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Cinder the Fireplace Boy: and other Gayly Grimm Tales
Once upon a time there lived... a beautiful prince who kissed a frog. A cinder-smudged child who hid a secret. A princess who climbed a long braid of golden hair for love. A thumb-sized boy with the courage of a giant. And a valiant little tailor whose wit was as sharp as her needle.
These stories and many more await you in this delightful collection of classic fairy tales, lovingly retold and featuring characters who receive wonderfully queer happily-ever-afters! Let these new takes on the Brothers Grimm warm your heart and nurture your yearning to see yourself reflected in beloved favorites.
Features eight original illustrations by artist Alex Dingley.
"Mardoll has removed instances of racism, antisemitism, and Christian moralizing while introducing queer and disabled characters... a welcome, clever update of fairy tales." --Kirkus Reviews
These stories and many more await you in this delightful collection of classic fairy tales, lovingly retold and featuring characters who receive wonderfully queer happily-ever-afters! Let these new takes on the Brothers Grimm warm your heart and nurture your yearning to see yourself reflected in beloved favorites.
Features eight original illustrations by artist Alex Dingley.
"Mardoll has removed instances of racism, antisemitism, and Christian moralizing while introducing queer and disabled characters... a welcome, clever update of fairy tales." --Kirkus Reviews
279 pages, ebook
First published January 4, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
January 8, 2022
EDIT: decided to rate 1/5 because this is one of the most uncreative, boring books I've ever read. Substituting pronouns, does not good storytelling make.
Previously, I have enjoyed fairytale and mythological retellings that take childhood/classic stories and explore them from different viewpoints (like Snow, Glass, Apples), greater historical context (She Who Became the Sun), or deeper richness (Song of Achilles). However, this collection of stories is none of the above. The stories are told in the same, children's fairytale level of language and depth, except that the characters have different gender identities or sexual orientation. The stories - at least from the half I read - have not had the basic plot or perspective changed, either. I'm not sure if this is intended to be children's literature, but it reads that way, though it wasn't labelled that way when I selected it.
When I saw the description of "new takes on the Brothers Grimm" and "classic fairy tales, lovingly retold and featuring characters who receive wonderfully queer happily-ever-afters," I was hoping for something like rewriting The Little Mermaid (yes, that's Hans Christian Andersen but just as an example) to bring the subtextual queerness into text and explore what it means for a queer person to give up their voice in exchange for the appearance of normalcy in order to gain acceptance. "New takes", these stories are not, not really.
Thank you to Netgalley for this free digital copy in exchange for my honest review.
Previously, I have enjoyed fairytale and mythological retellings that take childhood/classic stories and explore them from different viewpoints (like Snow, Glass, Apples), greater historical context (She Who Became the Sun), or deeper richness (Song of Achilles). However, this collection of stories is none of the above. The stories are told in the same, children's fairytale level of language and depth, except that the characters have different gender identities or sexual orientation. The stories - at least from the half I read - have not had the basic plot or perspective changed, either. I'm not sure if this is intended to be children's literature, but it reads that way, though it wasn't labelled that way when I selected it.
When I saw the description of "new takes on the Brothers Grimm" and "classic fairy tales, lovingly retold and featuring characters who receive wonderfully queer happily-ever-afters," I was hoping for something like rewriting The Little Mermaid (yes, that's Hans Christian Andersen but just as an example) to bring the subtextual queerness into text and explore what it means for a queer person to give up their voice in exchange for the appearance of normalcy in order to gain acceptance. "New takes", these stories are not, not really.
Thank you to Netgalley for this free digital copy in exchange for my honest review.
Shelved as 'writings'
January 9, 2022I am informed by the Goodreads Librarians that the only way I can add images to this page is via a review, so I am leaving a no-star review to share these images! I wanted to address a question regarding whether I changed just genders and pronouns: I changed a good deal more than that!
I think "The Fisherman and His Wife" is an excellent example of my retelling style; the original version ends in punishment for being greedy (the fisherman and his wife lose everything and return to their hovel), whereas mine is a morality tale about not letting a desire for security and happiness turn into insatiable avarice for money and power. I feel the best litmus test for what to expect from this book, and whether or not you will like it, will be to see the old Grimms' ending beside my new ending for the same story. Thank you so much for considering my book and for supporting authors! ♥
I think "The Fisherman and His Wife" is an excellent example of my retelling style; the original version ends in punishment for being greedy (the fisherman and his wife lose everything and return to their hovel), whereas mine is a morality tale about not letting a desire for security and happiness turn into insatiable avarice for money and power. I feel the best litmus test for what to expect from this book, and whether or not you will like it, will be to see the old Grimms' ending beside my new ending for the same story. Thank you so much for considering my book and for supporting authors! ♥
February 10, 2022
**Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy**
While this was a brilliant concept, it had an awful execution. The start of the authors note got me excited - it was written beautifully and eloquently, leading me to believe we would read these stories from a different point of view and lens. Then the authors note went on to insult Grimm's Fairy Tales - the very stories it directly copied. I agree some of the tales had issues - they were an echo of that time, not that that was an excuse - but apparently kidnapping and child sacrifice was okay to keep as a "good message".
