Hello. My name is Cait and I am a self-confessed fairy tale retelling EATER EXTRAORDINAIRE.
And by “eater extraordinaire” I mean I’m totally obsessed with fairy tale retellings, okay? I just think “eater extraordinaire” firstly is pleasingly alliterated and, secondly, is way more fun to say than “obsessed”. I mean, really.
Fairy tale retellings (or just retellings in general; let’s not discriminate!) have been quite popular the last few years. We could probably blame Cinder’s gargantuan success for making this snowball POP-U-LAR. We could also probably blame Disney for raising us and for our inability to let it go * when it comes to our childhoods of Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty and Peter Pan. We can blame everyone, obviously, because blaming is fun. But the fact of the day: FAIRY TALE RETELLINGS ARE EVERYWHERE. Movies. YA books. TV shows. There’s probably a cafe somewhere selling Snow White’s poisoned apples and have a great old time. **
In fact, of you pop over to my Goodreads shelf of retellings, I’ve read 55 OF THEM. THAT SEEMS LIKE A LOT.
* SEE WHAT I DID THERE???? #FrozenReferenceFTW
** But I seriously hope not.
But I think there’s an art to writing a good retelling.
Anyone can write about a human-creature who goes to a ball and loses their shoes, SURE. But I have standards, folks. I have a checklist of things I need in a retelling and I am not the happiest bean when my checklist is igonred. It’s obviously absurd that not all authors come to me, asking for this checklist before they write — but I’m sure that’ll happen soon.
In the mean time, I want to discus my checklist for a perfect retelling. Oh this shall be delicious. Hold onto your pumpkins and witchy red shoes, fiends!
MUST HAVE A FANTASTIC SPARKLING UNIQUE TWIST THAT MAKES YOU WHISPER “OHHH THAT’S CLEVER.”
You might think this is a given, right? After all it’s a retelling which means it should (A) have elements of the original tale, but also (B) give it a new retold twist.
When I read a retelling, I don’t want to have the original story just laid out for me. NO. I WANT SOMETHING SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT. This is why I was absolutely bored during Ash by Malinda Lo. It is literally 100% the original plot. How is that a retelling??? I get super bored if the story isn’t evoking some dazzling imagination. Get thee some glitter onto that old plot. I want NEW twist. NEW characters. NEW storylines. I want the Phantom of the Opera to be set in a meat factory. And heck yes I want Rapunzel to be a computer hacker.
Give me something fresssssh and juicy.
GENDER SWAPS? I WOULD LIKE 1 OR 99.
I’ve complained in the past that gender-swaps need to be more of a thing. Why? BECAUSE THEY’RE FREAKING AWESOME. It’s so easy to make an old classic fresh and intriguing when genders are reversed. Plus a lot of old tales are pretty sexist (like, hello to the millionth story of a princess waiting around to be rescued by a prince) so just reverse rolls also brings in an equality twist. Because it’s totally okay to be rescued. Just let’s have girls rescue boys as well as boys rescue girls. BECAUSE #FAIR.
For instance: we have a male Cinderella in Six Impossible Things. And a female Sherlock in A Study in Charlotte. And a female Watson in Every Breath! And we have a boy battling Wonderland in Mad About The Hatter.
THIS IS GREAT. BUT MORE PLEASE.
I want to see Petra Pan and Wendall. * I want to see Handsome and the Beast. I want The Little Merman.
* Who is writing this post?? Because those names are bizarre quite honestly. Don’t call them Petra and Wendall. Please.
I WOULD PREFER IT TO HAVE AN INTRIGUING SETTING THAT SPEAKS EXCITEDLY TO MY HEART
No offence, but I’ve seen a lot of medieval European fantasy and I’d like SOMETHING ELSE. I concede it makes sense to set retellings there because a lot of the original tales came out of Germany / Denmark thanks to Grimm and Anderson. BUT RETELLINGS ARE ABOUT BREAKING THE MOULDS! Why can’t we have more retellings set in different countries???
Again, I’m going to point at Cinder and shriek because HELLO. Cinderella + dystopian China = I am a pleased crumpet. And I think the reason I was rather bored of Ella Enchanted is because it was the dry/average/medieval setting.
Can I ask for Sleeping Beauty in India? Hansel and Gretel actually in Germany? Little Red Riding hood with an affinity for sushi???? The Snow Queen in Australia!! *
* Um, okay, I concede this might not work so well. But she could be evil down south for half the year and then travel up north to have Christmas in the tropics. It could be awesome. Don’t deny it till you try it.
NO SNEERING AT THE ORIGINAL STORY, YOU UNDIGNIFIED ZUCCHINI
Oh this is SUCH a pet peeve of mine. But I hate hate hate when a retelling puffs out its chest and spurts phrases like “WELL, LEWIS CARROLL GOT IT WRONG, BUT HERE’S THE REAL STORY.” Um, rude??? That’s like me saying the inventor of bread was an idiot for not coming up with toast first. TO HAVE TOAST = YOU MUST HAVE BREAD. You can’t dis bread while eating toast, okay??? Okay.
I still hold a grudge against The Looking Glass Wars for not only (A) calling Lewis Carroll and idiot, but also (B) casting him as a character in the book and making him totally stupid! #no
MORE OBSCURE RETELLINGS
Because if I read about Cinderella one more time, I’m going to start throwing shoes and then lose them and then I will be Cinderella and that will go badly. I’d probably eat the pumpkin instead of riding in it to a ball. And if, by some miracle, I did get to the ball, I would be in the corner reading a book about how to get away with murder to deal with that bothersome stepfamily myself. SEE HOW THIS WOULD BE A TRAGEDY? So. More obscure retellings and save the world from me as Cinderella. *
I’ve also clamoured for more historical retellings too. BECAUSE THEY ARE SO MUCH WIN. Fairy Tales are awesome but technically Alice in Wonderland isn’t even a fairy tale but still it is everywhere. So why not more classics like The Secret Garden, The Jungle Book, Anne of Green Gables, Treasure Island, Black Beauty, and Tom Sawyer!
I loved a gender-bent Vlad the Impaler with And I Darken. More like this!!
Also: just put zombies into any of those and you have a winner.
* On second thoughts….somebody write this omg.
JAUNTY FROLICS THROUGH DIFFERENT GENRES, IF YOU PLEASE
Just from perusing through my Goodreads shelves, I’ve noticed that the majority of retellings take place in either a contemporary or fantasy setting. WHICH IS FINE. I like both those settings! But today is all about me making righteously indignant demands and thumping my fist on the table until my needs are met, basically.
So it’d be nice to see some more retellings mixed with thrillers! I mean, if The Gingerbread Man isn’t a murder mystery waiting to happen, THEN I AM A CODFISH. Also apocalyptic settings would be nice. I could see The Wizard of Oz in the apocalypse. And I’m just putting it out there that more disability/mental-illness representation would be awesome too. While I kind of accidentally loathed Reign of Shadows, at least it featured a blind Rapunzel! And, of course, Marissa Meyer did it AGAIN with her magical genius and introduced us to a mentally ill (possibly schizophrenic?) Snow White in Winter. *
* Okay I think we’ve estalished Marissa Meyer is QUEEN OF RETELLINGS AND ALL SHOULD BOW TO HER and if I keep fangirling like this over all her books I will probably combust. Someone tell me to calm.
I’m not saying every retelling needs to check off EVERYTHING in my list.
Obviously. That would be tedious. But I do think we’ve been rather inundated with retellings over the last few years and it’d be nice to see them taking some fresh new twists! (So we don’t crash and burn in horrific fire like vampires did… And now everyone stabs themselves in the eyes with silver and eats garlic whenever someone talks about a vampire book. Ahem.) And I’m not saying my list is flawless, I’m just saying there’s a 99% chance it is and all books should probably adhere to my wishes because I’m always right.
And obviously, a book’s TRUE PRIORITIES are: (A) to be written well, and (B) to have complex interesting characters, and (C) to tell a good story. But I can still make loud demands because that’s who I am, Bob.
Retellings will always remain a favourite of mine though! It’s so special to see a classic story I grew up with reimagined into wars in creepy forests with dashing protagonists and witty dialogue and a whole lotta stabbing. IT IS SO MUCH WIN.
Oh I love fairytale retellings an I think I want a retelling of the beauty and the beast. I know there are many films about it and there is a new one coming (Emma Watson *-*) but I want something that is retelling it in a modern way. This one would play in the real world and for example beauty is a daughter of a rich man and doesn’t want to be there anymore and runs away? I don’t know 😀 Do you understand what I mean?
Chiara
I’ve read a ton of Beauty and the Best retellings but…the only modern one I’ve read is Beastly by Alex Flinn…which actually wasn’t that good. But it’s modern if you want to check it out! 🙂
I actually just released a Modern-Day Beauty and the Beast retelling yesterday. If you want to check it out, it’s called UNSIGHTLY by Amber Garza. If you do read it, I hope I love it.
That’s fantastic I’ll check it out immediately!
Ooh YES. I love retellings. In fact, I’m currently writing a Robin Hood retelling. A dystopian one, at that.
The Lunar Chronicles are SO good. The most unique retellings EVER. There is no arguing that fact.
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OH OH go you for your glorious life decisions to retelling Robin Hood DYSTOPICALLY. (Is that even a word? It should be a word because I want to use it *nods*) And omg Marissa Meyer is definitely queen of the retellings. No doubt!!
