Top Ten Tuesday #16 - Fairytale Retellings

1. Enchanted - Alethea Kontis
I can't profess to have read Hero or Dearest, the second and third books in this series, but you can bet your bottom dollar that they're on my wishlist. Enchanted successfully blends elements of several fairytales and even a couple of rhymes into a cohesive and... enchanting plot. This one is particularly centered around The Princess and the Frog, a story that doesn't get retold all that often. I can't wait to read more.

The Woodcutter Sisters Series on Goodreads

2. Mirror, Mirror - Gregory Maguire
The author who brought us Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West also does his share of classic fairytale retellings. This one is a strangely realistic version of Snow White, and it doesn't skimp on all the gory details, either.

Mirror, Mirror on Goodreads

3. The Lunar Chronicles - Marissa Meyer
A complex futuristic retelling featuring all your favourite fairy-tales; Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and Snow White as you have never seen them before. This is a riveting series and such a good take on these classic stories.


The Lunar Chronicles on Goodreads

4. The Book of Lost Things - John Connolly
A young boy is thrust into a world where fairytales live, but not always happily ever after. This book is enthralling and very easy to get in to.

The Book of Lost Things on Goodreads

5. Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister - Gregory Maguire
My personal favourite of Maguire's books, this takes a journey into seventeenth-century Holland and is told from the the step-sister's point of view. Iris is a wonderful character, and the way that Maguire paints the scene is magical. I also love the references to art in this book, however others don't get to grips with it the way I did, hence why this book is not higher up the top ten.

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister on Goodreads

6. A Long, Long Sleep - Anna Sheehan
A Sci-fi version of Sleeping Beauty, perfect for those of us who like a bit of a mix-up in their genres. Honestly, this book is really enjoyable and check out the cover! Stunning.

A Long, Long Sleep on Goodreads

7. The Grimm Diaries Series - Cameron Jace
If you are up for reading this monster of a series, it features fairytales characters as you've never seen them before. It all starts off with a devastatingly beautiful monster; Snow White. If the main series isn't enough for you, and trust me, there will be more coming out soon, then try all 18 prequels.

The Grimm Diaries on Goodreads
The Grimm Diaries Prequels on Goodreads

8. Sweetly - Jackson Pearce
A deceptive version of Hansel and Gretel. I loved this retelling because it wasn't overly magical for the most part. It was grounded in reality and only got magical once you went behind the scenes. I really loved this retelling, and it is an unusual tale to take on.

Sweetly on Goodreads



9. Bitter Greens - Kate Forsyth
A story similar to the way the Gregory Maguire develops his. This is firmly grounded in reality and history including Charlotte Rose de la Force, a famous female writer with a lot of stories to her name... and not just ones she made up, either. This tale beautifully weaves magic (and not much of it) in with reality so you can't really tell who is embellishing and who is not. I love the nature of the story, the way something can change through the telling, and that is exactly what we have here. Someone may be described as a witch one day and the next day people are convinced they have cast spells on them.

Bitter Greens on Goodreads

10. Snow White and the Seven Samurai - Tom Holt
A couple of teens manage to hack into the evil queens magic mirror and inadvertently break the whole thing. Now all the fairytales are tipped on their heads: Snow White is running the show, the Big Bad Wolf is suddenly Prince Charming. The three little pigs pretty much steal the show in my opinion though.

Snow White and the Seven Samurai on Goodreads

Kyra and Stacey _xx

Reckless - Cornelia Funke

Following her extremely popular Inkheart series (also made into a film starring Brendan Frasier), Cornelia Funke comes up with another insightful take on the adult fairy tale. Drawing from classic tales such as 'Through the Looking Glass', 'Sleeping Beauty' and 'Rapunzel' as well as various other fairy tales, this story is fast paced and enchanting.

