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Swan Sister: Fairy Tales Retold
Featuring contributions from such noted authors as Neil Gaiman, Tanith Lee, Christopher Rowe, and Jane Yolen, an extraordinary volume contains a vast array of unique stories drawn from classic fairy tales, including Sleeping Beauty, Arabian Nights, and Little Red Riding Hood.
176 pages, Hardcover
First published April 22, 2003
12 people are currently reading
1177 people want to read
About the author
Ellen Datlow
278 books1,874 followersEllen Datlow has been editing science fiction, fantasy, and horror short fiction for forty years as fiction editor of OMNI Magazine and editor of Event Horizon and SCIFICTION. She currently acquires short stories and novellas for Tor.com. In addition, she has edited about one hundred science fiction, fantasy, and horror anthologies, including the annual The Best Horror of the Year series, The Doll Collection, Mad Hatters and March Hares, The Devil and the Deep: Horror Stories of the Sea, Echoes: The Saga Anthology of Ghost Stories, Edited By, and Final Cuts: New Tales of Hollywood Horror and Other Spectacles.
She's won multiple World Fantasy Awards, Locus Awards, Hugo Awards, Bram Stoker Awards, International Horror Guild Awards, Shirley Jackson Awards, and the 2012 Il Posto Nero Black Spot Award for Excellence as Best Foreign Editor. Datlow was named recipient of the 2007 Karl Edward Wagner Award, given at the British Fantasy Convention for "outstanding contribution to the genre," was honored with the Life Achievement Award by the Horror Writers Association, in acknowledgment of superior achievement over an entire career, and honored with the World Fantasy Life Achievement Award at the 2014 World Fantasy Convention.
She's won multiple World Fantasy Awards, Locus Awards, Hugo Awards, Bram Stoker Awards, International Horror Guild Awards, Shirley Jackson Awards, and the 2012 Il Posto Nero Black Spot Award for Excellence as Best Foreign Editor. Datlow was named recipient of the 2007 Karl Edward Wagner Award, given at the British Fantasy Convention for "outstanding contribution to the genre," was honored with the Life Achievement Award by the Horror Writers Association, in acknowledgment of superior achievement over an entire career, and honored with the World Fantasy Life Achievement Award at the 2014 World Fantasy Convention.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
April 15, 2017
This time, the book didn't turn out as high-quality as the Datlow & Windling team had accustomed me to expect from their anthologies, and from the 13 short-story retellings I only liked two:
GOLDEN FUR by Midori Snyder
4 stars.
A lovely original tale loosely inspired by stories from the Arabian Nights as the author specified. If you can't pinpoint which story it is, then it can easily be thought of as a "Sleeping Beauty" retelling with an non-Western exotic feel. It's a straight, simple, sweet and happy tale, and one that could be read to young ones the way traditional fairy tales can, because it's a "clean" one. Oh, and the writing is fairly good, too.
LUPE by Kathe Koja
3 stars.
One of two "Little Red Riding Hood" retellings in this collection, and in my opinion the best (the other one is unremarkable). Red here is a Hispanic girl, there's no Big Bad Wolf, and Grandmother is, for once, an energetic and resourceful old lady instead of the helpless woman in need of care and/or rescue. Could've been written better, however, and a bit more tension, more challenges for Red (since there's no Big Bad Wolf, she needed obstacles) would've improved the plot.
The rest of stories were either mediocre or couldn't grab my interest for long, though a couple of authors usually get my attention with whatever they put out. Recommended, but caution is advised because you may not like most of the stories.
GOLDEN FUR by Midori Snyder
4 stars.
A lovely original tale loosely inspired by stories from the Arabian Nights as the author specified. If you can't pinpoint which story it is, then it can easily be thought of as a "Sleeping Beauty" retelling with an non-Western exotic feel. It's a straight, simple, sweet and happy tale, and one that could be read to young ones the way traditional fairy tales can, because it's a "clean" one. Oh, and the writing is fairly good, too.
LUPE by Kathe Koja
3 stars.
One of two "Little Red Riding Hood" retellings in this collection, and in my opinion the best (the other one is unremarkable). Red here is a Hispanic girl, there's no Big Bad Wolf, and Grandmother is, for once, an energetic and resourceful old lady instead of the helpless woman in need of care and/or rescue. Could've been written better, however, and a bit more tension, more challenges for Red (since there's no Big Bad Wolf, she needed obstacles) would've improved the plot.
The rest of stories were either mediocre or couldn't grab my interest for long, though a couple of authors usually get my attention with whatever they put out. Recommended, but caution is advised because you may not like most of the stories.