I want allll these things, especially if they’re combined! An obscure fairy-tale retelling with an amazing setting in a genre like sci-fi and a gender swap would be absolutely fabulous. Yes please. 😀
I haven’t seen many retellings of the first versions of fairy-tales though, like the Grimm brothers’ written stories and not the less gory/Disney version. (Then again, I’m not sure I want to read a version where Cinderella’s step-sisters get their eyes pecked out by birds…)
Love this post. You had some great points! <3
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Ohhhh YES to that combination. Like just give me a day or so and I’ll get onto that AND WRITE IT ALL BECAUSE WE HAVE NEEDS HERE. But haha, oh yes…it’s very rare to see the total original grisly tales retold. Although I do think a lot of the ones I read are fairly dark? But do Cinderella’s stepsisters get their eyes pecked out? GAWSH. Which is the one where they stick the evil stepmother in a barrel of nails and roll her down a hill?!? BECAUSE SERIOUSLY THE GRIMM BROTHERS NEED TO CHILL.
I’m going to abandon my principles and do a shameless bit of self-promotion. Because I just happen to have written a gender-swapped sci-fi retelling of “Sleeping Beauty”. It’s available in the anthology “Five Magic Spindles”. (I’d offer a link, but I don’t want to look like a spam bot).
Firstly: GENDER SWAPS ARE LITERALLY THE BEST THINGS EVER!
Secondly: Isn’t Cinder such an amazing book? AHHH I enjoyed it so much!
Also historical retellings sign up. Especially mythological retellings.
YES THEY ABSOLUTELY ARE. I actually get confused why they’re not done more?!? Like seriously, please someone give me all the gender bends.😂 *writes one or ninety-two of them myself*
I’ve got a few suggestions of YA fairytale retellings that you should add to your list:
– Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan (Snow White and Rose Red)
– White Cat by Holly Black (a retelling of the Pudocky/Cherry/White Cat)
– East by Edith Pattou (the Asbjørnsen-Moe collected East of the Sun, West of the Moon)
– Happy Ever After (aka Egerton Hall trilogy) by Adele Geras (which is Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White)
– Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale (Maid Maleen, Grimm)
– Rose and the Beast by Francesca Lia Block (a collection of short stories retelling a number of fairy tales)
(That’s off the top of my head; if you like I can keep digging around for more, as well as touch on myth-based ones, like Psyche in a Dress, Echo, and Abandon)
As for retellings, I do think they need to keep, on some level, the heart of the story. You can take Snow White and Rose Red and put it in a dystopic future, but if it’s no longer about the relationship between two sisters (and some hair guy) then what’s the point?
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WAIT WAIT WAIT….White Cat is a retelling?!? I never would’ve picked that! I love that series btw and read them all last year and it’s like Holly Black is QUEEN basically. I’ll have to look up your other suggestions. 😀 I’ve read so many retellings so yay for more. 🙂
And I agree that it needs to hold the basic themes. *nods* Like what would Cinder be without stepmothers and a prince? It has to still fit with the original in SOME respects!
If you look on the reading guide for White Cat on the S&S website, it explicitly mentions its roots in the White Cat version by Madame d’Aulnoy.
(I hope you don’t mind me plugging this next bit to you, as it is your blog and all, but if you want to read the story The White Cat, I just posted on my blog the epub of The Blue Fairy Book I made, free for download. It’s an old collection of fairytales which includes The White Cat.)
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Love the post. I am a huge fan of fairytale retellings and retellings in general. I just finished The Lunar Chronicles and I am such a drooling fangirl. If you like Alice and Wonderland retellings check out the Insanity series by Cameron Jace.
Oh oh I haven’t heard of Cameron Jace! I’ll go look up the Insanity series IMMEDIATELY. THANKYOU.
You just gave me the hook I needed for a story I’ve been planning for NaNoWriMo!
I was in Melbourne near China town and saw this girl who absolutely flawed me, and I’ve been wanting to write about her for ages but didn’t know which direction to take it. Riding Hood retelling, hello! (Also, thanks for all of the reading suggestions!!) (Oh, and not to nit pick or anything, but you may have made a little typo, “igonred” heh c: )
Oh good luck with your NaNo tale! YOU’RE WELCOME.
So tell me… How come you love retelling and never read Juliet Marillier before???
Her wildwood dancing mixes the 12 dancing princesses with the frog prince and vampires in a transylvanian setting.
And you know the brothers that are transformed into swans and the kid sister needs to knit some nasty shirts to save them? That’s the first sevenwaters book.
She’s a master retelling.
I used to love retelling too. But then I come across Mirror Mirror and My Name is Rapunzel and now I kinda shy a bit from the genre.
I do have the Splintered series on my physical TBR and lunar Chronicles on my goodreads one… So I’m not staying away forever
Because….I haven’t yet read all the books of ever?!? 😂 I really loved Princess of Thorns for incorporating the Swan Princes!! EEEP. And do you mean Mirror Mirror the movie? I thought that was hilarious! Although definitely silly hhaha. Splintered is LIFE OMG I LOVE IT SO MUCH.
Nope, not Mirror Mirror the movie – I ended up liking it although I don’t admit it frequently. Mirror Mirror by Gregory Maguire. It is original… that’s for sure. Never in my wildest and bizarre dreams I would think of Lucrezia Borgia (yes, THOSE BORGIAS) to be placed as Snow White’s step mother. It is too bizarre. The dwarfs that are a mix between rocks and dogs… just… weird…. Maybe if I read it during my fantasy phase my opinion would be different. But since I become addicted to urban fantasy it has to be a VERY GOOD fantasy setting for me to enjoy it completely.
Fairy Tale retellings are totally my bag. I may have mentally given awards to the various beauty and beast versions I own.
You should read Ursula Vernon’s stuff , both Hamster Princess & as T. Kingfisher. Lovely trope twisting. Also her annotated stories ( http://ursulav.livejournal.com/tag/fairy%20tales )
You also did not mention Robin McKinley at all which is tragic as she should be required reading for anyone who likes fairytales.
In addition I Recommend highly:
The Fairytales Slashed anthology series which got me addicted to Megan Derr,
K. M. Shae for really excellent characterization
Leigh Bardugo for very atmospheric Russian tales
Mercedes Lackey with her Elementals Series (retellings around WW1) and 500 Kingdoms (where being genre savvy is actual magic)
Lois McMaster Bujold’s The spirit Ring for a helpful dead retelling and romance
Kate Danley’s Woodcutter for an excellent mismash of fairy tales
Grace Draven’s Entreat Me in a B&B retelling in which the chars are GROWN UP PEOPLE omg. yes. please.
Jessica Day George for various series which have include, among other things, a knitting hero.
Shannon Hale for, among others, my favorite Rapunzel retelling, Book of a Thousand Days.
Intisar Khanani for Thorn, my favorite Goose Girl Rtelling
Alethea Kontis for a unique take on the consequences of fairytale powers among other things
Triana Willard: for having an Japanese? inspired setting which I want more of.
Others that are not my personal preference but should not be overlooked by other people
Christine Pope: A bit hit or miss with me but overall nice
Marie Hall: Paranormal Romance with the ‘bad boys’ of fairytales
Cameron Jace: A grim and dark layered world
Seanan McGuire: Indexed is a UF fairytale world
Jackson Pearce: Another grim dark fairytale world
Sarah Pinborough: Dark, depressing fairytale worlds are really not my thing so they’re all on this list
Anita Valle: which did not leave a deep impression on me
I love Jackson Pearce! I wouldn’t have considered Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse retelling though, because, I mean, it has folklore elements but I don’t think it’s necessarily a retelling? And I’d like to try Shannon Hale someday. 🙂
I meant the short stories she wrote in the grishaverse http://www.tor.com/author/leigh-bardugo/
I absolutely love retellings! The Lunar Chronicles is one of the best ones I’ve ever read and I really want more! I really want a more dark retellings, maybe one of Rapunzel? Or The Little Mermaid? Oh yes, I love it when they switch the genders around because it makes things a lot more interesting! 🙂
*hi fives* We are in SUCH agreement then!! FLAIL WTIH ME, CLOE! And ooh yes, I love the darker ones too. The creepier the better.
I haven’t read many retellings of fairy tales but I know this checklist is pretty cool. A gingerbread murder story, genius! And The Secret Garden retelling, why has no-one created this? You know, I think authors really need to check out your list before writing a retelling!
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Authors DEFINITELY need to come ask my advice before writing. *nods* It would make all their books instantly bestsellers I’m sure of it.😇
Haha, just shared this on Pinterest so more authors can know about this amazing CHECKLIST! If I ever become an author *in my dreams*, I will abide by this!
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Have you tried Naomi Novik’s Uprooted? A retelling of Baba Yaga that was Hugo nominated and I thought it was stunning.
yes! I have read that one! 🙂
I highly recommend Spinning Starlight by R. C. Lewis. It’s based on The Wild Swans (somewhat obscure fairytale), it’s sci-fi (not set on Earth, let alone Europe), and The Wild Swans, in its original form, is about a girl rescuing multiple boys. 🙂
Her first book, Stitching Snow, is also really good. It’s set in the same sci-fi universe, but it’s Snow White. Snow is a mechanic / computer hacker with 7 droid sidekicks. Yes, it sounds similar to The Lunar Chronicles, but I actually enjoyed a lot more.
OH YES!! That one is on my TBR but I keep forgetting about it actually. I so want t oread that because SWANS. I love those stories. Do you have to read Stitching Snow first? Not that that’d be a problem because I want to read all the retellings.😂
No, you don’t have to read Stitching Snow *first*, but you should definitely read it at some point. The two books take place in the same sci-fi universe, but they don’t share any specific characters or story line.
Yes Yes Yes. I agree with so much of this, especially the gender swap! Like c’mon people, work with us. But honest;y, yeah, fairy tale retellings are like the best things ever. LOVE LOVE LOVE
We need to kidnap ourselves some authors and demand they write us more books like this, right?!?😂
Retellings are great, although I don’t read that many! I like Alex Flinn’s retellings.
I’d like more gender swaps where the prince charmings are princess charmings saving other girls. Give me all the sapphic fairy tale retellings! Give me retellings with no romance! But falling in love with and kissing a girl who’s unconscious (*cough* Cinderella and Snow White) is creepy, so none of that.