I eagerly cracked open the book waiting for some new lgbt+ icons to be born, but I was extremely disappointed. For someone priding themselves on changing the stories to lgbt+ narratives, it lacked a lot. Simply changing the pronouns or having the frog turn into a man and marry another was extremely lack lustre. These stories were developed to tell a moral - the Princess (or in this case The Frog Prince) and the Frog were to tell people to not break their promises and treat everyone nicely regardless of how they look. If the story was actually rewritten and given an essence by the author, this could have been an incredible lgbt+ story with that moral. Treat people nicely regardless of their sexuality could have become the new moral! Instead the Princess was a Prince and... that was that. Changing a name, gender or pronoun added absolutely nothing to these stories. There was no new twist, identity or passion added. It was like someone grabbed these stories, changed a few words, and thought it was appropriate to publish.
This is something that should stay a free ebook or on Wattpad. It's a quick and easy idea for others to read, but it's not something that will be adorning shelves any time soon.
Edit: Changed to a one star due to the author putting reviews on their social media accounts and acting like they're lying about the quality of the book. What a shame to see such immaturity and refusing to learn and grow from a process. They have a right to be defensive or upset, but at the end of the day being excited over fake reviews people are giving to make them feel better and being bitter and defensive over real reviews that don't stroke their ego is just upsetting and immature. It was also frustrating to see them say that people who didn't like their book were "the people who think it's the same either don't like the Grimms or haven't read them in a while/ever." (Author's Twitter Page) Massive fan of Grimm's here, and I still didn't like it. Quit making excuses and realise that people aren't all cookie cutter versions of what you want them to be. Also, "It's vexing to have my own creative work assigned to two dead men." So, uh, don't rewrite Grimm's fairytales then. Like... write an original work? Don't whine when your title literally says "Grimm Tales" and get the surprised Pikachu face when people say "Huh, look at that."
Letter to the author: For the author who keeps tweeting about all the bad reviewers, understand where they're coming from. Sure, you didn't simply change a few pronouns and that's that. I understand why you're defensive over that. However, do you understand why people feel that way? It doesn't feel like we're reading something new. Sure, some storylines were changed and nothing was literally copied and pasted, but typically the morals were the same, the storyline was the same and we got nothing NEW. Where were the new storylines? Why couldn't the frog fall in love with a commoner instead of a wealthy Prince? Nothing was new. Nothing was changed. I wanted to connect to these characters and feel great about reading them. But I was bored. I get that you were trying to create the same feel - and you did so quite well - but we've already had these stories.
Now, at the start of my review, I did say that your author's note was written beautifully, and I will continue saying that. It was a compliment because you clearly CAN write. I would have definitely picked up anything you had written in the future because I want to see you write like THAT. Give me an lgbt+ historical fiction. Create a full length Prince and the Frog and I would have loved it. However, after the ridiculousness I've seen on your twitter, I have to take away any future support. Attacking reviewers, acting like they know nothing about writing or Grimm's, is absolutely offensive behaviour. Yes, you rewrote the stories, but you're clearly not understanding why people didn't want a direct retelling like this. Yes, you changed every line and added some in. But it was still so direct and sameness it wasn't that exciting. I agree with others saying it would be good to read to kids - but you see, they're saying that in replacement of Grimm's because it's the same. Even the good reviewers admit it's a REPLACEMENT, not something new. So complaining that people are comparing your work to them is redundant. Write something new. Then if you get compared to another author you can have another Twitter tantrum.
I get why you're frustrated, but putting reviewers on blast on your social media which could lead to them getting gross remarks or people attacking them online is unacceptable. Understand that social media has an effect and when you create ripples, they can become waves. The wave for me was to never support you again out of fear I'd be attacked by you online for it. The wave for one of your Twitter followers could be to attack someone on here if they match the review you're complaining about.
Be careful about the energy you put out into the world.
While this was a brilliant concept, it had an awful execution. The start of the authors note got me excited - it was written beautifully and eloquently, leading me to believe we would read these stories from a different point of view and lens. Then the authors note went on to insult Grimm's Fairy Tales - the very stories it directly copied. I agree some of the tales had issues - they were an echo of that time, not that that was an excuse - but apparently kidnapping and child sacrifice was okay to keep as a "good message".
I eagerly cracked open the book waiting for some new lgbt+ icons to be born, but I was extremely disappointed. For someone priding themselves on changing the stories to lgbt+ narratives, it lacked a lot. Simply changing the pronouns or having the frog turn into a man and marry another was extremely lack lustre. These stories were developed to tell a moral - the Princess (or in this case The Frog Prince) and the Frog were to tell people to not break their promises and treat everyone nicely regardless of how they look. If the story was actually rewritten and given an essence by the author, this could have been an incredible lgbt+ story with that moral. Treat people nicely regardless of their sexuality could have become the new moral! Instead the Princess was a Prince and... that was that. Changing a name, gender or pronoun added absolutely nothing to these stories. There was no new twist, identity or passion added. It was like someone grabbed these stories, changed a few words, and thought it was appropriate to publish.
This is something that should stay a free ebook or on Wattpad. It's a quick and easy idea for others to read, but it's not something that will be adorning shelves any time soon.
