A book based on a fairy tale

[Juanita]

Share your suggestions for books based on fairy tales here. (I immediately think of Neil Gaiman.)

[Sara]

I am planning to read Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Macguire. I've come across quite a few retelling of fairy tale books in the last few years. The Princess Curse is quite good - based on the 12 dancing princesses. Entwined is another based on that fairy tale though I haven't read it myself.

[Megan]

I'm going to use Cinder for this one!

[Ashly]

I'm going to go with Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin because it's short and it's on my shelf.

[Emma's Things to Read]

I might go with Cinder as I've wanted to read it for a while

[Fannie]

I wonder if the Grimm sisters could qualify in that categorie?

[Wendy]

I'm using Cinder as well, but Cruel Beauty looks like another good option.

[Marie]

Cinder is really good!
I would also recommend The Rumpelstiltskin Problem by Vivian Vande Velde. It's really fun and on the shorter side if I remember correctly!

[Melody]

Marie wrote: "Cinder is really good!
I would also recommend The Rumpelstiltskin Problem by Vivian Vande Velde. It's really fun and on the shorter side if I remember correctly!"

I loved The Rumpelstiltskin Problem growing up! Definitely second that recommendation!

[Marisa]

Thanks for the recommendations! I am going to try Cinder out for this one!

[Fannie]

Finally I think that I will read:

Howl's Moving Castle

[Charlene]

I'm going to try Beastly by Alex Flinn

[Arka]

does Stardust qualifies??

[Zee]

Arka: I'm planning to read Stardust too! But I'm still not sure if it's a fairy tale book or not

[Arka]

Fables Graphic Novels Should also qualifies... and it will also cover Graphic Novel Category ..... Hmmm Maybe I should go with that
Fables, Vol. 8: Wolves Since I have already read Vol.1 to 7

[Christophe]

If someone is looking for something quite far out (and for grown-up only), may I suggest Briar Rose by Robert Coover? It's mostly based on Sleeping Beauty, in a rather twisted manner. If you're not into postmodern lit or if you avoid explicit or disturbing content, forget about it; otherwise, that would be an excellent fit. Not a choice that's available to me though, since I used it last year for the "magic" prompt...

[Fannie]

Arka wrote: "does Stardust qualifies??"

I am pretty sure that it would qualify. It's construct like one and there's a whole world of fantasy.

[Nadine in NY]

here's a useful list on Goodreads that I had forgotten about (but should have remembered, since I voted on it!):

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9...

Stardust is on here (and might be the one I will read, I'm a Neil Gaiman fan). Other favorites of mine are Juliet Marillier and the Cinder series (I'll probably read Winter for my "600 page book" category)

[Brittani]

Entwined is so good!!

[Janelle]

Fairy tale retellings are my personal favorite, so I have lots of suggestions! I'm planning on reading The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey, which is a retelling of a Russian fairy tale. Some of my other personal favorites are:

-Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan, based on the fairy tale Snow White and Rose Red. This one is definitely for more mature audiences, so take heed.
-Spinners by Donna Jo Napoli, based on Rumpelstiltskin
-Strands of Bronze and Gold by Jane Nickerson, based on Bluebeard.
-The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly, based on various fairy tales including Sleeping Beauty
-Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale, a very fun and clever YA graphic novel
-The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde, technically the second in a series but you can totally read it on its own. It's a very funny parody-type book that pokes fun at both police procedural mysteries and fairy tales. The first book in the series could also count (The Big Over Easy), but I personally really love this one and it's one of my favorite books. It's based on Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
-Mermaid: A Twist on the Classic Tale by Carolyn Turgeon. This is based on The Little Mermaid.
-Spindle's End by Robin McKinley, based on Sleeping Beauty
-The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett, based on The Pied Piper. Very hilarious!
-Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, one of the best-loved Cinderella retellings out there. It's a delightful book.

I could probably go on recommending fairy tale books, but I think this is plenty for now! I would really recommend any of these books, I loved them all!

[Nadine in NY]

Thanks for that great list, Janelle!!

I am still having a really hard time with this, because this is a genre I love and I don't know how to choose just ONE!

Here's another list:
https://www.goodreads.com/genres/fair...

[Nancy]

I'm about to read The Princess Bride, the book upon which the film is based.

[Patty]

I used The Book of Lost Things for this one!

[Elke]

I read The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter last year. It's a collection of short stories, all re-tellings of fairy tales such as Bluebeard, Beauty and the Beast, Puss-in-Boots, etc.

[Elke]

Janelle wrote: "Fairy tale retellings are my personal favorite, so I have lots of suggestions!

Thank you for your list, Janelle! The Little Mermaid is my favorite fairy tale, so I'll pick Mermaid for this category.

[[deleted user]]

Beastly by Alex Flinn

[Fabiana]

does The Isle of the Lost qualifies?

[Janelle]

Nadine wrote: "Thanks for that great list, Janelle!!