I agree that Ash was a disappointing read. I enjoyed Malinda Lo’s other books and was so stoked for lesbian Cinderella. But alas, it let me down.
More retellings in different genres would be great! Especially thriller and sci-fi! (How cool would sci-fi The Twelve Dancing Princesses be?? Post-apocalyptic Red Riding Hood?! Murder mystery Rapunzel?)
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Oh retellings with no romance would also be great.😂I’m right with you there hahah. (And yeah, I mean, Sleeping Beauty has some really shifty origins too which is kind of disturbing…like isn’t there one version where she was actually raped and had twin boys? Disney really prettied up the originals that’s for sure.😱) AND YEAH! I was so stoked for Ash too but it was just so flat.😭
SCI FI 12 DANCING PRINCESSES WOULD BE AMAZING!!
I actually had a sci-fi 12 Dancing Princesses all plotted out, but I’ve set it aside, since it ran afoul of the first item on this list: it doesn’t deviate enough from the original story to keep me interested. It doesn’t help that I’ve read more retellings of that tale than any other, so it’s hard to have a plot twist that feels original.
Oooohhh I love this post because I LOVE RETELLING! SO. MUCH! <3 I absolutely love it when author keeps the original, signature scene from the story but twist it into something totally clever! It's always mind blowing 😀 and yes to more gender swaps! The Merman and Handsome and the Beast would be TOTALLY GENIUS! Also, Sleeping Handsome please? It would be awesome for a prince to be rescued by… say, a huntress! Or even a pirate, pirate would be amazing! <3 And I totally second you on wanting retelling to take place on different country! I love that Cinder takes place in Beijing and that Winter is a person of color! We've clearly established the fact that Marissa Meyer is a retelling genius, can't wait to read Heartless <3 I'm also reallllly into myth retelling! Though I love greek myth, I think we've had enough and I need more! I think The Star Touched Queen, though not excecuted too well, is so full of potential for featuring Indian myth. I also need more mashed-up, Russian folklore, The Little Mermaid, Mulan and I can't wait for Renee Ahdieh's upcoming book! <3 Great post Cait! 😀
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Sleeping Handsome = YES TOO. Basically every retelling ever needs to be genderbent at some point!??😂 And YES! I love how the Lunar Chronicles basically goes through and ticks off everything on my list quite easily hehe. Especially the diverse settings and the originality twists on the old tales!!
Thanks, Puput!
This is SUCH a good point. Most of the re-tellings of the past several years have not entered my life (apart from the brief moment they sit in my hands at the library, while I read the jacket cover and go, “Yup, this’ll suck.”) And this is exactly why they stay in the library. Let’s go with some of these ideas, folks!!
Ahh, thank you, Daley! I tend to try like EVERY retelling I come across because I can’t stop myself.😂 But it takes a lot to actually impress me these days, since the Lunar Chronicles set the bar so high!
I haven’t read all of the Lunar Chronicles, but professional critics and book fans alike tend to agree, that it has changed the standards for re-tellings. But I really love your ideas that some of the “standards” need to be shifted, too!
Hi Cait.
Brilliant post, girlie.
I like Lucy Lu as Watson in ‘Elementary’.
I wrote a re-telling of H.G. Wells, ‘War of the Worlds’. The original is very grim. I decided that my telling of the tale would contain mirth and whimsy.
I have a retelling of Mark Twains ‘A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court’. My book is silly, but so is Marks. He has a grim ending, though, and mine remains whimsical. {President Mark Twain is a recurring character in my books, so I feel comfortable being on a first name basis with him.}
My Sherlock Holmes story is not a re-telling of one Doyle book, but more of an homage to them all.
I thought I would write a twist on ‘Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde’, by Robert Louis Stevenson. When i read it, though, I did not care for it too much. I remember loving his book ‘Treasure Island’. I re-read ‘Treasure Island’ again and it remains as charming as ever. I have written the story now. Ostensibly, on the surface, it is the story of ‘Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde’, but secretly it is the story of ‘Treasure Island’.
Do you have any re-tellings, Cait? Actually, I am pretty sure you do. Wanna share?
ww, thank you so much!
And YES, Lucy Lu as Watson is like MY FAVOURITE THING EVER. I’m just hanging out for a female Sherlock now.😂 And oooh a retelling of War of Worlds sounds entirely intriguing! I have actually not read either of the originals from your retellings so you definitely get points for the obscurity hehe. OH YES!! Jeckyl and Hyde would be AMAZING. I wrote a Napoleon retelling in space a few years back which was very fun haha. I also have a The Jungle Book x The Secret Garden one planned!
LUV Jungle book. I am sure your retelling will be charming.
Napoleon in space!?! That is pretty darn cool. 🙂
Hail Your Queenliness!
I am SO COMPLETLEY AND TOTALLY FULL OF UTTER GRATEFULLNESS BECAUSE GUES WHAT?? I just finished writing a fairy tale retelling!!!!!!!!! Your post came at the perfect time, when I was dreading the terrible plaguey *whispers* editing. *hyperventilates and dies of fright* yeah. I don’t like that word. But you have given me sufficient courage to hack my story into pieces and then put it back together like a delicious puzzle.
My retelling is of Beauty and the Beast, in the twentieth century probably, in Wales. It is told by Beauty’s son, who is a pickpocket. (I mentioned this before. It is the one with the five story mansion). In my story, Beauty (or Ceinder, as she is called in Welsh) never came back to the Beast (Hanifail) and eventually her son goes, and has to figure out the mystery of the Beast, and his mum and all that jazz. Does that sound okay to you? Any suggestions? If you ever want to read it, just say so.
Hahaha, about six years ago, I was writing a retelling with my best friend. Basically the plot was the fairy godmother’s wand was stolen and this huge scary monster was let loose into the world, and get this: he was made out of an apple, and so he was called Apple Turnover because he turned bad. Oh my genius 9 year old self. *shakes head* 😀
Anyway, the heroes were Jack (from Jack and the beanstalk), Nicky, Spillerella (a very clumsy Cinderella) Prince Charming (because OF COURSE) and a gender swapped Beast/ Little Red Riding Hood. Also, it was narrated by the seven dwarves, all named after different foods. Yeah.
The Princess and the Goblin is one of my FAVORITE fairy tales EVER, I think it would make a cool retelling.
I want more gender swapped obscures. JUST MASH ‘EM UP, DUDE.
You are so right! WHO WOULD DARE TO CALL LEWIS CARROL AN IDIOT?!?!?!?! I WILL HAVE THEIR HEADS!!!!!!!! Not just rude, downright UNLAWFUL! I WILL HANG THEM FROM THE CLOSEST TREE!!!! I WILL HAVE EM BURIED, AND THEN DANCE ON THEIR GRAVE!!!! Ahem. Pardon me. But not really. Lewis Carrol is a genius and NO ONE. I REPEAT, NO. ONE. WILL SAY OTHERWISE IN MY PRESENCE UNLESS THEY WANT TO DIE.
~E
Editing isn’t that bad! I mean…it’s like…boiling your brain LIKE OVERCOOKED SHRIMP. But hey. It could be worse. #positivethinking 😂😂 But omg I’m so glad this post was actually helpful for you then. hehe.
But duuude, your story sounds amazing! I can’t really offer suggestions though haha, but I wish you all the best with it!
Oh Apple Turnover is kind of a terrifying name there.😂
Ugh yeah, you’d be surprised how many Alice in Wonderland retellings actually do diss Carroll. Like can’t we build off his ideas without saying they were dumb? Sheesh.
Yeah! It is fun… if you like boiled brains… I suppose. It could be like overcooked eggplants. *shudders at the thought* Okay, maaaaaaaybe I was exaggerating a tiiiiiiiny bit, but NOT MUCH.
Well thank you! I am pretty excited about it. But I’m even more excited about the four other story ideas that are floating around in my head and begging to be written! I am obsessed with fairy tale retellings right now.
Arg! It makes me want to turn Pirate!! Those rouges!!!
~E
Oh my goodness I love fairytale retellings. And Marissa Meyer is queen of them. I went to a writer’s conference this summer and in one of the classes, the speaker read the first page of Cinder aloud. My entire table started fangirling (and fanboying because guys write too).
I hate it when retellings stay super close to the original story. I love being able to pick out the “nods” to the original, but I also don’t want it to be predictable.
One of my WIPs is a very loose retelling of Sleeping Beauty with time travel. I love getting to mess with the original story to make it my own. 🙂
FANGIRLING FTW! I don’t actually believe in fanboying because fangirling is just a term for ANY GENDER AND ANY PERSON. *nod nod* But that’s so cool that your conference actually did Cinder! THAT WOULD’VE BEEN THE BEST EXPERIENCE.
And yes, if it’s too predictable, what’s the point?! It’s hardly a retelling, right?
Ohhh I love the sound of your Sleeping Beauty retelling!
Oh my word… Okay, so I’ve been working on a short story called Gretel for the last two or three months, and it is a retelling of Hansel and Gretel actually IN Germany… You have no idea how, like, super excited I am right now that I actually meet a requirement!!! YAY! (It’s currently on Wattpad…you know…if you wanna read it… [you totally don’t have to… {seriously, you don’t…}])
Anyway, I absolutely love love LOVE The Lunar Chronicles, and I absolutely love love love LOVE this post (and basically your entire blog). Fairytale Retellings are my favorite stories ever.
AHHH THAT STORY SOUNDS AMAZING!! *flails with you* And I mean, my requirements are totally professional and everything. 😂 hehe. If I have time, I’ll definitely check out your story!