Edit: Changed to a one star due to the author putting reviews on their social media accounts and acting like they're lying about the quality of the book. What a shame to see such immaturity and refusing to learn and grow from a process. They have a right to be defensive or upset, but at the end of the day being excited over fake reviews people are giving to make them feel better and being bitter and defensive over real reviews that don't stroke their ego is just upsetting and immature. It was also frustrating to see them say that people who didn't like their book were "the people who think it's the same either don't like the Grimms or haven't read them in a while/ever." (Author's Twitter Page) Massive fan of Grimm's here, and I still didn't like it. Quit making excuses and realise that people aren't all cookie cutter versions of what you want them to be. Also, "It's vexing to have my own creative work assigned to two dead men." So, uh, don't rewrite Grimm's fairytales then. Like... write an original work? Don't whine when your title literally says "Grimm Tales" and get the surprised Pikachu face when people say "Huh, look at that."
Letter to the author: For the author who keeps tweeting about all the bad reviewers, understand where they're coming from. Sure, you didn't simply change a few pronouns and that's that. I understand why you're defensive over that. However, do you understand why people feel that way? It doesn't feel like we're reading something new. Sure, some storylines were changed and nothing was literally copied and pasted, but typically the morals were the same, the storyline was the same and we got nothing NEW. Where were the new storylines? Why couldn't the frog fall in love with a commoner instead of a wealthy Prince? Nothing was new. Nothing was changed. I wanted to connect to these characters and feel great about reading them. But I was bored. I get that you were trying to create the same feel - and you did so quite well - but we've already had these stories.
Now, at the start of my review, I did say that your author's note was written beautifully, and I will continue saying that. It was a compliment because you clearly CAN write. I would have definitely picked up anything you had written in the future because I want to see you write like THAT. Give me an lgbt+ historical fiction. Create a full length Prince and the Frog and I would have loved it. However, after the ridiculousness I've seen on your twitter, I have to take away any future support. Attacking reviewers, acting like they know nothing about writing or Grimm's, is absolutely offensive behaviour. Yes, you rewrote the stories, but you're clearly not understanding why people didn't want a direct retelling like this. Yes, you changed every line and added some in. But it was still so direct and sameness it wasn't that exciting. I agree with others saying it would be good to read to kids - but you see, they're saying that in replacement of Grimm's because it's the same. Even the good reviewers admit it's a REPLACEMENT, not something new. So complaining that people are comparing your work to them is redundant. Write something new. Then if you get compared to another author you can have another Twitter tantrum.
I get why you're frustrated, but putting reviewers on blast on your social media which could lead to them getting gross remarks or people attacking them online is unacceptable. Understand that social media has an effect and when you create ripples, they can become waves. The wave for me was to never support you again out of fear I'd be attacked by you online for it. The wave for one of your Twitter followers could be to attack someone on here if they match the review you're complaining about.
Be careful about the energy you put out into the world.
December 19, 2021
1 ⭐
I expected so much more from this; since I'm such a sucker for retellings, especially queer retellings; but unfortunately it just turned out to be an uncreative disappointment.
I received a digital ARC via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
I expected so much more from this; since I'm such a sucker for retellings, especially queer retellings; but unfortunately it just turned out to be an uncreative disappointment.
I received a digital ARC via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
December 24, 2021
Everything ana makes is derivative and childish and this is no exception.
January 10, 2022
Was expecting more
Seems to be the original fairy tales with some paraphrasing and swapped pronouns, not much creativity and not much story either. Lazy.
Seems to be the original fairy tales with some paraphrasing and swapped pronouns, not much creativity and not much story either. Lazy.
December 5, 2021
A beautiful and inclusive collection of fairy tales retold. Classic storytelling with modern gender themes.
This had such a classic fairy tale vibe to it but with representation done right. Each tale is fun and unique. The author has such a flare for creativity. The illustrations are gorgeous and the pops of colour amid the black and white really make them stand out.
Feel good reads that finish with 'happy ever after'.
Thank you to Netgalley and Acacia Moon Publishing for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.
This had such a classic fairy tale vibe to it but with representation done right. Each tale is fun and unique. The author has such a flare for creativity. The illustrations are gorgeous and the pops of colour amid the black and white really make them stand out.
Feel good reads that finish with 'happy ever after'.
Thank you to Netgalley and Acacia Moon Publishing for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.
January 27, 2022
DNF at 30% (84pgs)
Shelved as 'dnf'
January 8, 2022
I was sent this book as an advance copy by the publisher via NetGalley for reviewing purposes, but all opinions are my own.
DNF @ 19%
I really can't bring myself to continue this and I don't know if it was me having wrong expectations or what but when I read "new takes on the Brothers Grimm" I couldn't have imagined that it meant "basically the original story with edited pronouns and genders for the characters" and no I haven't actually read the original ones (and if I had it wouldn't have been in English) and I also don't care about trying to find the originals to compare but I feel like that's pretty much what happened here. I'm sorry but, as an avid queer reader and lover of queer retellings, this is not queer retelling. And it wouldn't be fair of me to continue reading this when I don't agree with the core concept.
DNF @ 19%
I really can't bring myself to continue this and I don't know if it was me having wrong expectations or what but when I read "new takes on the Brothers Grimm" I couldn't have imagined that it meant "basically the original story with edited pronouns and genders for the characters" and no I haven't actually read the original ones (and if I had it wouldn't have been in English) and I also don't care about trying to find the originals to compare but I feel like that's pretty much what happened here. I'm sorry but, as an avid queer reader and lover of queer retellings, this is not queer retelling. And it wouldn't be fair of me to continue reading this when I don't agree with the core concept.
February 7, 2022
Don’t waste your time and/or money.
Copy and paste hack job at best. Was really looking forward to the premise but did not enjoy any of the stories.
