Fairest of All by Serena Valentino

 Fairest of All by Serena Valentino - 250 pages

The tale of the young princess and her evil stepmother, the Wicked Queen, is widely known. Despite a few variations from telling to telling, the story remains the same—the Queen was jealous of the girl’s beauty, and this jealousy culminated in the Queen’s attempt on the sweet, naive girl’s life.

Another tale far less often spoken of is the one that explains what caused the Queen to become so contemptuously vile. Still, some have attempted to guess at the reason. Perhaps the Queen’s true nature was that of a wicked hag and her beautiful, regal appearance a disguise used to fool the King. Others claim that the Queen might have hated the girl for her resemblance to the King’s first wife. Mostly, the Queen is painted as a morally abhorrent woman who never loved another being during the course of her miserable life.

In fact, the theories about exactly what cause the Queen’s obsessive vanity and jealous rage are too numerous to catalog. This book recounts a version of the story that has remained untold until now. It is a tragic tale of love and loss, and it contains a bit of magic. It is a tale of the Wicked Queen…

If I'm Being Honest by Emily Wibberley

If I'm Being Honest by Emily Wibberley -- 362 pages

High school senior Cameron Bright’s reputation can be summed up in one word: bitch. It’s no surprise she’s queen bee at her private L.A. high school—she’s beautiful, talented, and notorious for her cutting and brutal honesty. So when she puts her foot in her mouth in front of her crush, Andrew, she fears she may have lost him for good.

In an attempt to win him over, Cameron resolves to “tame” herself, much like Katherine in Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. First, she’ll have to make amends with those she’s wronged, which leads her to Brendan, the guy she labelled with an unfortunate nickname back in the sixth grade. At first, Brendan isn’t all that receptive to Cameron’s ploy. But slowly, he warms up to her when they connect over the computer game he’s developing. Now if only Andrew would notice…But the closer Cameron gets to Brendan, the more she sees he appreciates her personality—honesty and all—and wonders if she’s compromising who she is for the guy she doesn’t even want.

The Neverland Wars by Audrey Greathouse

The Neverland Wars by Audrey Greathouse - 302 pages

Magic can do a lot—give you flight, show you mermaids, help you taste the stars, and… solve the budget crisis? That's what the grown-ups will do with it if they ever make it to Neverland to steal its magic and bring their children home.

However, Gwen doesn't know this. She's just a sixteen-year-old girl with a place on the debate team and a powerful crush on Jay, the soon-to-be homecoming king. She doesn't know her little sister could actually run away with Peter Pan, or that she might have to chase after her to bring her home safe. Gwen will find out though—and when she does, she'll discover she's in the middle of a looming war between Neverland and reality.

She'll be out of place as a teenager in Neverland, but she won't be the only one. Peter Pan's constant treks back to the mainland have slowly aged him into adolescence as well. Soon, Gwen will have to decide whether she's going to join impish, playful Peter in his fight for eternal youth… or if she's going to scramble back to reality in time for the homecoming dance.

The Witch's Guide to Cooking with Children by Keith McGowan

The Witch's Guide to Cooking with Children - Keith McGowan - 192 pages

Sol and Connie move to Grand Creek and find themselves in danger from neighbor Fay Holaderry.  Will they be able to escape her attempts to cook and eat them?

I picked the audiobook to listen to this month to fit the horror challenge as the case's back matter listed it as a horror book for children.  Turns out it is just a modern retelling of Hansel Gretel.  I didn't think it was very scary as it was pretty obvious from the beginning that the kids were going to escape unharmed.  Still, I did enjoy the audio and would recommend it to those who enjoy fairy tale retellings.

Madeline L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel by Hope Larson

Madeline L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel by Hope Larson - 392 pages

This is the graphic novel retelling of Madeline L'Engle's classic book A Wrinkle in Time.  I really liked the original novel and the graphic novel retelling got great reviews so I decided to try it.  I really did not care for the retelling.  The illustrations were not to my liking.  I also think the story loses a lot in the graphic novel retelling -- so many nuances were left out.

The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman

The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman - 66 pages

This is a retelling of the Sleeping Beauty story with several major twists.  I usually love Neil Gaiman's writing for kids and teens. However, I was slightly disappointed by this story.  I believe it probably had to do with listening to it on audio.  The audio had sound effects that were very, very distracting from the story.  It also had odd pauses throughout the narration.  The twists were interesting so I think if I had read the print version I would have liked it better.

Hamlet's Father by Orson Scott Card

Hamlet's Father by Orson Scott Card -- 96 pages

We all know the story of Hamlet, how his father was murdered and made his son swear to avenge him. This is Orson Scott Card's retelling of the old Shakespeare play. He gives his own account as to why Hamlet acted as he did.

I enjoyed the beginning of this, seeing a bit of Hamlet's childhood and character, but the ending is even worse than the original. I ended up not liking the whole thing very much.

Princess of the Silver Woods by Jessica Day George

Princess of the Silver Woods by  Jessica Day George - 326 pages

It's been teen years since Princess Petunia and her sisters were rescued from the terrible nighttime dances of the King Under the Stone.  It's been ten years of quiet and peace.  But now the princesses are dreaming once again of the midnight balls and the terrible "princes" who want them for their brides.