Oh my word, thank you so much!!!! 😀
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Okay, A) Eater Extroardinare (no idea how you spelled that) is the most fantastic name ever. I would steal it but THAT’S PLAGARIZING. AND I DON’T DO THAT. B) CAIT I’VE REPEATEDLY TOLD YOU THAT YOU KILL MY TBR. STOP ADDING MORE BOOKS. And C) YOU’VE ALSO ADDED TO MY LIST OF BOOKS TO WRITE. I DO NOT HAVE THIS KIND OF TIME. WISH ME LUCK.
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I SHOULD PUT “FAIRY TALE EATER EXTRAORDINARE” ON A TEE-SHIRT TBH. *nods* It would be a glorious idea. And pfft, I am here to torture you and your TBR.
YES YOU TOTALLY SHOULD. I WOULD EITHER A) BUY IT OR B) TELL YOU IT WAS AMAZING BECAUSE IT WOULD GET ALLLLLLL THE LIKES ON INSTA.
Ahhhh you know that’s so true. EVIL, CAIT, EVIL.
This should be the checklist people have to go by when writing retellings. XD Awesome job!
I’ve been thinking for a while it would be fun to do a retelling of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night…
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IT TOTALLY SHOULD BE BECAUSE MY OPINION IS, OF COURSE, GLORIOUS. #humble
“Handsome and the Beast” really made me laugh. xD This was a great post, Cait! I’m very picky about which retellings I enjoy, mostly because they too often DON’T have all these things you just listed.
Aww, thanks, Maraia!! 😂 I mean, obviously my opinion and checklist is the greatest here of course *nods*
I just had like 5 plotlines begin in my brain…MUST! WRITE! DOWN!
YOU’RE WELCOME. REMEMBER ME WHEN YOU’RE FAMOUS.
Jeez, you’re making me want to write a fairytale retelling. Also read more of them. The only ones I’ve read are the ones by Melanie Dickerson (they make my heart happy), and Cinder and Scarlet. I really need to read the rest of the Lunar Chronicles! 😮
DO IT, EMILY. Now you have my checklist so your retelling is like 100% guaranteed to be perfect. #legit
I’m the Arista of Fairy Tales (Like a queen, but more powerful, you know).
Fairy tale that needs retold – almost any obscure one. But I’m working on that.
Genderswapped? Usually awesome. I’ve actually written a genderswapped Cinderella. It was for a contest to rewrite a fairy tale or classic into another genre, and I wanted to do adventure, and for the INCREDIBLY small word limit that I had, having a male hero required less explanation. Yes, um, the hero does rescue the princess, but there’s a twist at the end that makes it less … like that.
I want a retelling to respect the original fairy tale. I do prefer it if it follows the original plotline, but on the other side of the coin, I don’t want it to follow exactly. I want new twists to keep me at the edge of my seat. That;s the main reason I love Ella Enchanted so much – it follows the original story almost perfectly, but because it has a new conflict, I had NO idea how things would turn out.
One thing I hate, though, are retellings that seem to think that Disney is the original fairy tale. Just … just …
-.-
no.
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Oh yes I know you’re super into Fairy Tales! WHICH IS AWESOME. And yayyy for a genderbent Cinderellla! 😍 Honestly it’s my goal to try and write all the genderbends at some point…like once I get through the 23948 other ideas I have. Hmm. Ahem.
I was unfortunately super bored with Ella Enchanted.😂 I need some weird twists that keep me guessing and I LOVE when it’s not just 100% the fairy tale but adds in tons of originality. *nods* And hahah yes, Disney is the prettified version.😂
Haha this post has such good timing. I just recently started working on a Genderbend Mulan retelling mixed with with the Greek myth of the Amazons. Lol it’s really weird but I’m gonna make it work somehow.
OMG A GENDERBENT MULAN.😱😱😱 I am already a fan.😍
Ooh yes fairy tale retellings! I lovvvee them. I’m actually planning on writing one for NaNo this year! It’s a retelling of the Little Mermaid where the mermaids are in a warrior society with family clans, but the main twist is that rather than losing her voice, the Little Mermaid loses her beauty instead. And it’s set somewhere in the Caribbean (or at least perhaps its fantasy world equivalent) and I’m quite excited for it! I also started (but haven’t finished) a retelling of Rapunzel where she’s a runaway murderer. As far as more obscure fairy tales, I want to write one of The Twelve Huntsmen at one point, but that isn’t really that planned out. And I adore Ella Enchanted; that’s probably my favorite retelling… but I also love the retellings by Jessica Day George…and, you know, just all of them.
OMG THAT SUONDS SO AMAZING I CANNOT EVEN!! I love your project and I hope it goes really well for NaNo!! (Also the Caribbean is an awesome setting.) Oh but I don’t even know if I’ve heard of the twelve huntsmen?!? I want to write one of the seven wild swan brothers.😍
Okay, but you forgot something. Blood. Lots of blood. Maybe it’s just me, but I have a thing for dark retellings. Like, the original stories started out that way and then Disney made them all feel good and happy. I don’t’ want to feel good, okay? I want you to rip out my heart.
So that would be my addition to this list.
DUDE YES. Absolutely. It’s not a story unless there’s plenty of blood. (Seriously, I have yet to write a bloodless book myself.) And what’s the point of a book that doesn’t somewhat stab you??
I lovelovelove fairy tale retellings! I think the main things I’d like more of are more obscure fairy tales and more unusual settings- honestly, I’m ok with it if the retelling follows the original plot pretty well. And gender-swaps tend to be hit or miss for me. But books like Cinder? So much yesyesyes.
Also, I would totally read the version of Cinderella with you as Cinderella. It sounds like it would be hilarious.
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I shall totally write my memoir-esque Cinderella someday because let’s face facts: SOMEONE SHOULD WRITE A STORY WHERE SHE EATS THE PUMPKIN. Pumpkin pie is delicious. *nods*
This is a great post! I’ve been thinking about doing fairy tale retellings and this gave me some good food for thought. 🙂
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Oh yay!! I’m glad you liked the post! CAKE FOR BOTH OF US.
The only retelling I’ve read is Scarlet (not the Lunar Chronicles one) and I didn’t enjoy it. The voice was brilliant, but having Scarlet in a love triangle with John and Robin kind of sucked everything good out of the story. It had a couple of clever twists though.
I’ve been meaning to read Cinder, but they never have it at my library. They have Scarlet and Cress, but not Cinder.
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oh I’ve heard of that one but haven’t tried it…gah, that sucks about the triangle though. :/ I’m so so over triangles.
And isn’t it the worst when libraries don’t have book #1?!? I own the full series except for Cinder because…LIFE IS WEIRD LIKE THAT.😂
I LOVE RETELLINGS, they’re fabulous. I’d love more Rapunzel retellings as I love anything related to Rapunzel! xD I think your checklist is fantastic. I agree that retellings definitely need a fresh new twist and if they’re a completely different genre that’s even more awesome!
Oh yes Rapunzel is amazing and a gender-bent Rapunzel would be SO INTERESTING TOO!! *flails* I WILL START A PETITION.
What I want most, more than anything, is FEMINIST retellings of fairytales. I know many released now are, but I think I’ll always want a Merida in Brave situation with female characters in fairytale retellings. Thinking of it, I’d really like an LGBT Snow White or a gender bent Rapunzel…
I’ve not stretched outside of Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles and Heartless [which is fantabulous], because SHE IS QUEEN, but this post makes me want to read so many more retellings! Inspiring as always!
OMG YES AND YES I ENTIRELY AGREE WITH THAT. I actually would like more retellings where there isn’t a patriachy. Like we can imagine dragons and wizards but not matriarchies?!??! And I really want a gender-bent Rapunzel now that you mention.
I can’t waaaait for Heartless!!!
Can I just say YES to all of these??!?!?!?! I actally found a story I had been working on when I was like 14, I named it “Sleeping Handsome”. GO my 14 year old self! Go forth and rule the world! Needles to say, I will be taking that half story and FINISHING THAT SPINNING WHEEL. Also, I am reading Cress now and I. O. M.G.
That is all, I take my leave.
Oh yay go your 14 year old self for sure!!😂 That’s awesome heheh. OMG I AM SO GLAD YOU LOVE CRESS! <3
I agree that retellings need to add some new elements. However, I also think the right story needs to be chosen to begin with. I absolutely hated Alethea Kontis’s Enchanted, and I think a large part of that was because it was based on “The Frog Prince”. It’s such a simple story, and there’s not much you can do with it (which is probably why I was bored silly by the Disney movie, even though it had some gender-bending to try to make it more interesting). In Enchanted, the author resorted to throwing in a whole bunch of other fairy tales near the end, which might’ve worked if it had been done earlier in the book; but, as it was, it just seemed clumsy and frantic and didn’t make a whole lot of sense.
Also, there has to be a good main character. That was another thing I didn’t like about Enchanted. The main character was this weird, emotionally stunted girl. But that part of her personality was never addressed. Actually, all of the characters in that book were completely awful. It was almost as if they were all in an asylum, suffering from various mental afflictions, but none of them knew it, and neither did the author. So their odd (and sometimes nasty) behaviour was passed off as completely normal.
I haven’t been able to get into The Lunar Chronicles, though I do think the premise is different and creative. I just wished it had lived up to my expectations. (I find the world-building in that series to be extremely weak. The idea of the world-building is good… just not the execution. If that makes sense.)
My go-to authors for reliably good retellings are Diana Wynne Jones (who delves more into mythology), Gail Carson Levine (who writes straight-up fairytales… and I actually liked Ella Enchanted with her unusual curse), and Charles de Lint (who writes some more obscure retellings, often based on Celtic mythology). I’d also like to read more in E. D. Baker’s The Wide-Awake Princess series, because it was just so darn cute. (Now that was a book that got throwing in a whole bunch of fairytales together right!)