*Note: the author is posting any “bad” reviews to social media, thus friends are posting “good” reviews to counteract the sincere ones. Be warned.
Copy and paste hack job at best. Was really looking forward to the premise but did not enjoy any of the stories.
*Note: the author is posting any “bad” reviews to social media, thus friends are posting “good” reviews to counteract the sincere ones. Be warned.
February 14, 2022
Actual rating: 3.25⭐
This is a collection of Grimm's Tales 'rewoven'. This book emphasized in a way the importance of using the right pronoun for a person.
I assumed going in that a lot of things will be modified from the original since it will be weird to just edit out a few then bam, "new story". I have this expectation that the rewoven tales would be sort of revolutionary. I guess my expectations were too high that when I finally read this, I felt disappointed.🥺
There are lots of stories here, lost count of how many are there. There are short ones and a few that are a bit long. Some fell flat and some did leave an impression on me.
The rewoven tale for Cinderella was quite new to me. I like the additional stuff added on the plot. Also Thumbelina's story was quite fun. I also like the artworks in the book.
But there are stories where the 'modification' made was a change in pronoun or a gender swap, then the story is somehow the same as the original one. It felt like lazy writing for me.
It was a quick read at least and I read new to me Grimm's Tales.
*Thanks to the publisher for making this book available for review via Netgalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest thoughts and opinions of the book.*
This is a collection of Grimm's Tales 'rewoven'. This book emphasized in a way the importance of using the right pronoun for a person.
I assumed going in that a lot of things will be modified from the original since it will be weird to just edit out a few then bam, "new story". I have this expectation that the rewoven tales would be sort of revolutionary. I guess my expectations were too high that when I finally read this, I felt disappointed.🥺
There are lots of stories here, lost count of how many are there. There are short ones and a few that are a bit long. Some fell flat and some did leave an impression on me.
The rewoven tale for Cinderella was quite new to me. I like the additional stuff added on the plot. Also Thumbelina's story was quite fun. I also like the artworks in the book.
But there are stories where the 'modification' made was a change in pronoun or a gender swap, then the story is somehow the same as the original one. It felt like lazy writing for me.
It was a quick read at least and I read new to me Grimm's Tales.
*Thanks to the publisher for making this book available for review via Netgalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest thoughts and opinions of the book.*
January 13, 2022
I received a free eARC of this work from NetGalley in exchange for a review.
Ana Mardoll's tales are told in the style of the Grimms but keeping to Ana's own morals (Cinder's sisters did not cut off their heels & toes, for one!) and humor (most ended happier than the Grimms) with a trans queer style all their own.
This style of the writing seems to have been interpreted as some as only a copying of tales rewritten to add queerness? I don't see it that way but perhaps I am more familiar with Grimm than others. It is written in a style that is a homage to the Grimm translation we know, very few writers pull it off but Andre Norton's Garan the Eternal own take nodding to Edgar Rice Burroughs Mars books comes to mind.
Fairytales were queer once - until Stith Thompson got a hold of them, many were! -but precious few survived, like Silence, or The Dog and The Sailor, but I hope this shows a wider interest in revival of retelling queer fable and fairytale.
Certainly it had my interest!
The art was eye-catching and I hope this is not the last in the Rewoven tales collection.
Ana Mardoll's tales are told in the style of the Grimms but keeping to Ana's own morals (Cinder's sisters did not cut off their heels & toes, for one!) and humor (most ended happier than the Grimms) with a trans queer style all their own.
This style of the writing seems to have been interpreted as some as only a copying of tales rewritten to add queerness? I don't see it that way but perhaps I am more familiar with Grimm than others. It is written in a style that is a homage to the Grimm translation we know, very few writers pull it off but Andre Norton's Garan the Eternal own take nodding to Edgar Rice Burroughs Mars books comes to mind.
Fairytales were queer once - until Stith Thompson got a hold of them, many were! -but precious few survived, like Silence, or The Dog and The Sailor, but I hope this shows a wider interest in revival of retelling queer fable and fairytale.
Certainly it had my interest!
The art was eye-catching and I hope this is not the last in the Rewoven tales collection.
January 23, 2022
Exactly what it says on the tin. These are Grimm’s fairy tales in writing style and tone. They’ve just been given the added spice of expanded gender, sexuality, and disability inclusion. (And the exclusion of racist or religious elements.) They make for fun quick little reads.
January 17, 2022
Each story includes the pronouns for all the major characters and a content warning. At the close of each story the original story is listed and most also include a link to a version to read on Project Gutenberg.
http://pussreboots.com/blog/2022/comm...
http://pussreboots.com/blog/2022/comm...
January 6, 2022
This is a fabulous anthology for kids, parents, and anyone really--it fills a really needed gap in children's lit, updating Grimm's fairy tales of all sorts (from the super popular to the extremely obscure) through an LGBTQIA+ lens while countering the originals' heteronormativity and ableism.
November 2, 2021
I greatly enjoyed this collection of fairy tale re-tellings! Some stories were retold with transgender, gender-fluid, or non-binary characters, and others with gender-swapped characters. Some stories included loving, supportive parents, and others did not. Some stories included loving, supportive parents, and others did not.
This collection was inclusive and very well put together, with a great range of LGBTQIAP+ representation. Before each and every tale, each character's pronouns are listed, as well as any applicable content notes, which I think is a wonderful idea.
