Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Top 10 Fairy Tale Retellings + Note


Cait here and before I begin with the actual content I feel like I should apologise. So yeah… the last day I was suppose to post (Saturday) I actually had a ton of stuff going on and by a lot of stuff I mean 100 little girls that I had to watch over, be around, and socialize with. By little girls I mean like 1st and 2nd grade and they can be exhausting in their own right. Now you are probably asking why was watching over 100 little girls? The answer is pretty simple: Thinking Day, if you have no idea what that is allow me to explain. Thinking Day is one of the most important Holiday’s for Girl Scouts/ Girl Guides, in which we celebrate other girls around the world. This holiday is celebrated by the GS community on February 22nd but the actual festivities are celebrated on a Saturday near it (or at least around here it is) and since I am a Senior it is my responsibility to help out with this holiday. In short I was exhausted and took a nap during this period (I had to have my friend text me and wake me up.)

On other notes: Today will be a top ten list of my favorite Fairy Tale Retellings since here at SweetEnd we believe in happy endings. (I would have done the newest Shades of London Series but I have to wait for Terantum to catch up.
P.S. Terantum. I am always right in my obsession series and now you understand the shipping of Story. A ship I will gladly go down with.)

On to the list!

As per usual the following content is a completely honest opinion. Please enjoy

10. Alice in Zombieland:
Based off of Alice in Wonderland, as if you couldn’t figure that out (sarcasm). While the series is wonderful, dramatic, action packed, and romantic it held little true the original story that the series gets its name sake after besides the girl’s name is Alice, is shoved in this “new world” , is forced to survive, make friends, and solve the problems of her new friends that is where the similarities end. But on the bright side you get cool zombie action… if they were even zombie’s and not demon, shadow people trying to kill everyone. Just sayin’.

9. The Prophecy by Hilari Bell:

Ultimately this book is why I am on Team Unicorn and not Team Zombie. Yes, this book is a 200 page book designed for middle schoolers, but it was one of the first books I read where the main character was a guy and he went on a quest of epic proportions. Besides the boy is around 12 and proves to his father, and the rest of the kingdom, that wit can beat brute anytime, slay the dragon, and save the kingdom with the help of a unicorn. My only dilemma was one that was probably purposely designed by the author to be that w

ay and that is the cliches everywhere but it was a book that truly meant to teach kids that they can beat everything with wit and reading.

8. Entwined by Heather Dixon:

Ahh, the Twelve Dancing Princesses. Somehow this was one of my favorite Barbie movie’s as a kid so an actual novel based on the original story the movie was based on was icing on the cake to me. The cover is beautiful by the way. I mean, as my friend put it, it’s cover porn. But to Azalea everything will get much harder before it gets better. To me Entwined was enchanted before I opened the first page.

7. A Long, Long Sleep (UniCorp #1) by Anna Sheehan:

Somehow everyone who writes fairy tale retellings thinks that they should be set in the past. YOU ARE WRONG! Thank you A Long, Long Sleep for being the first book I came across that broke that pattern. This story based off of Sleeping Beauty also dealt with some heavy controversial subjects like neglect and child abuse. Biggest pet peeve about this story is it’s stand alone while it truly shouldn’t be and anyone who read it would agree. It left you with too many questions.


6. Bewitching: The Kendra Chronicles by Alex Flinn:

Name a Fairy Tale with a magical person like a fairy god mother and you have Kendra. She is every magical being in every tale and while she tries to do good not all the time does it end that way. On the bright side we get fairy tales via her magic. What I also love about this series it branches on not the normal fairy tales and places them in everyday situations where they are very relatable.

5. Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge:

I feel like I owe Rosamund Hodge both a really big THANK YOU for the advance reader copy of Crimson Bound and a sorry because I forgot the title of this book for the longest time. I feel ashamed of myself… So Cruel Beauty is based around Beauty and the Beast. This time a little more demon like and killing people. Just sayin’ it’s a little dark but you will love it. I loved it too.

4. Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen:
Here is the twist on this one: it’s based on Robin Hood and his men and one girl. Ahh let the love interests arise because it is about to get complicated. Like they both used to be nobility but no longer have it. She’s now married/betrothed to a man other than her love interest. And that list goes on and on but let me just sum it up. It’s complicated but a wonderful story nonetheless. It has everything one can ask for in a novel: action, romance, and a sustainable plot. On the plus side it’s all wrapped up in cute little book!.

3. Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer:

If you thought I could get through a whole list of fairy tale retellings and miss Cinder and The Lunar Chronicles you are sadly mistaken. Just imagine futuristic versions of all your favorite princesses and then imagining them teaming up to save the world and save Prince Charming. If you imagined that correctly then you have The Lunar Chronicles one of my all time favs for fairy tale retellings (duh that’s why it’s third). For me it was such a different take on Princesses and what it meant to be a princess and earn that title. And Winter comes out this year… I hope. Don’t keep me waiting Marissa Meyer… please.


2. Splintered by A.G. Howard:
Look around my blog then come back to this post. If you about then it really should come as no surprise that this book is on this list. Based off of Alice in Wonderland, Splintered deals with the world after Alice, mess she left behind, and the girl that will replace Alice. Alyssa, on the other hand, wants nothing to do with her messed up heritage, that is until Morpheus (my fictional crush to rule all fictional crushes) shows up.

AND FINALLY: NUMBER ONE
Puppet by Pauline C. Harris:
I have a special kind of nostalgia for this book; it was the first book I ever reviewed. But for me more importantly is that this book has deserved it’s spot here at number one. It’s a book that broke the social norm, gender twist, and was so much more than the story it portrayed. The thing that sets Puppet apart from all the rest is that the fairy tale is just a way to portray the actual message about trust, human rights, and the ability to speak your mind without having others infringe on that right.

That is my top 10 Fairy Tale Retellings that you must read. Cait out. And stop by later today for another post.

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