From fairytales to classics, a new generation of authors puts their spin on the plots and characters we love, bringing them to life for the modern reader.
The Chosen and the Beautiful
About the Book
The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo
A Great Gatsby retelling
Book Review
This Great Gatsby retelling brings the story to life for a modern audience. It’s got all the glitter and decadence of the original, but with magic.
Narrated by Jordan Baker, an Asian bisexual girl adopted into a rich white family, this book presents the characters as you’ve never seen them before. Jordan has a secret – she can work magic. Gatsby’s sudden wealth is explained by a deal with the devil and his ferocious hunger threatens to devour everyone in an attempt to get what he wants. Nick is simultaneously more human and real than the original and less so. Tom is as selfish as ever, and Daisy . . . well, she’s still a character trapped by her choices and the expectations of society. The characters love and use and discard each other with reckless abandon.
Set against the backdrop of the 1920’s and flappers, the description of Gatsby’s parties and the clothes everyone wears will take your breath away. The way Jordan and some other characters can cut something out of paper and bring it to life inspires a sense of wonder. Ghosts wonder around as well, because of course they do.
The book also delves into deeper topics, such as the racism Jordan faces as the only Asian in her wealthy circles, and the fact that she doesn’t fit in when she tries to mix with other Asians in Chinatown. It also deals with her lack of connection to her roots.
Thank you to the publisher for the advance review copy of this book.
Poisoned
About the Book
Poisoned by Jennifer Donnelly
A Snow White retelling
Book Review
This is the best Snow White retelling I’ve ever read. It’s epic, it’s feminist, and this Snow White doesn’t need a prince to save her. Instead, she needs to use the power she’s always had inside.
Sophie – known as Snow White in the original tale – is shocked when she’s betrayed by her stepmother just before Sophie’s coronation. The huntsman carves out her heart to bring to the queen. Only the quick thinking of the seven brothers saves her – they craft a mechanical heart for Sophie. But her stepmother isn’t the real villain. There’s a shadowy figure in her magic mirror giving orders.
The characters – especially Sophie – grab hold of your heart and don’t let go. There’s a spider who loves to cook. A grave robber with a heart of gold. And a hound who defies the odds and manages to be in just the right place at the right time.
The book is action-packed, but the author’s prose shines the best in the chapters narrated by the dead huntsman. This is a must-read for anyone who loves fairytale retellings.
Thank you to the publisher for providing an advance review copy in exchange for an honest review.
Cinder and Glass
About the Book
Cinder and Glass
A Cinderella retelling
Book Review
This book is everything a well-done Cinderella retelling should be. Set in the French court at Versailles, the Hall of Mirrors and descriptions of beautiful dresses feature prominently.
When Cendrillion de Louvois arrives at court, she’s nervous as years at home have left her ignorant of court customs. She quickly gets off on the wrong foot with the Dauphin (crown prince) when he finds her in the Orangerie without permission, though his illegitimate half-brother Auguste befriends her. But then her father marries Lady Catherine and suddenly dies, leaving Cendrillion without access to her inheritance. But when a ball is announced to choose ladies for the Dauphin, Louis, to court, Cendrillion sees her chance to plead her case with some of her fathers’ old friends. But, at the ball, she ends up impressing the Dauphin himself, and he names her one of the ladies competing for his hand, along with Cendrillion’s two step-sisters. Unfortunately, Louis is not the brother Cendrillion finds herself falling for.
This story stays mostly true to the original storyline, except for here the Dauphin courts the different ladies, taking them on outings and eliminating them a few at a time Bachelor-style.
Cendrillion is a headstrong protagonist who matches wits with royalty and her evil stepmother alike. The story sparkles with romantic tension as things heat up between Cendrillion and Auguste.
This is a fun retelling with enough differences from the original to make it interesting.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance review copy of this book.
Roman and Jewel
About the Book
Roman and Jewel
Romeo and Juliet gets the Hamilton treatment
Book Review
A hip-hop interpretation of Romeo and Juliet? Yes, please! I totally want to watch this on Broadway.
