What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

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► Suggest books for me > Fairy tale retellings where a person "good" in original version of the tale is a villain in the retelling

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message 1: by Anna (new)

Anna | 505 comments I am searching for "twisted" versions of the classic fairy tales and other well-known stories. Any books with evil fairy godmother, Little Red Riding Hood, Peter Pan etc. etc. will be appreciated.


message 2: by Rosa (last edited Nov 12, 2018 10:28AM) (new)

Rosa (rosaiglarsh) | 5380 comments Vivian Vande Velde wrote a book of stories loosely around this theme: Tales from the Brothers Grimm and the Sisters Weird
Jane Yolen wrote a short story called "Lost Girls" that features a villainous Peter Pan, in Twelve Impossible Things Before Breakfast.
Neil Gaiman wrote a flipped retelling of Snow White called Snow, Glass, Apples. It’s in Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fiction and Illusions. He also wrote The Sleeper and the Spindle, a flipped version of Sleeping Beauty. It's in Rags & Bones: New Twists on Timeless Tales.


message 3: by Joyce (new)

Joyce Ann | 158 comments I know an interesting one...it's a manga tho...Ludwig Revolution, Vol. 1


message 4: by Anna (new)

Anna | 505 comments Rosa wrote: "Vivian Vande Velde wrote a book of stories loosely around this theme: Tales from the Brothers Grimm and the Sisters Weird
Jane Yolen wrote a short story ca..."


Thanks for the suggestions. I've already read the one written by Vivian Vande Velde (I love her writting style). All the others look great too. I have a problem with finding the one written by Jane Yolen, though. Is "The Wendies" an alternate title for "Lost Girls" or are those separate stories, sharing a similar theme?


message 5: by Anna (last edited Nov 12, 2018 11:20AM) (new)

Anna | 505 comments Joyce wrote: "I know an interesting one...it's a manga tho...Ludwig Revolution, Vol. 1"

I loved this one. I guess I really like this theme. Or perhaps just Kaori Yuki's style:). BTW, my personal favorite from this author - Angel Sanctuary - also matches this trope.


message 6: by Rosa (new)

Rosa (rosaiglarsh) | 5380 comments Anna wrote: "Rosa wrote: "Vivian Vande Velde wrote a book of stories loosely around this theme: Tales from the Brothers Grimm and the Sisters Weird
Jane Yolen wrote a s..."


Oops! "Lost Girls" is the one. My mistake.


message 7: by Rosa (new)

Rosa (rosaiglarsh) | 5380 comments You might be interested in this thread: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...


message 9: by Anna (new)

Anna | 505 comments Thanks Rosa:). I am going to try to hunt a copy of Revolting Rhymes for my daughter. She's seven and I think she will enjoy reading the poems together. If not, at least I will;)


message 10: by Mandy (new)

Mandy (manduck) | 110 comments This may fit the bill, it a collection of YA short stories Because You Love to Hate Me: 13 Tales of Villainy and while its not strictly speaking retellings of classic tales its a great book that looks at real princess/historical people some of whom formed the basis for fairy tales Rejected Princesses: Tales of History's Boldest Heroines, Hellions, and Heretics.
Cinder is a really fun YA retelling of Cinderella too.


message 11: by Joyce (new)

Joyce Ann | 158 comments Anna wrote: "Joyce wrote: "I know an interesting one...it's a manga tho...Ludwig Revolution, Vol. 1"

I loved this one. I guess I really like this theme. Or perhaps just Kaori Yuki's style:). BTW..."


Yesss, I like almost all of Kaori Yuki's works, too!!


message 12: by Joseph (last edited Nov 13, 2018 03:21PM) (new)

Joseph  (bluemanticore) | 433 comments I recommend Hook & Jill by Andrea Jones, a five-star retelling where Peter Pan is the villain and Captain Hook is the better man.

Also check out Wickedly Charming by Kristine Grayson, a romance where the Evil Queen is not the evil one at all.

You might also like The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter by Theodora Goss where famous literature monsters are not so monstrous.

There is also Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West of course.


message 13: by Anna (new)

Anna | 505 comments Mandy wrote: "This may fit the bill, it a collection of YA short stories Because You Love to Hate Me: 13 Tales of Villainy and while its not strictly speaking retellings of classic tales its a gr..."

Thanks for all the suggestions:). I already had one od the books - Cinder - on my to read list, but I was reluctant bc of the main character being a cyborg. IDK why it was so off-putting, perhaps because I recently read some s-f erotica with cyborgs, and those were not exactly 5 star books. I guess I should not be afraid of finding tacky sex scenes in Cinder, if its a young adult read;).


message 14: by Anna (new)

Anna | 505 comments Joyce wrote: "Yesss, I like almost all of Kaori Yuki's works, too!!"

Excellent taste;)!


message 15: by Shelley (new)

Shelley (rivertam) | 153 comments Dorothy Must Die


message 16: by Anna (last edited Nov 13, 2018 04:43PM) (new)

Anna | 505 comments Joseph wrote: "I recommend Hook & Jill by Andrea Jones, a five-star retelling where Peter Pan is the villain and Captain Hook is the better man.

Also check out [book:Wickedly Charm..."

Thank you:)! My TBR pile grows steadily:)


message 17: by Anna (new)

Anna | 505 comments Shelley wrote: "Dorothy Must Die"

Thanks. This one is the very reason I became so interested in this trope. Even though I already read it, it's a great sugestion:).


message 18: by Shelley (new)

Shelley (rivertam) | 153 comments Anna wrote: "Shelley wrote: "Dorothy Must Die"

Thanks. This one is the very reason I became so interested in this trope. Even though I already read it, it's a great sugestion:)."


You’re welcome 😊


message 19: by Tris (new)

Tris Crescent | 87 comments A YA retelling that I really like is “Unhooked” by Lisa Maxwell! {can’t link- on mobile}


message 20: by Rosa (new)


message 21: by Rosa (last edited Mar 02, 2019 07:41AM) (new)

Rosa (rosaiglarsh) | 5380 comments More suggestions:
The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs
“The Sleeping Beauty,” in Red Ridin' in the Hood: and Other Cuentos by Patricia Santos Marcantonio.
“Red Riding Hood and the Scrawny Little Wolf,” by Mary Quattlebaum, in Newfangled Fairy Tales, Book #2.


message 22: by Anna (last edited Feb 28, 2019 01:24PM) (new)

Anna | 505 comments I think I am a trope-addict. I already read Unhooked several times (oh, well, I am definitely a trope-addict, and besides, it was THAT good:). Now I have to hunt down the ones Rosa mentioned:). Thank you all again!


message 23: by Tathariell (new)

Tathariell | 173 comments Sinful Cinderella, Cinderella is only "good" in order to accumulate magic.


message 24: by Anna (new)

Anna | 505 comments Tathariell wrote: "Sinful Cinderella, Cinderella is only "good" in order to accumulate magic."

Sounds very promising. And looks like it's first in a similary-themed series, so even more books for me. Yasss!


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