February 8, 2016
This is a short collection of retold fairy tales. Half the fun of reading it, for me, was figuring out which fairy tale was being retold - sometimes i didn't get it until the very end and sometimes I didn't get it at all. Who knew have many different fairy tales there were in this world? Some of them very well written (The Harp That Sang), some of them were just okay (A Life in Miniature) and one of them was so hauntingly beautiful that it made me cry and I can't stop thinking about it (My Swan Sister). If you're into retold fairy tales, this is worth picking up.
March 29, 2010
Jane Yolen still rocks, but she didn't have the best story in this collection.
The best story, hands down, is "My Swan Sister" by Katerine Vaz. To say anything about it would spoil it. Just read it. Even if you don't buy this book or read anything else it, read that story.
The second best story is Midori Snyder's "Golden Fur", which is a nice twist on the enchanted princess theme. Also enjoyable was Gaiman's poem about Sherezade as well as a lovely retelling of "The Fisherman and his Wife".
But read "My Swan Sister".
The best story, hands down, is "My Swan Sister" by Katerine Vaz. To say anything about it would spoil it. Just read it. Even if you don't buy this book or read anything else it, read that story.
The second best story is Midori Snyder's "Golden Fur", which is a nice twist on the enchanted princess theme. Also enjoyable was Gaiman's poem about Sherezade as well as a lovely retelling of "The Fisherman and his Wife".
But read "My Swan Sister".
August 16, 2017
Ellen Datlow generally puts together a very good anthology, and Swan Sister is no different. I don't think there's a bad story in the bunch-- some forgettable ones, sure, I don't remember Awake or Chambers of the Heart at all-- and there are some really great ones.
Like, Lupe? Fabulous. It's about grief and recovery as told through the lens of Little Red Riding Hood. Then, The Girl in the Attic, also about grief and recovery, but this time using Cinderella (or Rapunzel? Hard to tell, but it's lovely either way). And, finally, the absolutely gorgeous, heartwrenching, fantastic story that closes the collection, My Swan Sister. Even thinking about it kind of makes me choke up. If you're interested in nothing else, pick this up for My Swan Sister. You won't soon forget it.
Like, Lupe? Fabulous. It's about grief and recovery as told through the lens of Little Red Riding Hood. Then, The Girl in the Attic, also about grief and recovery, but this time using Cinderella (or Rapunzel? Hard to tell, but it's lovely either way). And, finally, the absolutely gorgeous, heartwrenching, fantastic story that closes the collection, My Swan Sister. Even thinking about it kind of makes me choke up. If you're interested in nothing else, pick this up for My Swan Sister. You won't soon forget it.
January 17, 2018
Stories like chips: you can't stop after one. Good selection.
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August 10, 2023
Two to three good ones (and those are actually pretty good) but some other are not just boring but unpleasant (especially the ones that reek of rich kid or those that try to be too contemporary).
October 12, 2009
Summary and Analysis: This book is a collection of "fairy tales retold" written by many different authors and contains two versions of Little Red Riding Hood, a version of Rapunzel, a version of Sleeping Beauty, and many more. This collection would be appropriate for middle school readers, as intermediate readers might miss some of the humor in the tales. The two Little Red Riding Hood tales within this book are called "Little Red and the Big Bad" and "Lupe".
Little Red and the Big Bad gives the traditional tale an urban setting and the narrator tells the tale in urban slang, "You know I'm giving the straight and deep 'cause it's about a friend of a friend. A few weeks back, just 'cross town, a true sweet chiquita, called Red for her fave red hoodie, gets a 911 from her momma's momma." In this tale, Red is given the task of bringing Chinese take-out to her sick grandmother and meets "Big Bad" along the way. Big Bad appears to be a typical neighborhood hooligan but Red finds him attractive and can't help but flirt a little bit. Turns out, Big Bad sees Red's grandmother's address on the takeout slip and beats her there. Once inside, he threatens them for the Chinese take out. This tale is left open ended, as the narrator does not tell us what happens to the characters.
Lupe, on the other hand, presents a more traditional version of the fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood. In Lupe, a young girl named Guadelupe - Lupe for short - spends a great deal of her time in the woods, in order to escape the misery in her family following the death of her baby brother. Eventually, Lupe is given the task of visiting Old Blanca, the terrifying witch that lives in the woods. Lupe's grief-stricken mother gives her this task because, as she puts it, "'Who else can help me? Who else will give me back what I have lost?'" Lupe reaches Old Blanca's house without incident but is confronted by a wolf after she enters Old Blanca's house. The wolf disappears after frightening Lupe, and Old Blanca is suddenly present. One gets the sense that the wolf was actually Old Blanca and Lupe had just passed some sort of test. Old Blanca does agree to help Lupe and her family and upon returning home - Lupe finds that the deep depression that had a hold of her family is now gone. Soon enough, Lupe's mother announces that she is again pregnant.