#NetGalley - I voluntarily read a Review Copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no one else’s. Read more reviews! http://dreamerjbookreviews.blogspot.com
This collection was inclusive and very well put together, with a great range of LGBTQIAP+ representation. Before each and every tale, each character's pronouns are listed, as well as any applicable content notes, which I think is a wonderful idea.
#NetGalley - I voluntarily read a Review Copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no one else’s. Read more reviews! http://dreamerjbookreviews.blogspot.com
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January 5, 2022BLOG | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | FACEBOOK
An e-ARC of the book has been provided by, Acacia Moon Publishing, in exchange for an honest review.
Cinder the Fireplace Boy is nothing out of the extraordinary; however, it succeeded in what it wanted to achieve and that is what makes it special.
It diverges itself with a variety of modern gender roles that provides inclusivity to people of our modern times. Rallying people that cannot find themselves within the classic fairy tales, the book delivered in giving us the representation that we have been looking for.
In its core, the book followed the stories almost directly. Staying faithful with the tone and model of fairy tale — whimsical, childish, and has that cliche happy ending with a moral lesson. Albeit dark and gruesome for most of the part, I can see how this can still be something to read for a kid. Regardless of their face value, the principle at the heart of each story is a true beauty.
Within the small alteration of the stories, Ana Mardoll gave us something to diversify these short stories and paved a way for great representation.
Overall, Cinder the Fireplace Boy is a gorgeous collection of stories that I am looking into revisiting and to share to friends. A fantastical story given more life by the colourful representation of modern gender themes.
See this and other reviews in my blog.
An e-ARC of the book has been provided by, Acacia Moon Publishing, in exchange for an honest review.
Cinder the Fireplace Boy is nothing out of the extraordinary; however, it succeeded in what it wanted to achieve and that is what makes it special.
It diverges itself with a variety of modern gender roles that provides inclusivity to people of our modern times. Rallying people that cannot find themselves within the classic fairy tales, the book delivered in giving us the representation that we have been looking for.
In its core, the book followed the stories almost directly. Staying faithful with the tone and model of fairy tale — whimsical, childish, and has that cliche happy ending with a moral lesson. Albeit dark and gruesome for most of the part, I can see how this can still be something to read for a kid. Regardless of their face value, the principle at the heart of each story is a true beauty.
Within the small alteration of the stories, Ana Mardoll gave us something to diversify these short stories and paved a way for great representation.
Overall, Cinder the Fireplace Boy is a gorgeous collection of stories that I am looking into revisiting and to share to friends. A fantastical story given more life by the colourful representation of modern gender themes.
See this and other reviews in my blog.
February 3, 2022
A set of queer retellings that stay very close to the source material, largely just changing genders and pronouns and keeping the plots as well as the tone and style of fairy tale prose. Would be great for reading to children, not quite engaging enough for me.
January 10, 2022
1/9/2022 3.5 stars rounded up. Full review tk at TheFrumiousConsortium.net.
1/10/2022 Oh, man, the punctuation in that title sets my teeth on edge. It also bothers me that it's part of a series but there's no numbering for said series which, as of writing, consists of a novel and two short story collections. I suppose it doesn't matter if the books are read out of order, but there's value in knowing at a glance what was written when in an author's career, without having to research publication years.
That said, the content of this book is a lot of fun. Ana Mardoll grabbed a bunch of Grimm's Fairy Tales straight from Project Gutenburg and re-wrote them to be inclusive of trans and queer characters, while excising anti-Semitic and other questionably religious messaging. The introduction talks about how fundamental fairy tales often are to the early career of a reader, and the importance of seeing yourself represented within their pages. To that end, this book succeeds tremendously. Whether it be having the classic tale of Cinderella feature an AFAB boy named Cinder who enthralls the King's son during local festivities, to the Brave Little Tailor being a young cis woman who understands the power of marketing, the selection is well-curated for all genders, with significant disability rep as well. I was also pleased that the villains aren't predominantly female either, with a good balance of evil parents and rulers as foils for our protagonists.
Helpfully, there are content warnings (which I far prefer as a term to the oddly reader-blaming slant of "trigger warning") and guides to pronouns at the beginning of each story. While I freely admit to finding many neopronouns cumbersome and arbitrary -- and, to be clear, I strongly believe in using people's preference of he/she/they/no pronouns altogether -- this collection is helpful in rubbing the edges off of my dislike and making said neopronouns easier to assimilate into one's reading.
What I would like to see in the very near future is for stories like these to be included side by side with heteronormative fairy tales in more mainstream collections, so that young readers are exposed to how very normal and loving -- even banal!-- non-hetero, non-cis relationships can be. Ofc, that's outside the scope of this collection, which on its own is a very good step in the right direction, and a really valuable resource for the young readers in your life, especially those who don't find themselves represented in your average fairy tale. I also greatly appreciated the interior illustrations by Alex Dingley, even in their black and white versions, for capturing the charm and whimsy of these tales with diverse character personifications.
Cinder The Fireplace Boy: And Other Gayly Grimm Tales (Rewoven Tales) by Ana Mardoll was published January 4 2022 by Acacia Moon Publishing and is available from all good booksellers, including this comprehensive list.
1/10/2022 Oh, man, the punctuation in that title sets my teeth on edge. It also bothers me that it's part of a series but there's no numbering for said series which, as of writing, consists of a novel and two short story collections. I suppose it doesn't matter if the books are read out of order, but there's value in knowing at a glance what was written when in an author's career, without having to research publication years.