I don’t necessarily think that retellings have to follow the original story exactly. “Inspired by” would probably be enough for me. If I didn’t know I was reading a fairytale retelling right away, that would be okay, too. (For example, if I didn’t realize until after and then I went back and thought about the story and said, “Oh, author, I see what you did there,” then that would be pretty cool.)
I wanted to see more retellings of “The Snow Queen”, but that was before Frozen came out. It was one of my favourite fairytales, and I heard about Disney possibly doing it years ago and was so excited. I was a little disappointed by Frozen (it’s not my favourite Disney movie). The original story has this beautiful friendship theme going on between Gerda and Kai, and I wanted to see that. At this point, I’m not sure if a written retelling of “The Snow Queen” would go over that well. The author would probably either be accused of getting the story wrong (because people are familiar with the messed-up Disney version now) or ripping off Frozen if they went with a sisterly theme.
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It’s all very subjective too, I might add! Like I think the world-building of Cinder was awesome.😂 And I’m okay with mash-ups so long as they’re mashups from the get-go, or they build into each other like the Lunar Chronicles do! And funnily enough I couldn’t actually stand Ella Enchanted hahah. AHEM. We definitely have different fairy-tale retelling criteria but THAT’S OKAY THAT’S AWESOME ACTUALLY. *nod*
There is a Snow Queen retelling coming out called Stealing Snow and ugh, I read it and it’s awful. Avoid avoid.
YES. There are so many great fairy tales/fables/classic stories that apply to situations, settings, and characters never imagined by the original. I’m currently reading (and loving) Helen Oyeyemi’s Boy Snow Bird, which is a retelling of Snow White about a family of African-Americans passing as white in 1950s Massachusetts.
I also loved Neil Gaiman’s The Sleeper and the Spindle (which if you like twists on original tales you will LOVE) because all stories are better when they’re gayer.
I guess what I’m getting at is these stories have been told so many times that I’m excited to see familiar characters recast as different genders, races, etc. and reimagine old themes in a new context.
p.s. I’d heard of Cinder but never actually knew much about it and now I will definitely be picking it up!
Omg that sounds AMAZING!! I’ll look up that one immediately! *nods* And I really do want to read The Sleeper and the Spindle, I just haven’t gotten around to it yet.😂 Slack me. hehe.
Lol! That toast comparison—spot on!
THANKYOU.😂
GOD BLESS, CAIT. I seriously dislike fantasy retellings because they almost always have zero of the qualities on your list.
I always love when retellings have little references back to the original <3
And a note on gender-swapping – we mustn't forget the nonbinary community! Agender, gender fluid, demiboy, demigirl, and gender flux (just to name a few examples) gender-swaps are also needed!
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Well I didn’t specify when I said “gender-swap”, so I just mean…gender swap!
Weirdly enough, I haven’t read many retellings. I mean I’ve read Splintered series which is kind of a reteling and I got to the middle of the Lunar Chronicles, just two more to go. Oh and I also read retelling of Aladdin this year in The Forbidden Wish. All of these were amazing. I think retellings should have something different in themselves, something that makes them special. Why would I read a story which is the same as the original one, just in different setting? I definitely need something more.
Gender swap seems like a marvelous thing, though I still haven’t read any book with this element. Btw, Petra Pan would definitely work in Slavic countries, Petra is common woman equivalent of the name Peter. And it would awesome retelling. 😀
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Splintered is definitely a retelling!! *flails* I LOVE THAT ONE SO MUCH. And I have The Forbidden Wish on my TBR. 😀 And yess, absolutely: like I think almost just rewriting the first one is kind of just boring and also pointless?! Writers need to have more imagination than that!
I have gotten so hooked on fairytale retellings lately! I wrote my first one for a contest a few years ago, without really being aware that it was a popular genre at the time, and now I’ve published two (hint, HINT) and have another heading for publication, and really love reading them. I think I fit at least the genre/setting items on your list, since mine are straight historical fiction (i.e. my Twelve Dancing Princesses retelling is set in the Roaring ’20s). Oh—and if you want to read retellings of more obscure fairytales in fascinating settings, look up Suzannah Rowntree. Hers are terrific: “Jorinda and Joringel” set in Tudor England/Spenserian Faerie, “The Fisherman and His Wife” set in a clockpunk version of Byzantium, and a Beauty and the Beast in India.
I’m not a huge fan of gender-swapping myself, but I have always wanted to do a version of Cinderella with a poor boy aspiring to a princess, instead of the other way around…and I’ve got an idea in the back of my head. One day I’m going to do it.
The last retelling I read was TRAITOR’S MASQUE by Kenley Davidson—while it’s pretty much in the traditional-European style, it uses the Cinderella story as a jumping-off point for a really great and creative story, with especially snappy dialogue. Loved it!
Yay and congrats on writing retellings too!! They’re so easy to get addicted to, right?!? I JUST LOVE THEM SO MUCH. And I’ve written a ton too.😂 I’ll have to look up Suzannah Rowntree. Thanks for the recommendation! I’m really keen on any book set in India so OMG YAY.
Ahhhh please write that version of Cinderella IMMEDIATELY. I would eat that in a second eeheehe.
A fairytale retelling set in CLOCKPUNK BYZANTIUM? I know what’s going on my TBR!
The “Traitor’s Masque” series is fantastic! I’m currently reading the third book (the 12 Dancing Princesses retelling) for the second time in two months. Such creative plot twists, especially with the third book’s Middle-Eastern style setting.
I kid you not I just got the idea today to write a post about this, about what people like in retellings lol because I’ve been toying with the idea of writing one and am curious, but I think it works better for me that you did because more people will comment on yours, and now I’ll get to read through the comments and get even more opinions 😀
I *really* want more genderswapped retellings! And/or LGBT retellings. And also retellings with disabled characters. I swear I’ve been wanting all these things but just haven’t really been able to find them.
As for how closely it should stick to the original… I think it depends. There are those kinds of retellings that are completely unique and just use the main points from the original but tell a whole new story, then there are the kinds that take the same story but embellish, maybe add in some sort of twist/detail that wasn’t there before, and explore it more in depth in a way the original never did, and I think both can be great.
Oh! What does annoy me though is when authors do retellings of the Disney versions. Those are already retellings! I prefer when authors retell the actual originals.
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Oh good to see I am not the only one who isn’t keen on the Disney retellings. I loooove the Disney films but you’re right, they are retellings too. Well-known to the point where they have displaced the original (how many kids know the true ending of The Little Mermaid, for example?) but still retellings. I like it when an author uses their own imaginations for adding twists to tales, not running with Disney’s own twists.
How about getting inspiration from a Disney twist, but then taking it in another direction. Twisting the twist or twisting it he opposite direction. Or something like that. But also looking at the older tales.
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Maybe you could look at why the Disney adaptations made such choices and their roots in the similar tales as well. In the original tale, the cast is very small – much of the story takes place in the castle, where it is Beauty, the Beast, and invisible servants. While this could make for an intimate setting, in a larger film like Disney’s it wouldn’t be as exciting. So make visible the servants and have them enchanted as well. Which is the case in other tales in the Aarne-Thompson 425 (sub) classifications, like The Singing, Springing Lark (which is like BatB at the start, before becoming East of the Sun, West of the Moon. And adding lions). The servants are under the same curse as their master – all are lions by day and their human forms by night.
So in the new retelling, you could have the rest of the castle’s residents under a statue enchantment or another animal enchantment (say, birds? And thus have the rage over the captured lark be because it’s a person, if you go with SSL as a route).
Both the 1991 film and Once Upon A Time change Beauty from “fine for committing a theft” to “brave sacrifice to the dragon”, but in different ways. Common girl makes an exchange for father, princess for the kingdom. So many levels in between. Plus the nature of the Beasts in both tales are very different indeed.
Even the earlier de Villeneuve version of BatB contained elements that the later version popularised by de Beaumont omitted, and a retelling restoring some or all of these elements would immediately stand out.
From the wiki: “The Beast was a prince who lost his father at a young age, and whose mother had to wage war to defend his kingdom. The queen left him in care of an evil fairy, who tried to seduce him when he became an adult; when he refused, she transformed him into a beast. Beauty’s story reveals that she is not really a merchant’s daughter but the offspring of a king and a good fairy. The wicked fairy had tried to murder Beauty so she could marry her father the king, and Beauty was put in the place of the merchant’s dead daughter to protect her.”
*looks back at what I’ve written* I think I’ll stop now, before this gets ridiculous. Rather, even more ridiculous.
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It made me happy too when I read through some of the other comments and saw that I’m not the only person who doesn’t like the retellings of the Disney versions! I love them too, but yeah, those are already retellings, and using those as the basis does feel like they’re just using Disney’s twists sometimes. I understand that many authors might make a purposeful decision to do it that way since those have become the more well-known versions, but I also wonder sometimes if every author bothered to research the original at all. By the way, if you want a novel that is a retelling of the actual original Little Mermaid, you should check out Drown by Esther Dalseno.
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@Kristen: Omg! I’m sorry for stealing your post idea on accident.😂 I totally would love to read your version though.😉
And yes yes more diverse retellings absolutely. It actually bothers me that it’s not more of a thing?!? I WILL WRITE MORE AND MAKE IT A THING. *adds to to-do list*
Oh and I totally get retelling the Disney versions actually.😂 They can be fun and generally what’s recognised! But I WOULD way prefer to see some of the darker Grimme elements come in. I mean, heck, half the time the Grimm versions had kids baking their enemies into pies and eating them.😳😱
Lol no worries, it was literally just an *idea*, not even a draft yet. I’ll probably just ask for people’s opinions on one thing in particular related to retellings in my weekly update post.
