Top 5 Sunday: Re-Told Fairytales

 

Hello! This week on Larissa's Bookish Life, they picked a theme I suggested! Re-Told Fairytales. :) I really, really love re-told fairytales. They make me very happy. Here are some of my favorites, in no particular order.

Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier, a re-telling of the Wild Swans, my favorite fairytale of all time. This book is just beautifully written wonderful in so many ways.

Deerskin by Robin McKinley, a re-telling of Allerleirauh, another one of my favorite fairytales, and also one of the less common ones. This is a really dark story, but also very beautiful.

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale, a re-telling of, shocker, the Goose Girl, another more obscure fairytale. This one's more kid-friendly than the previous two books on my list, and a lot of fun.

The Once Upon a Time series of YA books published by Simon & Shuster. These are short and sweet re-tellings of a variety of fairytales and legends, including Wild Orchid by Cameron Dokey (the Ballad of Hua Mulan), The Storyteller's Daughter by Cameron Dokey (Scheherezade), Water Song by Suzanne Weyn (the Frog Prince), etc.

Born of Silence by Sherrilyn Kenyon. Ok, so this one is not technically a fairytale re-telling, or at least, it isn't advertised as such. Still, I am convinced that the author was thinking of both Beauty and the Beast and the tale of Eros and Psyche when she wrote it. Really. Read the two stories, then read the novel and tell me you don't see the similarities.

Aaaaand....Because I read so many fairytales, I can't stop at 5. I must add more, such as:

Cinder by Marissa Meyer & Sequels. Cyberpunk fairytales = awesome.

Five Hundred Kingdoms series by Mercedes Lackey; a fantasy world where the characters are forced to live by fairytale rules and sometimes twist them to their advantage.

Entwined by Heather Dixon, a lovely re-telling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses.

Seven Daughters and Seven Sons by Barbara Cohen and Bahija Lovejoy. This is a folktale rather than fairytale, but I love it so much that I'm counting it anyway.

Everything by Alex Flinn (loved Beastly) Jane Nickerson, Melanie Dickerson, Jessica Day George...I could keep going, but I'm already cheating enough as it is. :)

                      Lieder Madchen

Book Review #7: Wild Orchid by Cameron Dokey

Wild Orchid
by Cameron Dokey

Age: Young Adult, recommended for 10 and up
Genre: Semi-Historical, Almost-Fantasy Romance

I have loved the story of Mulan ever since I was a little girl and saw the Disney movie. Now, looking back, it was an extremely silly movie with really dumb songs, but I still remember it fondly. This book is nothing like the movie. It tells the story of a brave girl who wants only to be free, but she is not the rebellious young woman with a bad attitude as portrayed in the film.

Mulan was born an unusual child, the product of a marriage of true love when such a thing was rarely seen. Her father, a great general, was away when her mother gave birth and died. He left his daughter to grow up alone, not even knowing her mother's name. It is no surprise then that she grew up wild, learning many things that a girl would not normally learn, such as how to read and write, how to ride a horse and shoot a bow. When her father is forced home at last, they do not know what to make of each other. I do not wish to spoil anything, so I will not say what happens next. This book is written in an almost lyrical fashion that is rarely seen in modern works that is oddly refreshing, as is the pure and simple romance of the story. I would definitely recommend this book to any girl 10 and up, but I read it aloud to my little brother and he liked it, too, so maybe a few boys would enjoy it as well. :)

There is no profanity in this novel.

Sexuality is limited to a single kiss, so I will give it a 1.10.

There is one battle described in this book, but it is not offensively graphic so I will rate it a 3.10.

                                                                    Lieder Madchen