Jacob Reckless has been going through the mirror for years. He knows the world behind it almost better than his own - he even calls it home. But now everything has changed. His brother has followed him though and has been clawed by a ferocious Goyl, whose stony skinned race are slowly taking over the land. Jacob will try anything to save his brother, but this world isn't making it easy.

This book is reminiscent of a few other writers works who have tried their own interpretations of fairy tales. Perhaps the most notable is John Connoly's The Book of Lost Things, whose world is also riddled with elements of fairy tales. Another notable writer is Gregory Maguire, whose retelling of The Wizard of Oz (Wicked) has been made into a successful theatre production.

However, this story has become its own with the great imagination of its author, who dreams up entire underground cities, as well as creature species and interesting characters. The fairy tales are entwined into it with sophistication and newer, scarier ones are told in their stead. Knife-fingered men lurk in the forests, ready to make your skin into clothing. Gingerbread houses are so alluring they lull their trespassers into a soothing sleep, locking the gate behind them.

The plot is a great credit to Cornelia Funke, as many fairytale based stories can get too lost in their original forms. Here, she creates a set of entirely new heroes and villains to build her world around, and includes a rather good political plot as well as a few good twists. The characters, who are altogether very good, may not be entirely relatable. Jacob, for example, is rather aloof to begin with, which may cause the reader to warm to him less.

The story is centred around the themes of love - in a familial, friendly and romantic sense - and gives the reader a heartwarming idea of how the characters interest and feel about each other. The style is easy to read, almost too easy, as it is difficult to put it down.

It is clear that the book was meant for a teen and adult audience who are more than familiar with the fantasy and fairy tale genres. If this sounds like you, then this book will be just the thing you may be looking for. It deserves a 9 out of 10.

The sequel, Fearless, is out in 2013.

The Book of Lost Things - John Connolly

Chosen by 'The Times Books Group', The Book of Lost Things is an absolute page turner. It has action, suspense, intrigue and a dash of dark fairy tales to sink your teeth into.This book is the most interesting read I have had for a little while now. I dare say it may have topped even Joanne Harris's 'Five Quarters of the Orange', which i particularly enjoyed. John Connolly may just be a genius.

Although many of the factors contributing to the book are from commonly known fairy tales such as Rumpelstiltskin and Snow White, there is a distinctly adult air about it. However, I do think that children will be able to read it and enjoy the book in much the same way that I did.

The plot was very well planned, and didn't go where I expected it to in the slightest. it has a little bit of gore, but nothing that could cause a child any nightmares as such. It does remind me of a certain Alice in Wonderland, where she meets several different characters throughout her journey, after losing the previous one.

The story is set in the second world war, but is mainly inside a world very different and yet strangely not so different, to ours. It is first and foremost, about a boys transition into a young man. It deals with themes such as the death of a loved one, jealousy, betrayal and guilt all in a very adult way. This element is very interesting, considering this is meant to be a children's book. I think that children may not be able to fully grasp these themes as adults do, but nevertheless will enjoy reading them.

Fairytale are the stories that I enjoyed most ad a child, and i can see myself reflected in the main character; their love of reading, their inwardness. I think what the author has done here is cleverly made it so we all can see ourselves in the main character, in both children and adults. After all, no-one is exempt from feelings of anger, sadness and jealousy, just as no-one hated fairy tales when they were younger.

I especially like the way that the fairytale have been integrated into the story. Some, for example, red riding hood, are told as stories to the protagonist, whilst others are characters he meets, like Snow White. It is interesting to note that all of these stories have been changed in some way to add to to main plot of the story. Sleeping Beauty has been drastically altered, and yet you still recognise exactly which fairytale the book refers to.

The book is also very helpful. Not only does it have the actual novel, it also includes a question and answer from the author and some very interesting notes on the fairy tales and myths that he chose to use, including the script of the actual stories to read. I don't think it could get any better.

Overall this is an enticing, if dark, story with everything you could ever want to read involved. I can't get over how good this book was, and I therefore think I shall give this one 10/10. A really good read.