Written by contributor Elena Horne
Lovers of retellings have all read their fair share of variations on glass slippers and poisoned apples, but what about classic literature? Tudor history? Mythology? If you’re looking for a great YA retelling with no mention of deadly spindles or beanstalks, give one of these non-fairytale retellings a try.
Heartless by Marissa Meyer
A retelling of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland
This standalone novel by the author of The Lunar Chronicles tells the origin story of the Queen of Hearts. With dozens of clever allusions to characters in the original tale, Meyer’s dark and heartbreaking adaptation will have you rooting for Catherine. This daughter of Wonderland nobility will win your heart with her lemon tarts and dreams of opening a bakery, leaving you both sad and strangely satisfied once she inevitably becomes the maniacal Queen of Hearts.
These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong
A retelling of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
Shakespeare, minus the iambic pentameter and minimalist female characters, plus Shanghai in the 1920s with our two leads the heirs to two rival gangs with a complicated past. We’ve all seen Romeo and Juliet retold with gangs before, but this Juliet will kick all the other Juliets’ butts. Literally. With lots of violence, drama, and an unexplainably contagious madness, Chloe Gong’s Shakespeare retelling is gritty and wonderfully original.
The Dead Queens Club by Hannah Capin
A retelling of Tudor history, specifically Henry VIII
Henry VIII is the captain of the football team, and he’s always got the current “it” girl on his arm, but not all his relationships end well. Just ask his ex, Anna Boleyn. Told from the point of view of the sarcastic high school version of Anne of Cleves, this Tudor retelling is filled with little nuggets of history twisted into high school drama and humour. The Dead Queens Club is part retelling and part thriller with an unforgettable cast, particularly the six “wives”/girlfriends of this king of campus. Capin’s debut retelling is not to be missed.
A Touch of Gold by Annie Sullivan
A retelling of Greek myth, “King Midas”
What if everything King Midas turned to gold didn’t just change back, but stayed cursed, including his daughter? What if his cursed gold objects were stolen, and Midas’s daughter has to use her strange gold-inspired powers to retrieve them with a team of pirates in an exciting seafaring adventure? Annie Sullivan’s Midas retelling, A Touch of Gold is packed with high adventure and sweet romance. This retelling is followed up by the sequel, A Curse of Gold, and will satisfy any craving for a Disney movie in YA fantasy form.
The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston
A retelling of Mark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper
This contemporary fandom-centric retelling is the second in a series, sandwiched between two fairy tale retellings of Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast. However, as each book in Ashley Poston’s Once Upon a Con series follows new characters, you can enjoy The Princess and the Fangirl without reading the first book in the series (though Geekerella may just be the book to get you interested in Cinderella again). Told in dual points of view between Jess (the princess) and Imogen (the fangirl), this rom-com retelling will have you falling in love with its two leads and eagerly planning your next cosplay.
Brightly Burning by Alexa Donne
A retelling of Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre in space. Need I say more? If The 100 had a baby with Charlotte Bronte’s classic Gothic novel, it would be Brightly Burning. Stella Ainsley is our space-aged Jane, hired as a governess on a private spaceship. This sci-fi retelling brings the romance as well as the dangers of surviving outer space in a thrilling ride through Donne’s gorgeous post-apocalyptic space world. If you love Brightly Burning, be sure to also check out Donne’s companion novel, The Stars We Steal, described as Persuasion meets The Bachelor!