That said, the content of this book is a lot of fun. Ana Mardoll grabbed a bunch of Grimm's Fairy Tales straight from Project Gutenburg and re-wrote them to be inclusive of trans and queer characters, while excising anti-Semitic and other questionably religious messaging. The introduction talks about how fundamental fairy tales often are to the early career of a reader, and the importance of seeing yourself represented within their pages. To that end, this book succeeds tremendously. Whether it be having the classic tale of Cinderella feature an AFAB boy named Cinder who enthralls the King's son during local festivities, to the Brave Little Tailor being a young cis woman who understands the power of marketing, the selection is well-curated for all genders, with significant disability rep as well. I was also pleased that the villains aren't predominantly female either, with a good balance of evil parents and rulers as foils for our protagonists.
Helpfully, there are content warnings (which I far prefer as a term to the oddly reader-blaming slant of "trigger warning") and guides to pronouns at the beginning of each story. While I freely admit to finding many neopronouns cumbersome and arbitrary -- and, to be clear, I strongly believe in using people's preference of he/she/they/no pronouns altogether -- this collection is helpful in rubbing the edges off of my dislike and making said neopronouns easier to assimilate into one's reading.
What I would like to see in the very near future is for stories like these to be included side by side with heteronormative fairy tales in more mainstream collections, so that young readers are exposed to how very normal and loving -- even banal!-- non-hetero, non-cis relationships can be. Ofc, that's outside the scope of this collection, which on its own is a very good step in the right direction, and a really valuable resource for the young readers in your life, especially those who don't find themselves represented in your average fairy tale. I also greatly appreciated the interior illustrations by Alex Dingley, even in their black and white versions, for capturing the charm and whimsy of these tales with diverse character personifications.
Cinder The Fireplace Boy: And Other Gayly Grimm Tales (Rewoven Tales) by Ana Mardoll was published January 4 2022 by Acacia Moon Publishing and is available from all good booksellers, including this comprehensive list.
February 14, 2024
When I first was recommended this book by Amazon, I was ecstatic. I'm a sucker for a good story retold to include things I wished I had as a child (mainly trans representation as well as gay relationships). I grew up reading Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson fairytales. The cover art is eye catching and drew me in immediately, and with it came high expectations of well-written stories. I was let down exponentially by the end of the first story alone- The Frog Prince. The only difference made to this story was that the gender was changed from Princess to Prince. Everything else stayed exactly the same. I gave benefit of the doubt and read on, again the same thing happened with the next story. And the next after that. I originally bought this book to read the remastered Cinderella story and had to dredge through a Rapunzel MPreg story and several lackluster tales to get to the story that's prominently on the cover. This was a marketing tactic at it's best and something that stinks of false advertising. The Cinder story should have been the first the reader should come by FOLLOWED by the rest of the stories. On the topic OF the Cinder story, as a trans man, this story crashed and burned. The author made the prince out to be even more idiotic than the original prince of Cinderella, not taking into account any of the ramifications of having a MAN dance with the prince only to have the prince choose a WOMAN?? It made no sense, and just further pushes the narrative that this whole book was a ploy for a quick cash grab.
The writing itself is clunky, leaving behind a nasty taste in the back of my throat. Furthermore, it is unnecessary to put the pronouns of all your characters before each short story. Children and adults alike can use context clues and figure out the pronouns of these one-dimensional characters easily without the author putting it at the beginning of the story. This whole book reeked of lazy writing for the sake of a quick cash grab. This book had such great potential and it fell flat with the reckless way the author tossed around the queerness of each character. In the first paragraph alone for the stories that included Trans identities the author flippantly wrote in. The parts that were not just carbon copies of the original Grimm stories were so carelessly written it nearly gave me whiplash. If this book had been a homework assignment the teacher would have flagged it as plagiarism immediately and sent the author to the principles office. The book is marketed as 'rewoven'. There's nothing woven here, it's the same old basket with the same old bread, the author just tossed some sprinkles on top in hopes no one would notice. My advice? Save your money for better books. Don't waste your time on something that will let you down. Because this book will.
The writing itself is clunky, leaving behind a nasty taste in the back of my throat. Furthermore, it is unnecessary to put the pronouns of all your characters before each short story. Children and adults alike can use context clues and figure out the pronouns of these one-dimensional characters easily without the author putting it at the beginning of the story. This whole book reeked of lazy writing for the sake of a quick cash grab. This book had such great potential and it fell flat with the reckless way the author tossed around the queerness of each character. In the first paragraph alone for the stories that included Trans identities the author flippantly wrote in. The parts that were not just carbon copies of the original Grimm stories were so carelessly written it nearly gave me whiplash. If this book had been a homework assignment the teacher would have flagged it as plagiarism immediately and sent the author to the principles office. The book is marketed as 'rewoven'. There's nothing woven here, it's the same old basket with the same old bread, the author just tossed some sprinkles on top in hopes no one would notice. My advice? Save your money for better books. Don't waste your time on something that will let you down. Because this book will.
January 18, 2022
Cinder the Fireplace Boy; And Other Gayly Grimm Tales by Ana Mardoll is currently scheduled for release on Jan 4 2022. This collection of inclusive fairy tale retellings also features eight original illustrations by artist Alex Dingley.
