my favorite fairy tales of all time (horribly sad) as well as my favorite Disney film. Would love to read a book that novelizes and expands this tale. And perhaps makes it slightly less brutal and depressing than the original story while being more realistic than the Disney story. Anybody have any recommendations?
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