And yes! Do it! Write these diverse retellings! And mine is LGBT, so I will work on mine too! Maybe! But probably not! I never seem to actually get around to writing anything lol. But at least my idea is diverse, right? It’s the thought that counts 😛
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NICE FROZEN REFERENCE, CAIT. This is not only very accurate and HILARIOUS (as usual), it is SO TRUE. Twists, different genres, and more obscure origins are things that are DESPERATELY needed. I still feel kind of weird that ACOTAR is a retelling of DISNEY Beauty and the Beast, when that is in itself a retelling. And this is going to be so helpful for me because I am going to do a creative writing honors project at my school, and although I haven’t quite decided what theme to follow, fairy tale retellings are on the top of my list, but I had no idea where to start with that idea. So if I go with that, this will help me so so much. THANK YOU. Awesome post idea!
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I’m glad you appreciate my flawless witty Frozen reference. :’) But ahhh thankyou! I’m super glad you liked it. hehe. And yes, we should like kidnap some authors and get them to fulfil our needs, yes? It will be a wonderful win. Nothing can go wrong with this plan.
AND I’M HERE TO BE INSPIRING SO YOU’RE WELCOME.
Literally just yes to all. I want more fairy tales in India. Honestly, after reading 5 to 1, I want EVERYTHING to take place in India. BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE FANTASTIC, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
Also, the Lunar Chronicles IS MY LIFE RIGHT NOW. I adore Winter, and Scarlet, and Cress, and Cinder, and ALL THE CHARACTERS. Though Winter is a precious darling and should be protected at all costs.
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YES EVERYTHING SHOULD BE IN INDIA, HONESTLY. And I will actually be very helpful right now and confess I’m planning a Secret Garden x Jungle Book retelling set in India. :’)
afjdklasd to those adorable precious Lunar darlings. <3 I WISH IT WASN'T OVER. I LOVE THAT SERIES SO MUCH!! I have high hopes for Heartless because MARISSA MEYER.
I like to not know I am reading a retelling. Is that weird? Maybe. Fine, probably. But like, when I KNOW things are retellings, I feel like I spend too much time worrying about similarities and less time on the actual story. I do NOT like when it is just a regurgitation of the original. That isn’t a REtelling it’s just… a telling. I do not approve.
And YES to all the possibilities- let’s have not just gender reversal, but different orientations – like, Handsome AND the Beast could be dudes, living in… um… Morocco! Yes, yes, Cait, I love ALL of your ideas, let’s do this!
And yeah, don’t be rude to the original story/writer. I feel like that should just be a “thing” that goes without saying, but sadly I guess not. I guess I need to finish The Lunar Chronicles is basically what I am taking away here. I am on it. (But not like, right now.)
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I actually remember you did a post sometime ago about not reading the originals before reading the retellings? Or maybe i’m imagining things.😂 Totally a possibility. Ahem. But yes no regurgitations. I always get so disappointed when that happens because it’s like where is the imagination??? And when does it stop being a retelling and start being just plagiarism?? HMMM? I have questions.
MY IDEAS ARE SO EXCITING I WANT TO WRITE ALL OF THESE MYSELF. In my spare time, yes?
And it’s actually ridiculous the amount of retellings I’ve read that diss the original. The Alice in Wonderland retellings are generally the most guilty which is SO WEIRD.
I had never thought about this! I’ve never been someone who reads retellings, but hell yes I would read them with gender swaps or if they were located in Alaska, China or the Sahara… Great post, it made me reconsider things!
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YAY! I’m so glad you liked the post!! And omg yes, more country settings would just be so amazing, right?! Imagination is the limit, so I wish authors embraced that more!
*hums Popular under breath* – DAMMIT CAIT. That’s going to be stuck in my head for the rest of the day.
Seriously though, I eat retellings for breakfast lunch and dinner. Well, I like to think I do (I’m actually doing a retelling challenge this year and failing miserably, but let’s not get into that). I am currently, methodically going through your shelf and making sure I have noted down all the ones I haven’t read yet, *slides imaginary glasses back up nose*.
Just as a subtle suggestion, I’m going to slide this book, Strings, across the table to you. I received it in a recent sub box and it’s a gender swapped retelling of Pinocchio. I stopped breathing, too.
Also, I cannot stop laughing about this evil queen residing in the south of Australia. And I”d love to see a retelling of Black Beauty! I have absolutely no idea how they’d do that but BRING IT.
You’re welcome. I’m actually here to be SUPER ANNOYING. It’s like my job in life *nods* And yesss, eating retellings for all meals is an excellent practise. I did a retelling challenge last year! But I’m actually finding it hard to find ones I haven’t read hahah…but omg Pinnochio?! I NEED THAT. I NEED THAT YESTERDAY.
Dude. Black Beauty with like evil demon horses. Just think about it. It’ll be gorgeous. *adds to to-do list*
Ugh yes I get pretty tired of medieval and medievalesque fantasy. PEOPLE. BE ORIGINAL. And even if it’s fantasy, make it different pls?? Once I wrote a story which was a Sleeping Beauty retelling which was fantasy, but like a Gothic detective mystery Edwardian and almost political thriller fantasy thing? I didn’t get past the first draft, but boy, I should really go back to it.
And this post is super great, jussayin’.
Omgggg you should DEFINITELY get back to that masterpiece you are creating. That is incredible!! IMAGINATION IS ENDLESS WHEN IT COMES TO RETELLINGS!! Which is why I get confused when so many sound the same, right?!?
Aaah, Cait! This post is PERFECTION! I loved it! And may I take this moment to (re-?)recommend Drown by Esther Dalseno? It sticks very closely to the originaly fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson, but there is SO MUCH MORE! It includes the origin story of the sea witch, there is a deadly disease that is killing off merpeople, the prince has a mental illness and is a person of colour, and is set I don’t know where, but I’m thinking a middle-eastern kind of area, and SO MUCH MORE! It was just brilliant and I loved it! It’s published as adult, but really, it’s not not YA. The Little Mermaid is a teenager. You might like it! I loved it!
But back to your post. I would also add more origin stories/fairy tales from the POV of the villain, please. I want more. Like Sea Witch by Sarah Henning! I AM SO EAGER FOR THAT BOOK!
But also retellings of other stories that have a fairy tale feel, like Mulan (love that Renee Ahdieh is going to write a a Mulan retelling), or even Pocahontas! That’ll tick the obscure retellings box, but also intriguing settings/historical retellings box.
And well, I just pretty much agree with everything you’ve said. I have a few retellings still waiting to be read for my retellings challenge, some are kind of sci-fi-esque retellings (Mechanica by Betsey Cornwell, a Cinderella retelling (sorry!) and Stitching Snow by R. C. Lewis, a Snow White retelling, obviously).
ALSO, Shakespeare retellings rather than fairy tales, but I have a sci-fi Othello retelling with people of colour, Chasing the Stars by Malorie Blackman, AND a gender-bent Hamlet retelling set in the 1920s, The Steep and Thorny Way by Cat Winters, starring the daughter of an African-American man and a white woman, and times are hard due to the KKK, and oooh, it sounds good!
While I’m here, have you reading Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige yet? Because I started it, and it was awesome… until Snow got to where she was supposed to be, and then it felt like the writing just went weird. I had to stop reading. I just couldn’t deal with it. But I know you like her Dorothy Must Die series, so I’m intrigued to know what you thought, and whether it’s worth persevering with?
Fantastic post, Cait, as always! 🙂
OKAY SO I NEED THIS DROWN BOOK IMMEDIATELY. OMG THAT SOUNDS SO AMAZING?!?! LIKE WHY HAVEN’T I HEARD OF IT BEFORE!! *shrieks* *dashes for goodreads* And I can’t wait for Renee Ahdieh’s Mulan retelling. Like I needed that yesterday omg. More historical retellings would be GLORIOUS and more of obscure folklore tales too! Basically MORE OF EVERYTHING.😂 I’m not demanding at all, of course not.
I actually still want to read Mechanica and Stitching Snow.😂 I say I’m picky but do I just eat every retelling I can? Yes. Yes I do.
Although I have to admit I don’t really get Shakespeare retellings because I never read Shakespeare.🙈🙊 Yes I am an uneducated shameful bookworm.
I did actually read Stealing Snow and….I GAVE IT 1-STAR, JO. I’M SO DISAPPOINTED.😩 Here’s my review if you’re interested.
Agreed. I love fairy tales and all retellings of them. I will admit I’m not as picky as you are (but you make a good point about the Lewis Carroll bit. RUDE!). (:
PICKY??? MEEEE?? NEVER.😂 Hehe. But yes, it’s just not right to sneer at the original if the book is using it as a huge influence!
My vote is for Snow White and the Seven Zombies, or a SciFi Snow White and the Seven Droids.
YES. ZOMBIES! Nothing can go wrong with zombies, tbh. Or better yet..zombie droids?!?
I’m actually writing a fairytale retelling right now with a gender swap! So this is all fantastic info to have actually! It’s tough to write because I want the balance to be right. I want it to be enough of the old story, but also enough of something new. I’m obsessed with fairytale retellings, which I why I wanted to write one of my own! When I’m done with the first draft and have edited it again and again I’d love for you to read it to give me some feedback! 🙂
OMG, SARA, YOU CLEARLY HAVE YOUR PRIORITIES IN ORDER. I’m very glad you’re writing a book JUST FOR ME. (hehehee😂) Ahem. Anyway. I’m totally obsessed with them too, as is only slightly obvious, and there are so many ways to do it which is exciting! I love how creative one can be and still like have elements of the original. :’)
This is interesting as some who is righting something that’s almost a fairytale retelling. But I changed it to0 much and it hardly qualifies as even a reimagining now.
One of the best fairytale retellings I’ve come across is The Firethorn Crown. It’s twelve dancing princesses. if I include looser retellings, I love the Eyes of Everia series. The first two books have major elements of ‘Snow White and Rose Red’ without it’s drawbacks. The second two books have some elements of twelve dancing princesses and are also a fierce bloody and romantic pirate story. And they both have cool telepathy and other magic, evil plots and hopelessly confusing prophesies. And pain and love and more pain. No, wait I meant more love.