Jerzie James knows she’s the perfect person to play Jewel. She’s been working for this her whole life. So she’s crushed when they pick the famous singer Cinny instead to boost ticket sales, hiring Jerzie as her understudy. And to make matters worse, she and Cinny get off on the wrong foot when Jerzie has an immediate connection with the boy playing Roman.
Ah, young love! This book captures the feeling of seeing someone across the room and being instantly obsessed with them. And the kissing scenes managed to be both hot and sweet.
The setting was perfection. The author made the backstage of a Broadway musical come to life. And all the petty jealousies of who outranked who and who got the better part were so true to life.
The supporting characters were great. Cinny was the perfect villain, sweet in public and terrible once the cameras were gone. And Jerzie’s Aunt Karla was the perfect foil to her personality, with some of the best lines!
This is a must-read for contemporary ya fans.
Thank you to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Within These Wicked Walls
About the Book
Within These Wicked Walls
A retelling of Jane Eyre
Book Review
I am loving this retelling a classic with a twist trend! This is Jane Eyre, but with an Ethiopian magic system. This left me in a book coma. I’m afraid to start reading anything else, because I just know it won’t be as good.
Andromeda trained as a debtera – someone licensed by the Church to expel evil spirits and manifestations. However, her mentor kicked her out before she could get her license. This makes her the only debtera desperate enough to say yes to the handsome young Mr. Rochester after ten others have quit. Andromeda has her hands full, both with his haunted castle and figuring out her own feelings. She thinks there’s no way she could compete with the beautiful, rich Kelela, but Mr. Rochester’s eyes tell her differently. Danger looms over them all, as the servants keep disappearing, and after each disappearance, the walls drip blood. Andromeda needs to figure out if she has the skills to expel the Evil Eye from someone possessed with it, no matter how much she might want to save the handsome, charming, annoying Mr. Rochester, or Magnus, as he insists she call him.
The magic system was one I hadn’t read before, which made this a fascinating, engrossing read. I loved how the manifestations in the house ranged from fun – snow falling in a room – to dangerous – a Librarian who hurled books at people who displeased her.
I loved these characters! Magnus is both annoying, childish and irresistibly charming, much like the first Mr. Rochester. And Andromeda’s will to survive fights with her instincts to love, making her a fascinating character. I wanted so badly for these two to find a way to be together. I won’t tell you if they do, though. The suspense made this book impossible to put down.
Thank you to Wednesday Books for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Jo and Laurie
About the Book
Jo and Laurie by Margaret Stohl and Melissa De La Cruz
A retelling of Little Women
Book Review
For everyone who’s ever been mad that Jo didn’t get Laurie in the end.
I was both excited to read this book and worried it would ruin the original story, which I loved. It didn’t. I thoroughly enjoyed the alternate ending.
This book is for every Little Women fan who has been angry or frustrated that Jo and Laurie didn’t end up together. Amy, Jo and Meg are portrayed as both real people and the beloved characters that Jo wrote. I love how these authors (of Jo and Laurie) show the differences between who Jo wrote and real life, and how sometimes real life mirrored fiction, as when Mr. Brooke gets the courage to approach Meg after Jo writes him in as her fictional husband. But in some ways it is very different, as Amy is still a child during these chapters. We never get to see mature, adult Amy.
Jo and Laurie have all the same reasons that they shouldn’t end up together as they did in the original book. The authors didn’t make them different people, instead, they believed that love would find a way. This is a very sweet, satisfying story.
Lost in the Never Woods
About the Book
Lost in the Never Woods by
Retelling of Peter Pan
Book Review
When an adult Wendy crashes her car into an adult Peter Pan, she doesn’t recognize him. But Peter’s convinced Wendy is the only one who can stop his shadow from destroying their world, as long as their growing feelings for each other don’t get in the way.
This book had some great twists! Highly recommend this retelling.
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