Have they discovered how to escape their underground prison?
Will the princesses be forced to dance once more?

This is the final book in the Princess of the Midnight Ball trilogy by Jessica Day George.  I really liked the first two books in the series.  The first book Princess of the Midnight Ball was a straight retelling of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses".  The second book Princess of Glass was a retelling of "Cinderella".  Both of them were really well done.  Princess of Glass was a particularly creepy retelling that kept you guessing.  I didn't think this final book which was supposed to be a retelling of "Little Red Riding Hood" was very successful as a retelling.  It was a great ending to the series and story of the "Twelve Dancing Princesses" though.

Wayfarer: A Tale of Beauty and Madness by Lili St. Crow

Wayfarer by Lili St. Crow - 348 pages
A Tale of Beauty and Madness - 2

Ellie's life is horrible since her father died.  Her mother makes her wrong non-stop at home charming shoes to be sold in her business.  The littlest thing will set her stepmother off leading to severe beatings.  Things only get worse when her stepmother's sister comes to live with them, a local boy returns home from boarding school, and her friends try to save her.  But not one can save Ellie . . . except maybe Auntie, the nice old lady who lives near school and teaches Ellie about charming.
This is the second fairy tale retelling by Lili St. Crow after Nameless, her retelling of Sleeping Beauty.  This book retells Cinderella.  I also got a few hints of Hansel and Gretel in the mix.  Overall I enjoyed this book.  The one thing that bothered me was the "wimpyness" of the main character Ellie.  I know it was realistic in the portrayal of abused children being too afraid to get help, but it got very annoying after a while.

The Fairy's Mistake by Gail Carson Levine

The Fairy's Mistake by Gail Carson Levine - 87 pages

This is a retelling of the fairy tale of the frogs and pearls.  A good girl is rewarded by a fairy by dropping jewels every time she speaks.  Her mean sister is punished by spitting out bugs and snakes when she speaks.  However, neither the reward nor the punishment turn out to be what the fairy intended.
This retelling is pretty good.  It was actually one of the better tellings of this fairy tale that I have read before.  (I think I've seen more twisted versions of this tale than regular versions.)  Another great fairy tale retelling for kids.

Manga Bible, The Gospel, Part 1: Parables, Miracles and the Prince of Peace

Manga Bible, The Gospel, Part 1: Parables, Miracles and the Prince of Peace - 192 pages

This is a retelling of several Bible stories including parables and Jesus' miracles in comic strip format.  While it was interesting to see the artist's commentary throughout I didn't really care for this book.

Persuade Me by Juliet Archer

Persuade Me by Juliet Archer, 368 pages
(Series - Darcy & Friends)

A modern retelling of Persuasion by Jane Austen, this story fills in the blanks where Austen left off ... if her book was set in modern times. The characters remain, for the most part, untouched - at least in personality if not occupation. Mary Musgrove is still her annoying self except that instead of being a hypochondriac she is an alcoholic who views Ann as the woman Mary's husband wants. (That whole Ann & Charles affair goes one step further than Austen's Persuasion did). Mrs. Clay becomes the fake French accent Masseuse named Cleo instead of the widowed daughter of the Elliot's lawyer ... a character I really enjoyed because she was so comical. Admiral and Mrs. Croft are just Mr. & Mrs. Croft - two retirees who decided to open up a nursery. Benwick is still a lover of poetry, but instead of his fiance dying before they could become married, she has run off with another man. That irritated me just a little, but again, the author was trying to modernize the story. The Musgrove family remains intact albeit a little more annoying.  As long as you read this book with an open mind and understand that a lot had to change to make it a modern retelling, you will enjoy this read.

Ironskin by Tina Connolly

Ironskin by Tina Connolly, 304 pages

It is hard to "retell" a great story like "Jane Eyre", but Tina Connolly gives it a valiant try in "Ironskin".  You have your plain looking governess, your dark Mr. Rochester, the beautiful little girl and the crazy mom. However, the author also weaves fey and fey curses into the tale. The plot moves along very slowly and sluggishly. It might have been better had I never read Jane Eyre before, but I couldn't help but compare "Ironskin" to it. There was no mystery. No suspense. No heart stopping moments. It was just a book. A book about a governess falling in love with her brooding master and his little girl albeit with a steampunk twist. Jane is fey-cursed and hides her scars behind an iron mask. Her sister has found love and so Jane must find work to provide for herself - which is difficult since the "ironskins" are feared and considered the trash of society. She heads to the dark manor in the employment of Mr. Rochart to be governess to his daughter Dorie as he believes Jane is the only one who can truly understand and help his little girl.  Dorie, is also fey cursed but in a different way. Her mother was inhabited/possessed by a fey when she was pregnant and the fey qualities transfered over to little Dorie. It is five years after the Great War between the fey and humans. Humans are trying to get back to "normal" without fey technology. Yet, the fey aren't truly defeated and there will be one more final battle that Jane has to fight to protect the people she loves and save humanity from the threat of the fey. How will this book end? Well, if you've read Jane Eyre, you'll know, but hopefully it will still be an enjoyable read to you.