And Petra is the perfect name for a gender swapped Peter. (says the friend of someone who’s latest book started when she tried to write The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe into a play and didn’t have enough boys)
But that’s still actually quite cool!! Like when it’s changed so much it’s only noticeable when you point it out?! IT’S LIKE A SURPRISE. I LOVE THAT.😂 I wrote a Beethoven x Cinderella retelling and nobody noticed till I pointed it out and then they were all “omg i see it now” which was very satisfying. hehe. ANYWAY. Firethorn Crown sounds amazing! Also pirates = AAAAMAZING THINGS so I should look that up!
I do really like retelling, but I hate it when they start by saying this is the correct one and all the others are wrong, I shall be the judge of that thank you!
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Ugh, I know right?!? It’s really rude actually and ALWAYS puts me off. Yet so many books do it?!? *quiet rages*
Love this list! yes to so many of these. I love Cinder because it is such a fun and unique retelling!
yesss Cinder was just SO AMAZING and I really think it kickstarted the retelling trend!
I have not read many {any?} retellings, but I want to. The Lunar Chronicles are already on my list {I’m waiting for the library to tell me Cinder is finally available, though I think I’m still 6th in line or something like that}. What are some good retellings that should be on my list but might not be???
Oh oh I should totally have put a list of recommended retellings here too! EEP. Okay so definitely Splintered and Princess of Thorns and Cruel Beauty and Tiger Lily!! 😍 I have a goodreads shelf here too if that helps.😜
Perfect! I will check these out plus your Goodreads shelf. Thank you!!
YOU HAVE GIVEN ME SOOOOO MANY PLOT BUNNIES CAIT. I swear like 99% of my books are retellings? There’s Wanderland and my Twelve Dancing Princesses one and the Jumanji retelling and TBH I’m trying to think of a retelling thread to put in Grizzly. BUT I SO AGREE ABOUT DISPARAGING THE ORIGINAL. Like hello, you wouldn’t have a book without the original. And nobody insults Lewis Carroll.
YOU ARE SO WELCOME. And honestly most of my books these days are retellings too. #noregrets (Heeeeeey I’m working on a DAVY JONES retelling right now because pirates. *nods*)
Nobody should be able to insult Lewis Carroll and live. Please. He is master.
Also you could TOTALLY make Grizzly into a retelling. Goldilocks and the three bears is THERE AND WAITING FOR YOU.
I loooove Six Impossible Things! Dan is one of my favourite fictional characters ever
Please write that Snow Queen in Australia story. Just please. xD
Yesss, Dan is amazing!! It’s been so long since I read that now I totally want to re-read.😂
You have to read Heartless Cait! I am devouring it right now! It is so deliciously good! Especially since you like stories with lots of desserts 🙂 It has plenty of cake and rose macaroons. It is making me hungry just thinking about it!
I’M TOTALLY 100% GOING TO READ HEARTLESS.😂 I just wish it was out already!
The gender swap ones are my favorite! I want a gender swapped Peter Pan.
Saaaaame! That’d be so amazing! WE MUST WRITE SOME, SKYE.
Great list and I completely agree with your checklist! I love retellings, though I’m still discovering a lot of them. I did love The Lunar Chronicles, that seriously is a shining example of retellings done right.
I would really love to read some Mulan retellings. I’m looking forward to the new book by Renee Ahdieh, which is supposed to be inspired by Mulan, so I can’t wait! 🙂
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OMG YES ABSOLUTELY YES!! I’m so excited for that upcoming Mulan retelling. Actually dying in agony that it’s so far away.😂
I love darker retellings. I read the classics as a child but what speaks to me is a smattering of darkness!!
I also love it when I don’t know what’s being retold until about halfway through the tale. Keeps me on my toes 🙂
Saaaame. The darker the better basically!!
I’m writing a Steampunk Little Merman story so you should be very pleased with me. XD
Not sure what I want in a retelling — maybe I’m less picky than you? — but I do actually enjoy the traditional European fantasy setting because that’s my favorite… And sometimes retellings are done “wrong” but I haven’t analyzed what I dislike about the ones I didn’t like as much… so you’re ahead of me. 😛 BUT YES, ALL OF THE RETELLINGS!! 😀 *flails in all the fairytales etc.*
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I AM ENDLESSLY PLEASED WITH YOU, DEBORAH. *pats you on the head* Good job.
Hehe, at least we both very much enjoy fairy tales!😂
Oh I very much agree with the twist and setting. What is the point of retelling a fairy tale if you are just going to tell it as everyone already knows it? Where is the fun in that? And settings can really help with that. To create a fairy tale feeling but also to create something more unique about the story that you are telling.
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EXACTLY!! I totally get mind-boggled when I read a “retelling” that feels like it’s just 100% saying what the original story was saying. Like. Wut. Whyyyyy does it exist?!
I think different countries have different myths and fairytales that would do brilliantly as retellings without the umpteenth Grimm retelling. I’d like a genderswapped, messing with everything tale that is still recognisably a fairytale, if that makes sense? does that make sense? Like The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman.
It does make sense!! I think there are ones out there that do have tons of different twists but we can STILL tell that they’re a retelling! *flails* Those are my favourite kinds.
Oho have I got some recs for you!
Seanan McGuire is one of my favorite authors ever. She has an Amazing urban fantasy fae series and some kick-ass zombie books as well. She is also kind of obsessed with fairy tales. She wrote this incredible novella called Indexing about the Fairytale Management Bureau, an agency who tries to control fairy tales and keeping them from manifesting in the world because they tend to kill/maim lots of people in grisly ways. It’s FANTASTIC.
I would also recommend Jasper Ffoorde’s Nursery Crimes series. Jack Spratt is a detective who investigates myriad crimes set in the world of traditional nursery rhymes. I believe the first one is called The Big Overeasy. (Investigating the death of Humpty Dumpty of course).
OMG I WANT!! Is that the author of Every Heart a Doorway or am I mixing things up? Because I really want to read that one!! And I’ll look up JAsper Ffoorde too! *flails*
At the risk of totally embarrassing myself and/or having you yell at me b/c Cinderella, I’m just going to leave part 1 of my Cinderella retelling here – feel no obligation to check it out *hides behind hands*
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Aww, thanks for that! I’m not sure I’ll get a chance to read it but I’ll try! 🙂
These are some of the reasons why Goose Girl is soooooo awesome! (side voice: Sorry, Isi is a bit obsessed with that book and telling people about it). And it’s a total retelling, though most pumpkinheads don’t realize it. Yes, it’s an obscure retelling and all, but really, the fairy-tale has the same name as the book, so why is nobody but me realizing this until someone waves it in front of their face?! Honestly, some people think they know Grimms, but they do not. I’d like to think I’m not one of those people, though. (side voice: Do not listen to her – if she is not one of those people now, she totally has been before. She could not reference more than half of Grimms’s tales at very most. Do not listen to her bubbling. She is just a big pineapple). *I look threateningly at side voice* Well, anyways, at least I’d like to think so. (to side voice: SO LET ME THINK SO!).
Also, I think that while it wouldn’t be a great fairy-tale retelling set, we do need some cool stories with characters or places in Australia. I have a story for NaNo where two main characters are Russian and fighting for a reinstated (better) Russian empire, and another main character backing them up is from Australia. (Because you know, since Russia = awesome, and Australia = tough, that must make my book equivalent to the equation Russia + Australia + teamwork = awesome and tough? Hopefully me math there is not faulty…. 😛 😉
Haha, I FEEL LIKE YOU REALLY LIKE GOOSE GIRL.😂 I need to bump it up higher on the TBR then. 😉 Oh but yes, it’s impossible to say “you know Grimm” unless you’ve read some originals. I’ve read a few books with their original tales and like THEY’RE ALL SO SUPER CREEPY. Have you ever seen the movie The Brothers Grimm?? It’s so weird but also awesome.
Bahahha I’m laughing at the Australia = tough.😂 I wouldn’t exactly describe us that way? BUT YAY RUSSIA!! I write Russian fantasy too! *hi fives*
I am myself a fairy tale retelling “eater extraordinaire”. I couldn’t help myself, but use your expression! It is so prettily said. 🙂 Anyway! Fairy tales retellings are so fascinating and there are endless possibilities. Oh, I’ve seen this book btw on GoodReads with fairy tales + zombies. I even thought about review it for Halloween but chose a retelling of the little red riding hood instead.
It would be also terrific to have crossovers between fairy tales. (But it’s maybe because I have this idea for this book for so long!) Snow White fighting a war against the Beast. Ariel falling in love with Peter Pan. Like I said, endless stories to tell!
It’s the best way of summarising our fairy tale obsession right? *hi fives* 😂 WE JUST NEED THAT ON A TEE-SHIRT NOW. I so so like the endless possibilities too!! Like you have that little sliver of something we all know and then — BOOM — so much room for imagination and creativity. :’)
And yes I love crossovers!! I think that’s why I love The Lunar Chronicles so much because it mixes up so many!!
Argh, the notification of a new reply has been buried deep inside one of my email addresses. But yes, I would wear this t-shirt being fabulous and with a touch of glitter! 😎 Could be awesome with epic illustrations.
BRILLIANT POST!
I love the Lunar Chronicles – and it’s thanks to you I found them! I’m writing a amputee Sleeping Beauty currently.
That sounds amazing….
Okay, sorry, bye….
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@Minna: OMG REALLY!??! I’m so glad I introduced you to them then!! *flails* And an amputee Sleeping Beauty sounds AMAZING. WANT.
