YA retellings have definitely popped up again in the last year or so–or maybe they never really went away! Honestly, they’ve been on my mind in the last month or so, especially after reading Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly. A lot of authors are taking new, unexpected twists on these classic tales everyone knows so well.
Winter also just seems like a great time for retellings. Right? They are at least for me. With Brigid Kemmerer’s A Heart So Fierce and Broken coming out this month, what better time to stock up. You’ll definitely want to after reading this latest installment. Branching out from the traditional Beauty and the Beast tale, you get to see what happens to all your favorites from the first book.
Anyway, these are some of my favorite retellings I’ve read in the last year or so, and definitely ones you should pick up if you’re looking for something to read next!
5 YA Retellings
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Yes, I’m late to the train with this series, but I just read it last December. Well, that’s kind of true. I read Cinder once before that, but I never finished the series. This book starts with a Cinderella retelling, and then connects a variety of fariytales throughout the series. Imagined as a futuristic dystopia, the characters you know and love are now fighting against a dictator from the moon. Curious? Pick it up to learn more!
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Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly
A twist in that this is told from the villain’s point of view–after the original tale has ended. Isabelle is about to get the prince; except she’s not, because she’s the ugly stepsister. After her sister Ella runs off with the prince, Isabelle’s life is miserable. Desperate to change it, she meets with the fairy queen. But she soon finds out her path is different than she ever thought it would be. About forgiveness and learning to love again, this book has strong women written all over it.
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House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig
This book is based on the Twelve Dancing Princesses, a fairytale that isn’t included a lot in the YA genre. Set in an ocean side town, Annaleigh’s sisters keep suddenly dying. So often, in fact, the family is in constant mourning. When she starts to get visions, Annaleigh starts thinking maybe they weren’t accidents. But what’s really happening? And what does it have to do with the balls they sneak off to every night? Atmospheric and engaging, Craig’s writing will keep you hooked until the very end.
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A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer
The Beauty and the Beast retelling that I mentioned in the beginning, with a sequel that just came out! Harper finds herself suddenly transported to a magical world called Emberfall. There, the prince has been cursed to constantly repeat the same year, until he finds a girl to break the curse. Is Harper that girl? She’s definitely different from the ones in the past. But there’s a lot to stand against, she just has to find the strength to do it.
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A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Another Beauty and the Beast retelling (sorry not sorry), this is a series that actually gets better with the second book. But, this is a classic retelling with the twist of the Fae. After accidentally killing one of their kind, Feyre offers herself to Tamlin. Little does she know, his house is cursed, and she might be the answer. No matter how much she tries to fight her feelings, they start coming. Maybe she has what it takes to break the curse after all.