Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Five Books Worth Reading: Inspired Retellings

Retelling a classic story is all the rage right now. You might have noticed this in movies, television, and books yourself. So here are my five books worth reading on the subject. (Fair warning: mostly fairy tales)



Cinder by Marissa Meyer – The first book in a popular teen series retelling the story of Cinderella told from the point of view of the cyborg, Cinder.  In addition, this well written sci-fi series has evil witches, shapeshifters, spaceships, and awesome cover art. I highly recommend it.

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas – A Beauty and the Beast retelling featuring clueless humans and mysterious elves. Sarah Mass is an excellent writer and I would recommend anything she writes (ahem… Throne of Glass… ahem).

Mechanica by Betsy Cornwell – This is a spot-on Steampunk retelling of Cinderella.  My favorite thing about this book was that the quintessential teen angst/ love triangle doesn’t end up the way that the reader thinks it will…This ending is better.

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge – A retelling of Beauty and the Beast where wishes will get you enslaved, the beast is a Demon Prince, and “Beauty” has been raised from birth to kill him. This story is geared for Adults, not teens or children.  The second book in this series, Crimson Bound, comingles the stories of Little Red Riding Hood and The Girl with No Hands and is even better than the first.

Madman’s Daughter by Megan Shepherd – What happens to the daughter of Dr. Moreau after the island is abandoned/destroyed? This book, set in Victorian England and inspired by The Island of Dr. Moreau, tells us her fate. The “monsters” featured in the second and third books in this series pay homage to Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde and Frankenstein.  

So those are my five. What retellings have you enjoyed lately? 

~Mary P.

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