This is such a hard question, because there really is no right answer. It’s definitely a balance of staying true to the original fairy tale vs. taking creative liberties and making the fairy tale your own. The fairy tale elements have to be recognizable, but they can’t be so similar to the original fairy tale that it seems like you’re telling the fairy tale word-for-word. Marissa Meyer does an amazing job with maintaining a perfect balance though – it’s super impressive. Thanks for sharing Cait and, as always, fabulous discussion! <3
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I do like the tale to be slightly recognisable too!! Although I’m okay if it’s more vague, because I don’t like to predict the whole book just because I know the original, you know? YAAAAS MARISSA MEYER BALANCES IT PERFECTLY. You can recognise things, but you never know exactly how it’ll happen because she has so many unique twists.
Hahaha yes to all this! Though it is safe to say that the more checked off boxes there are, the more I’m likely to read said retelling! Then again let’s be honest I would probably read any fairy tale retelling as long as I love the original tale!
Saaaame.😂 I mean, I literally see the word “retelling” and I’m signing up to read it immediately. I HAVE AN ADDICTION.
Yessss Gender swapped fairy tales are seriously my favourite! You know that Cinder is my favourite. And yes, I love your suggestion of different genre fairy tales, that is seriously so much cool. I can’t wait to see more of this Cait!
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I’m so glad you’re a huge fan of Cinder too!! *flails* Marissa Meyer is so QUEEN OF RETELLINGS. I’m hoping Heartless doesn’t disappoint!
GENDERBENDS, YES. I would sell my soul to Crowley for more genderbent retellings. Ten years is enough time to read all the books in the history of ever, right??
Your bread/toast analogy is spot on. xD
YAAYYYY MORE GENDER BENDS FOR SURE! But, c’mon now, Kate. I think you’ve watched enough Supernatural to know it’s NOT A GOOD IDEA TO INVOLVE CROWELY. (Although he’s kind of a teddy bear but ya know. Whatever.😂)
I completely agree with all of this!! I absolutely love retellings and I hate ones that just retell the same story. I read Ash and like you, I was bored. Now there is a contemporary retelling of Cinderella that I like (I know, I know, Cinderella is so overdone). It’s called Damsel Distressed and Cinderella is actually the evil stepsister in that one. Oh, and there is another one called Alice by Christina Henry. It’s adult fiction and it is DARK. I mean, I will never look at the caterpillar in Alice and Wonderland quite the same way. But it’s good. I would love a retelling of The Secret Garden. I love that book! Great post.
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I was soooo disappointed by Ash because I’d had it really hyped up with people for being diverse. And yeah, I mean, YAY that it was diverse…but like I didn’t want to just read the original Cinderella story again, right??! Gah. Oooh, I shall look up Damsel Distressed! OMG BUT ALICE INTRIGUES ME A LOT THEN.
Oh yes I agree. The retelling needs to offer something different to the original, but needs to still be recognisable. And I don’t mind the gender swap thing at all.
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We are in entire agreement then here *hi fives* It’d be nice to see more gender-swaps for sure!!
Yes to pretty much everything on this list. I love fairy tale retellings (I have a truly embarrassing number on my Goodreads shelf), and I’ve developed high standards for the genre that most books fall short of.
I totally agree with your wish for non-traditional retellings. My favorite fairy tale retellings are the ones that deviate significantly from the original–I want enough common points so it’s still recognizable as a retelling, but I don’t want a point-by-point recap of the same plot–and I get most excited for retellings in non-fantasy genres and non-medieval-European settings. Most of my own story ideas are fairy tale retellings, but I find that even as an author, I get bored if there’s not significant variation from the original tale.
And YES, YES, YES, to your point about retellings that diss the original. I DESPISE stories that do that, and I automatically reject almost all stories with synopses like, “The Grimm Brothers were wrong, here’s the REAL story of Cinderella”. Because it’s snide and disrespectful of the story that inspired the novel. And it’s especially ridiculous when applied to fairy tales. Grimm and Disney weren’t the only ones to retell fairy tales. There are thousands of versions of Cinderella, so it’s ridiculous to act like your retelling is the One True Version.
This is such a BRILLIANT post, Cait! I found myself nodding along to everything you said (like I don’t do that with ALL your posts, hahahaHA) and I’m surprised more authors don’t listen to you. Like, things would be so much more FUN FUN FUN if they include at least ONE of these. Gender swaps are always great, and so are obscure stories. Exploring different genres is something all books should be doing, in my honest opinion, but it’s admittedly MORE fun when it’s done in fairytale retellings. Great post, as always, Cait! <3
This is such a BRILLIANT post, Cait! I found myself nodding along to everything you said (like I don’t do that with ALL your posts, hahahaHA) and I’m surprised more authors don’t listen to you. Like, things would be so much more FUN FUN FUN if they include at least ONE of these. Gender swaps are always great, and so are obscure stories. Exploring different genres is something all books should be doing, in my honest opinion, but it’s admittedly MORE fun when it’s done in fairytale retellings. Great post, as always, Cait! <3
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Okay Cait, so you just have to learn German. NOW! RIGHT NOW!
Because there is this series called “Die dreizehnte Fee” (13. Fairy) and well it´s dark, and stabby, and epic, and with GENIUS!!! plottwists and OMG I just LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE it!!! ♥
Mary <3
OKAY THAT SOUNDS SPECTACULAR. SOMEONE SIGN ME UP FOR GERMAN IMMEDIATELY.😂
I agree completely! I’m also a fan of retellings (although I haven’t read nearly as many as you have!) and this list will help me to think through my own pitiful attempts at retellings in the future! Thanks, Cait!
There are 62 books on my fairytale retelling shelf on Goodreads. At the moment. And I am always adding more. The amount I love fairytale retellings is INSANE. Like, seriously. If I had the patience/inspiration, I would write one myself.
But this post, yes, I agree with pretty much everything.
You should though!! WRITING THEM IS SO FUN.😂 (Okay, say she who only wrote one and it was so vaguely related that it really can’t even be called a retelling haha. *collapses*) 😂 But yay! I’m glad you liked the post. :’)
Have you read manga? If not, please give it a shot. It’s like comics, but BETTER. The art can be either gorgeous or cute and the characters are so real it hurts sometimes that they’re not real. And they are SO funny. You do have to get used to reading right to left, but no sweat, you can do it I believe in you. I recommend: One Piece by: Eiichiro Oda (It’s about pirates!!!), Bleach by Tite Kubo, Pandora Hearts, and Rurouni Kenshin. Some are super long, like One Piece, but don’t let that scare you, since manga is a mix of art and words and the volumes aren’t that thick, it’s easy to breeze through them. You should be able to get them through the library or read them online. Or watch them. It’s called anime if it’s a T.V. series.
I mention manga because of one of my favorites, Fruits Basket, has one of the best Cinderella retellings I have ever read in my life. Ever. It’s actually a play the students put on halfway (?) through the series called Something Cinderella-ish. It is so good. I want someone to write a book equivalent of it. It is that. good.
Anyway I just discovered your site and I love it.
I’ve read the Death Note series! I did really like it! My library doesn’t have too bad of a selection actually, but I just have sooo many books to read so I haven’t investigated anymore series.🙈🙊
I’m so glad you like my blog though! THANK YOU!
I’M SO GLAD TO SEE THIS, INSTA-SHARE ON TWITTER. But seriously it’s so helpful and I hope people will follow some of these tips more because well, THESE ARE AWESOME. One of the things I dislike the most with retelling is when they just copy the whole damn plot of the original tale with one tweak and call it a day. It kills the suspense. And most of the time, the characters are boring – classic teenagers without real depth, relaying too much on the plot. And. In that case. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO CARE ABOUT THEM ? IF I ALREADY KNOW WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN ?? *stop the caps rachel and go out*
Anyway, let’s all bow to Merissa Meyer because she rocks the retelling genre. I mean the plot of Cinder was pretty close to the original tale so I knew there would be a prince she’d fall in love with, and a ball she’d intend, but what makes the story so good is that 1) it’s just the first book meaning WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE’S MORE, 2) the characters and setting are interesting, and 3) there are so many subplots and things that differ from the original that it feels like a totally fresh story. Cinderella + dystopia + aliens. How can you make it any more original ? So yeah. THAT’S THE PERFECT RETELLING.
Honestly as long as the story and characters feel fresh I’m perfectly happy with, say, a Cinderella retelling – I’d totally read “Cait goes to the ball” just to see how it would go, and because a story with Cait will have glorious cakes and Cinderella turning into a dragon to destroy the castle.
I’m writing a Sleeping Beauty retelling which is kinda, like, really different from the original tale – basically instead of a Middle-Age princess getting cursed and needing to be saved by a kiss ; it’s the story of Aurora, 16, narcoleptic and wanting to become an excellent football player despite that. And it takes place in a futuristic world. Blame Mario Strikers Charged Football for this one, I love violent football with no rules.
What about a 12 dancing princesses retelling? just another thought!!
also i so agree about how dull retellings can be sometimes- GIVE ME ALL THE TWISTSSSSSS
Oh yes! That would be amazing!
Oh my. I couldn ‘t agree more with ALL of your criteria. Makes me itch to read another retelling right now . . . I’m heading STRAIGHT over to check out your list!! Thanks for this post, it made me smile and giggle and nod in agreement many times 😀
Aww thanks so much, Ashlee!! You’re so kind!
Schizophrenic Winter was a fave! I really did love Marissa Meyer’s take on the fairy tales. My favourite character was definitely Cress because she’s a daydreamer like me!
And ugh! Bashing the original author? Like, how could you?????
I’m HUGE on Fairy Retellings. I’ve already planned for the third book I write to be this huge fantasy involving loads of fairy tales😁😁
I hope to see a retelling of The 12 Dancing Princesses. I feel like it would turn out amazing if done right – and ooooh I used to love the Barbie movies and their fairy tale retellings😂
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