Once upon a time there lived a beautiful prince who kissed a frog, a cinder-smudged child who hid a secret, a princess who climbed a long braid of golden hair for love, a thumb-sized boy with the courage of a giant, and a valiant little tailor whose wit was as sharp as her needle. These stories and many more await you in this collection of classic fairy tales, lovingly retold and featuring characters who receive wonderfully queer happily-ever-afters! Let these new takes on the Brothers Grimm warm your heart and nurture your yearning to see yourself reflected in beloved favorites.
Cinder the Fireplace Boy; And Other Gayly Grimm Tales is a wonderful collection of fairy tale retellings missing the various forms of prejudice that can be seen in the originals. The spirit of each story holds true, with some tweaks that make them more inclusive and engaging for all readers. I like that there were some very well known stories included, like Rapunzel and Hansel and Gretel, as well as lesser known stories- some of which I do not remember ever having encountered before. All of them captured my attention and had me fully engaged. The story length of each story helped me break out of a reading slum, that had made it hard for me to become invested in what I had been reading lately. I dove into this book, and will be revisiting some of the stories again in the near future. I think readers that have always enjoyed reading fairy tales, and enjoy seeing them evolve, will definitely want to pick this up. Readers that have been put off by the prejudices and attitudes found in many of the originals might want to give collection a try to see a new take on the old tales.
Once upon a time there lived a beautiful prince who kissed a frog, a cinder-smudged child who hid a secret, a princess who climbed a long braid of golden hair for love, a thumb-sized boy with the courage of a giant, and a valiant little tailor whose wit was as sharp as her needle. These stories and many more await you in this collection of classic fairy tales, lovingly retold and featuring characters who receive wonderfully queer happily-ever-afters! Let these new takes on the Brothers Grimm warm your heart and nurture your yearning to see yourself reflected in beloved favorites.
Cinder the Fireplace Boy; And Other Gayly Grimm Tales is a wonderful collection of fairy tale retellings missing the various forms of prejudice that can be seen in the originals. The spirit of each story holds true, with some tweaks that make them more inclusive and engaging for all readers. I like that there were some very well known stories included, like Rapunzel and Hansel and Gretel, as well as lesser known stories- some of which I do not remember ever having encountered before. All of them captured my attention and had me fully engaged. The story length of each story helped me break out of a reading slum, that had made it hard for me to become invested in what I had been reading lately. I dove into this book, and will be revisiting some of the stories again in the near future. I think readers that have always enjoyed reading fairy tales, and enjoy seeing them evolve, will definitely want to pick this up. Readers that have been put off by the prejudices and attitudes found in many of the originals might want to give collection a try to see a new take on the old tales.
May 1, 2022
I wasn't familiar with most of these fairy tales before reading this book. On the one hand, that might have been a good thing because the stories were new to me, but it also meant that I don't have an emotional connection to them, so seeing them retold in this way wasn't a particularly meaningful experience. I appreciate the intention, though, and it was certainly nice reading about princesses falling in love with maidens and heroes using they/them pronouns. I think if I were younger or less immersed in queer stories, it would have been much more meaningful.
This collection made me think about what we change when we retell stories. This is specifically focused on adding queer and trans characters to the stories, usually without changing the story very much. I enjoyed it the most, though, when the character's identities did have an impact, like one story where the princess has set an impossible challenge that men have to meet to marry her and it turns out the reason for that is because she doesn't want to marry any of the men. When a woman meets the challenge, the princess is happy. For me, that's where retellings shine, but I also understand the value of stories that just swap in queer characters.
There were also incidences of racism that were removed from the stories, which I support. I did notice, though, that no characters are ever described as people of color. The illustrations (which were lovely) would indicate that some of them were, but it's not in the text, which I thought was a missed opportunity.
Overall, I think Ana Mardoll did a good job retelling these stories. It wasn't something that I desperately needed, but I enjoyed it.
This collection made me think about what we change when we retell stories. This is specifically focused on adding queer and trans characters to the stories, usually without changing the story very much. I enjoyed it the most, though, when the character's identities did have an impact, like one story where the princess has set an impossible challenge that men have to meet to marry her and it turns out the reason for that is because she doesn't want to marry any of the men. When a woman meets the challenge, the princess is happy. For me, that's where retellings shine, but I also understand the value of stories that just swap in queer characters.
There were also incidences of racism that were removed from the stories, which I support. I did notice, though, that no characters are ever described as people of color. The illustrations (which were lovely) would indicate that some of them were, but it's not in the text, which I thought was a missed opportunity.
Overall, I think Ana Mardoll did a good job retelling these stories. It wasn't something that I desperately needed, but I enjoyed it.
December 27, 2021
Cinder the Fireplace Boy is a collection of classic Grimm tales infused with LGBTQ+ characters. I don't quite know how to rate this, as it wasn't was I was expecting, so I was a bit disappointed, but that doesn't mean it was bad. When I read "retelling," I was assuming it would be these classic tales told in a different way and would include this author's writing style, but the book read just like the Grimm tales with a few words switched out to make it more LGBTQ+. This is good, because I can see parents reading this to their children or young people reading it and it can be just like the classic tales. However, it also did not engage me like I was expecting it to because there was nothing super interesting about the writing. The stories are still enjoyable, but definitely for primarily a younger audience who have never read the Grimm tales before. I will say that I appreciated that there was an introduction of everyone's pronouns at the start of every story and trigger warnings as well.
