fairy tale re-tellings.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

I need your recommendations yet again. The last time I asked, I wanted some General Fiction and Mystery/Thriller novels. I got a lot of awesome recommendations, read most of them, and loved almost all of them. I do feel though that it is time to change it up yet again and discover (or re-discover) fairy tales through books that are inspired by them. I feel like this is the sub-genre that I am not too familiar with, so that's why I'm asking you. Do you know any books that are centered around re-telling or 'modernizing' fairy tales, myths, legends, or just about any old, familiar tale. I have read East by Edith Pattou, Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, and of course Shannon Hale's, The Goose Girl and Princess Academy and completely fell in love with all of them. Do you have any in particular that you have read that you enjoyed? Please do let me know. I will be raiding the library by the end of this week so I would like to compile a list of titles I'd like to borrow. Thanks in advance, and as always, happy reading!

9 comments:

  1. Tales of WhimsyApril 20, 2011 at 2:19 AM

    Have you tried Beastly?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Carin SiegfriedApril 20, 2011 at 6:30 PM

    Obviously anything by Gregory Maguire. David Maine has rewritten several Old Testament stories (Noah's Ark, Adam & Eve), Grimm's Last Fairytale by Haydn Middleton. Fun topic!

    ReplyDelete
  3. JordynApril 20, 2011 at 7:12 PM

    Robin Palmer's books are super-cute retellings. I've read Geek Charming and Cindy Ella and they're both really good.

    ReplyDelete
  4. JillianApril 20, 2011 at 11:04 PM

    Juju - I have actually never read it. Did you like it? I didn't see the movie either.

    Carin - Do you have a favorite from Gregory Maguire? And I just looked up Grimm's Last Fairytale and am so intrigued. I automatically added it to my list! Thank you!

    Jordyn - Thanks for the rec. I have not heard of those!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jenny N.April 21, 2011 at 9:51 AM

    I haven't read many fairy tale retellings either. One I have read and liked is Ice by Sarah Beth Durst.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AllieApril 21, 2011 at 3:57 PM

    My favorite is Beauty by Robin McKinley. It is a little older, but it is WONDERFUL. She has written quite a few others including: Rose Daughter, Spindle's End, and The Outlaws of Sherwood.

    Two more fairy tale "retellings" are Wildwood Dancing and Cybele's Secret by Juliet Marieller (I probably mis-spelled her last name). Both are absolutely wonderful.

    A good adult retelling is Enchantment by Orson Scott Card.

    Hope that helped!

    ReplyDelete
  7. JillianApril 24, 2011 at 3:22 PM

    Jenny N - I will try that one out. Thanks!

    Allie - Thanks so much for all the titles :) I'll look up their synopsis and see if I would like them! I will be going to the library tomorrow, so I'm pretty excited about it.

    ReplyDelete
  8. La CoccinelleApril 25, 2011 at 5:07 PM

    Have you gone to the library yet? :)

    I second Allie's recommendations of Beauty and Enchantment. I quite enjoyed both of those.

    Also, if you liked Ella Enchanted, you might also like Fairest (it's by the same author). That one's a retelling of Snow White.

    I'd recommend The Book of Lost Things, too... but I seem to recall that you might already have read it.

    ReplyDelete
  9. JillianApril 26, 2011 at 9:10 AM

    No I have not! I will today. I keep postponing it LOL. But thanks for your recommendations. I will definitely check out Beauty and Enchantment as well as Fairest if they have it. And you're right, I did read The Book of Lost Things already. I've been reading John Connolly's other works, hoping I'd find something similar but am not successful so far.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)