Tag: #retelling
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Mirror, Mirror Review
Maguire sets his tale of vanity and murder in 16th century Italy where the wicked queen is played by a historical domain character, Lucrenzia Borgia, sister to Ceseare Borgia who was the inspiration for Machavelli’s The Prince. Lucrenzia is vain but her jealousy of Bianca, the girl as white as snow stems from her brother’s…
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Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister Review
Maguire takes the tale of Cinderella to Holland during the height of the Tulip madness. Beauty is the theme of the day, the traditional aesthetic beauty of femininity, the beauty immortal captured on canvas, the beauty in nature, and of course, the inner beauty in charity.
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After Alice Review
Maguire is best known for his work retelling the stories of Oz’ famous characters (and inspiring the subsequent Broadway play) but as the library didn’t have Wicked, I decided to take a look at Maguire’s other fairytale works. After Alice is just as implied where a minor character from the original novel, Ada, falls down…
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Book of a Thousand Days Review
Well then, I think I finished the Shannon Hale fairytale catalogue and like Gail Carson Levine, she should be applauded for her creative twists on classic tales while paying homage to the darker elements of the originals and bringing her vivid descriptions of nature blending in with magic.
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The Books of Bayern: The Goose Girl Review
Hale’s haunting retelling of The Goose Girl starts with a princess, a princess born with a word at her tongue. Once she awakes three days later, she doesn’t know the name but she grows entangled with the speech of animals. It’s an ancient magic, and a distrusted one compared to people-speak. Princess Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee…
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Ranking The Princess Tales
It’s clear that Levine excells in her humorous fractured fairytales and the short stories of The Princess Tales are no exception. I highly suggest parents or at least librarians stock this series for story time. It’s a very whimsical series and kids are sure to enjoy it.
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Jenny Elder Moke Interview
Jenny Elder Moke is the author of Hood, and the Samantha Knox series combining intense historical research with thrilling adventure. Here, she kindly took the time to discuss her inspiration, research and what’s coming next. 1. Where did your writing journey begin? Shortly after I graduated from college, I found myself working at an independent…
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Snow and Poison Review
De La Cruz’ sophmore fairytale retelling may have similarities to her first with a dying father, whirlwind romance and possibly wicked stepmother but she manages to deliver a new twist to this classic tale. It’s just unfortunate that with its shorter page length, the story feels rushed and less magical than its predecessor.
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Cinder & Glass Review
This might be the last of my fairytale binge for some time, but what a way to end it. De La Cruz’s retelling of Cinderella is a historical. So no fairy godmother or dress-making mice here, but magic is still present in the air as Cinderellion enters the world of Versailles with its dazzling Hall…
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A Secret Princess Review
Margaret Stohl and Melissa de La Cruz team up once again for a reimagining of beloved literary characters from Frances Hodgson Burnett’s canon. The choice of pairing Mary Lennox and Sara Crewe is perfect as they are just those two literary characters that you just picture like when one thinks of Wendy Darling, one also…
Rachel Reads & Reviews 