Thank you to Netgalley and Acacia Moon Publishing for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to Netgalley and Acacia Moon Publishing for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
June 24, 2022
These stories hew very close in style and content to the original Grimms’ tales, which is fine, as that’s the point, but if you go in expecting something different you may be disappointed.
As such, most of these could just be substituted for the original tale; there’s no extra benefit from knowing the original (although I did read the Wikipedia summary of each one to compare.) What I think I would really like is if I had a full collection of Grimms’ Tales, and then these were just swapped in. Then instead of having the special collection of queer tales, they become the new standard.
One thing that’s maybe an artifact of reading a book of short tales is that often the introductions felt repetitive, especially when Mardoll wanted to indicate that a character was trans in the first paragraph, then move on to a mostly unchanged story. The better stories had more significant changes or handled them more deftly.
Stand-out tales:
The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn Fear
The Three Little Men in the Wood
Sometimes Hansel and Othertimes Gretel
The Fisherman and his Wife
Cinder the Fireplace Boy
Godfather Death
As such, most of these could just be substituted for the original tale; there’s no extra benefit from knowing the original (although I did read the Wikipedia summary of each one to compare.) What I think I would really like is if I had a full collection of Grimms’ Tales, and then these were just swapped in. Then instead of having the special collection of queer tales, they become the new standard.
One thing that’s maybe an artifact of reading a book of short tales is that often the introductions felt repetitive, especially when Mardoll wanted to indicate that a character was trans in the first paragraph, then move on to a mostly unchanged story. The better stories had more significant changes or handled them more deftly.
Stand-out tales:
The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn Fear
The Three Little Men in the Wood
Sometimes Hansel and Othertimes Gretel
The Fisherman and his Wife
Cinder the Fireplace Boy
Godfather Death
March 10, 2022
I am a nonbinary lesbian and an aspiring author. I had recently bought Cinder the Fireplace Boy and other Gayly Grimm Tales and I love it! I am a huge sucker for stories in which being queer (for the most part at least) is just treated like a normal everyday aspect of society, and this is reflected in these stories! I've seen a lot of people complaining about how just "changing the pronouns" doesn't mean that it will be a good story, but have any of you considered that maybe the point was to normalize queer relationships and trans people just existing and having adventures and fighting dragons and meeting wizards and saving their partners and falling in love and having happily ever afters, just like allocishet characters can do without facing any discrimination for their identities and things they can't control? Because I would've loved to grow up with stories like that.
Bottom line: This is a great book, very calming, relaxing, and if your thing is queer people having fantasy adventures, this is the book for you!! Please support the author!
Bottom line: This is a great book, very calming, relaxing, and if your thing is queer people having fantasy adventures, this is the book for you!! Please support the author!
March 15, 2022
I loved this book. Ana Mardoll did an amazing job of picking a mix of well-known Grimm's fairy tales (Cinderella, The Brave Little Tailor, Tom Thumb, Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding-Hood, Rapunzel) and more obscure ones and rewriting them to appeal to a modern audience. Xie recreated the feel of reading an old book of fairy tales, and there were multiple times where I went "Wait, was that a change or was that in the originals?"
There's something deeply satisfying for me about stories about LGBTQ people where the person's gender or sexuality isn't the story, but just one important detail among many that make up a character. Disability is treated the same way, not as a driver for the whole story but matter-of-factly, as one aspect of a character.
Highly recommended, and I hope to see more fairy tale collections in this vein.
There's something deeply satisfying for me about stories about LGBTQ people where the person's gender or sexuality isn't the story, but just one important detail among many that make up a character. Disability is treated the same way, not as a driver for the whole story but matter-of-factly, as one aspect of a character.
Highly recommended, and I hope to see more fairy tale collections in this vein.
December 23, 2021
An amazing anthology written that seeks to retell familiar and well loved stories from an angle free from the stifling biases of the original Grimms Versions. Cinder the Fireplace Boy and other Gay Grimm Tales is a fresh and inclusive take on fairytales. The inclusion of content warnings, pronouns and neopronouns pronunciation and list of characters and their respective pronouns are additions I welcome and enjoy. A book I'd recommend to anyone regardless of age, who looks for themselves in books.
Note: I have recieved a copy of the book from NetGalley, all views are my own honest opinions.
Note: I have recieved a copy of the book from NetGalley, all views are my own honest opinions.
December 15, 2021
A remarkable retelling of classic fairy tales to include all genders and orientations so all may be represented in the stories that are the foundation of so many lives. Fairy Tales give common ground for cultures across the globe, and with "Cinder the Fireplace Boy", even more cultures and peoples can be included in that commonality. This collection of stories are diverse and well written, bringing to life the tales we all know in a whole new way.
December 24, 2021
This is a gorgeous book, taking the original stories and imbuing them with a greater charm and depth. I dipped in and put of the stories, finding a sense of solace and satisfaction with each. My chuldren enjoyed them too, both reading them themselves or being read to. I really liked the links to the original stories, especially for those I hadn't come across before. This is a beautiful and thoughtful rethinking of traditional tales, and I think many children, and adults too, will appreciate it.
February 10, 2022
This was such an amazing collection of queerified fairy tales! While the fairy tale morals and odd magical fantasy remain, the stories take on a whole new life by being unapologetically gay, queer, trans, and more. I really love this take on these stories and can't wait for more. A must read for fairy tale lovers!
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