Both of these tales are very different than the traditional fairy tale version of Little Red Riding Hood and I enjoyed both equally. Little Red and Big Bad was truly a pleasure to read because it was full of humor and it represented the only "realistic fiction" retelling of the fairy tale I had encountered. However, the author's decision to make this tale a "cliff hanger" did not sit well with me but I did enjoy the suspensful implication at the end that "Big Bad" was not too far away from the reader. I also was a little confused during Little Red and Big Bad because after describing Big Bad as a neighborhood thug, it seemed that he was actually a wolf after all during the climax of the story and the traditional dialogue. I would have prefered that the author did not return to the literal interpretation of an actual wolf as the antagonist in this tale.
On the other hand, Lupe was the stronger story, for me, because it did not have the feel of a Red Riding Hood retelling. It seems to me that Lupe can stand alone in its own right. The only major elements that Lupe and Little Red Riding Hood has in common was the woods as a setting and the presence of a wolf. In Lupe, the woods are portrayed in a positive light, a place to be cautious of - but not to be afraid of. In fact, Lupe finds refuge in the woods when her family falls apart following the death of her younger brother. In Lupe, the wolf is a minor portion of the story - one gets the sense that the wolf isn't even real and the traditional dialogue between Little Red Riding Hood and the wolf is missing from this tale.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 29, 2013
Excellent short-story anthology of retold fairytales.
This is the companion volume to 'A Wolf At the Door', but I think, overall, it was better.
1 · Greenkid · Jane Yolen ·
Well done, very short piece with a modern setting, but an atmosphere completely based in classic fairy tales. A new boy in town is trying to impress a pretty neighbor before school starts - when he discovers a seemingly lost infant... and insists on 'rescuing' it, against his neighbor's warning...
13 · Golden Fur · Midori Snyder ·
Inspired by the Arabian Nights, a prince must take the advice of a golden-furred creature to rescue a princess from an enchanted castle of ogres...
30 · Chambers of the Heart · Nina Kiriki Hoffman ·
Bluebeard has killed many wives... but when he coerces the poor but beautiful neighbor into marrying him, he may have met his match in her family..
49 · Little Red and the Big Bad · Will Shetterly ·
I love Will Shetterly, but I didn't think this effort to transpose Little Red Riding Hood into 'the Hood' worked very well.
55 · The Fish's Story · Pat York ·
A retelling of the story of the magic fish who agrees to grant wishes in order to save its life. In this one, the familiar woman who insists on mansions is across the lake - and a poor orphaned fishergirl deals with her aunt's selfish demands and her grief over her mother's loss..
69 · The Children of the Tilford Fortune · Christopher Rowe ·
Two children, left a not-very-valuable inheritance, set out to analyze supply an demand and trade their things where they are most wanted - and decide what it is they really want.
82 · The Girl in the Attic · Lois Metzger ·
A girl, after her father's death, refuses to speak to her stepmother. But a magic bird helps both the girl and the woman to understand each other.
93 · The Harp That Sang · Gregory Frost ·
A well-done retelling of the story of the gypsy harp whose strings sing out the truth - that the woman from whose hair and bones the harp was made was murdered, and she accuses her murderer - her own sister - from beyond the grave.
106 · A Life in Miniature · Bruce Coville ·
Tom Thumb, in this absurdist story, is the product of a genetics lab's illicit experiment.
121 · Lupe · Kathe Koja ·
After the death of a baby, a grief-stricken mother sends her daughter out to the forest to ask help of a feared witch... but all ends up even better than one might have hoped in this Spanish-flavored story. Good, but I really wish Koja would go back to adult horror!
134 · Awake · Tanith Lee ·
What if, for that hundred years, Sleeping Beauty wasn't really asleep? What if time was stopped, and she was spending all that time adventuring and learning from the fairies..?
148 · Inventing Aladdin · Neil Gaiman ·
a poem, as usual, from Gaiman.
153 · My Swan Sister · Katherine Vaz
Not really a fairy tale, but an incredibly touching, true story of the author's sister, who died as an infant.
This is the companion volume to 'A Wolf At the Door', but I think, overall, it was better.
1 · Greenkid · Jane Yolen ·
Well done, very short piece with a modern setting, but an atmosphere completely based in classic fairy tales. A new boy in town is trying to impress a pretty neighbor before school starts - when he discovers a seemingly lost infant... and insists on 'rescuing' it, against his neighbor's warning...
13 · Golden Fur · Midori Snyder ·
Inspired by the Arabian Nights, a prince must take the advice of a golden-furred creature to rescue a princess from an enchanted castle of ogres...