You're welcome! :D

[Lisa]

Zel by Donna Jo Napoli

[Sara]

Fabiana wrote: "does The Isle of the Lost qualifies?"

I would certainly think so. My daughter is reading that right now :)

[Cynthia]

I'm going to read The Snow Child for this one, since I haven't read it yet but own it.

Another suggestion:
While Beauty Slept

[Mike]

by Bill Willingham (author of the Fables graphic novel series) is good. It's a novel, and you don't have to familiar with the graphic novels to read it. Based on Peter Piper and the Pied Piper.

[Tara]

Oh mike! I didn't know that! My husband has that and i always thought it looked really neat but hadn't gotten around to reading it so that is great!

[Nicole]

I've owned Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West for awhile now, but still have yet to read it. Think this will be the time!

[Mike]

Tara wrote: "Oh mike! I didn't know that! My husband has that and i always thought it looked really neat but hadn't gotten around to reading it so that is great!"

Glad to help! If you like it, I thought the graphic novels (as a series) were even better.

Just a word of warning: It's kind of dark.

[CarleyB]

Thank you for all of the suggestions everyone.

The Princess Bride
Cinder
A Court of Thorns and Roses

[Janelle]

Amber wrote: "Has anyone read The Child Thief? I'm also interested in Sisters Red, Cinder, and A Whole New World. I'll probably do one of those for this challenge."

I haven't read The Child Thief or A Whole New World, but I've read the other two. I think Cinder is a really fun YA novel, it builds a really interesting story and plot outside the fairy tale story and has just the right amount of adventure and romance. Sisters Red actually caused a small bit of controversy because of some passages that had to do with victim blaming. I personally wasn't a big fan, but some people really like that one, so maybe you would too!

[Amber]

Janelle wrote: "Amber wrote: "Has anyone read The Child Thief? I'm also interested in Sisters Red, Cinder, and A Whole New World. I'll probably do one of those for this challenge."

I haven't read The Child Thief ..."

Oh yeah? Thanks for the heads up about Sisters Red. I'll probably still check it out but I'll keep an eye out. I'm really interested in Cinder.

[Fabiana]

Has anyone read Alice ? qualifies?

[Reyna]

would this one count???


I really want to read this one and I'm hoping I cant take down this category with this book.

[Jillian]

Reyna wrote: "would this one count???


I really want to read this one and I'm hoping I cant take down this category with this book."
I see the challenge as open to personal interpretation. If you want to count it for this category, you should.

[Nadine in NY]

Fabiana wrote: "Has anyone read Alice ? qualifies?"

I don't think of Alice in Wonderland as a "fairy tale" but the TV show "Once Upon a Time" does, they included the Mad Hatter in Storybrook Village, so I think you can count this book if you want to! (And no, I haven't read it - reviews say it's kind of rough. I do like reading Alice re-tellings, I've got a separate bookshelf just for them, so I will be interested in your opinion!)


Reyna wrote: "would this one count???


I really want to read this one and I'm hoping I cant take down this category with this book."
I don't think of Greek myths as "fairy tales" either, but I don't know why not, so I think it should count. Also, it wins the prize for "Most Stunning Cover" - that is gorgeous!

[Melissa]

Do retellings of 1001 Arabian Nights count?

If so, I'm thinking about reading Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights by Salman Rushdie in spite of the mixed reviews since Rushdie is an author I've been wanting to explore. It's also tagged with "magical realism" which is a sub-genre I really enjoy.

[Melody]

I'm using Cinnamon and Gunpowder, which is based on 1,001 Nights, so I would say it counts.

[Sara]

I ended up reading Thorn by Intisar Khanani. The book was ok. I loved that it was based on a lesser known fairy tale (The Goose Girl by the brothers Grimm), but I think it had some flaws.

There were a few times at the beginning where a character was introduced and you felt there was some backstory there, it was hinted at, but it was handled poorly. Instead of building the mystery to a reveal later in the story, it almost seemed like you were missing out on an earlier story. I found myself wondering it was a sequel (which it wasn't).

[KLB]

Winter

[Sara]

Fairy tales retold are my favorites!

Suggestions:

Collections/Anthologies:
The Rose and the Beast by Francesca Lia Block
Kissing the Witch by Emma Donoghue
The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter
Don't Bet on the Prince by Jack Zipes
Snow White, Blood Red (edited) by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling

Short stories:
The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman

Novels:
The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale (LOVE this book!)
Beauty by Robin McKinley
Briar Rose by Jane Yolen
Peter & Max by Bill Willingham

Graphic novels:
Fables: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham

[Martha]

Just finished reading The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. Stays very true, while updating to a frontier setting.

[Tracy]

I am going to read After Alice by Gregory Maguire. I am a little worried thought because it has so many negative reviews. I might end up having to buy a new book.

[Amy]

I'm thinking of doing Krampus: The Yule Lord .