30 · Chambers of the Heart · Nina Kiriki Hoffman ·
Bluebeard has killed many wives... but when he coerces the poor but beautiful neighbor into marrying him, he may have met his match in her family..
49 · Little Red and the Big Bad · Will Shetterly ·
I love Will Shetterly, but I didn't think this effort to transpose Little Red Riding Hood into 'the Hood' worked very well.
55 · The Fish's Story · Pat York ·
A retelling of the story of the magic fish who agrees to grant wishes in order to save its life. In this one, the familiar woman who insists on mansions is across the lake - and a poor orphaned fishergirl deals with her aunt's selfish demands and her grief over her mother's loss..
69 · The Children of the Tilford Fortune · Christopher Rowe ·
Two children, left a not-very-valuable inheritance, set out to analyze supply an demand and trade their things where they are most wanted - and decide what it is they really want.
82 · The Girl in the Attic · Lois Metzger ·
A girl, after her father's death, refuses to speak to her stepmother. But a magic bird helps both the girl and the woman to understand each other.
93 · The Harp That Sang · Gregory Frost ·
A well-done retelling of the story of the gypsy harp whose strings sing out the truth - that the woman from whose hair and bones the harp was made was murdered, and she accuses her murderer - her own sister - from beyond the grave.
106 · A Life in Miniature · Bruce Coville ·
Tom Thumb, in this absurdist story, is the product of a genetics lab's illicit experiment.
121 · Lupe · Kathe Koja ·
After the death of a baby, a grief-stricken mother sends her daughter out to the forest to ask help of a feared witch... but all ends up even better than one might have hoped in this Spanish-flavored story. Good, but I really wish Koja would go back to adult horror!
134 · Awake · Tanith Lee ·
What if, for that hundred years, Sleeping Beauty wasn't really asleep? What if time was stopped, and she was spending all that time adventuring and learning from the fairies..?
148 · Inventing Aladdin · Neil Gaiman ·
a poem, as usual, from Gaiman.
153 · My Swan Sister · Katherine Vaz
Not really a fairy tale, but an incredibly touching, true story of the author's sister, who died as an infant.
December 18, 2014
Review Posted at Rachael Turns Pages
Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling were just editors and complilers of this novel so while their role was important the real rock stars are the authors that wrote the retellings featured in this novel.
Swan Sisters is a complitation novel of several different Grimm sized short fairy tale retellings. Most of them stuck pretty close to the original tale they were retelling adding some depth, but then there were stories that still stuck to the original fairy tale, but did it in a whole different way. The ones that impressed me in this book was the retelling of Rapunzel. I didn't even realize it was a Rapunzel retelling until I read it in the author comments afterwards. Then I understood. The other one I really like was the retelling of Sleeping Beauty. I think it was an interest take on Sleeping Beauty's experience that makes it not as miserable. Another one that stuck pretty close to the original tale, but peaked my interest was the retelling of Bluebeard. I actually read the original story of Blue Beard because of this novel. My review will be up on Friday.
A couple I liked, but wasn't wowed by was The Fish's Story. It taught readers not to be selfish. The short story the book is named after Swan Sister is about sisters that love each other, but the little sister is a swan and she is not meant to stay in the human world. The older sister tries to give the little sister, Rachel a full life. I won't spoil the ending, but it is breathtakingly beautiful.
This was my March random read. I considered it a meh read because I was expecting more from it. As per usual with the Grimm fairy tales there was a lack of depth and the many questions went unanswered. Because the stories were so short I didn't form any connection to the characters or any relationship with the story. Swan Sisters was a quick read and I did enjoy it, but I didn't overly love it.
Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling were just editors and complilers of this novel so while their role was important the real rock stars are the authors that wrote the retellings featured in this novel.
Swan Sisters is a complitation novel of several different Grimm sized short fairy tale retellings. Most of them stuck pretty close to the original tale they were retelling adding some depth, but then there were stories that still stuck to the original fairy tale, but did it in a whole different way. The ones that impressed me in this book was the retelling of Rapunzel. I didn't even realize it was a Rapunzel retelling until I read it in the author comments afterwards. Then I understood. The other one I really like was the retelling of Sleeping Beauty. I think it was an interest take on Sleeping Beauty's experience that makes it not as miserable. Another one that stuck pretty close to the original tale, but peaked my interest was the retelling of Bluebeard. I actually read the original story of Blue Beard because of this novel. My review will be up on Friday.
A couple I liked, but wasn't wowed by was The Fish's Story. It taught readers not to be selfish. The short story the book is named after Swan Sister is about sisters that love each other, but the little sister is a swan and she is not meant to stay in the human world. The older sister tries to give the little sister, Rachel a full life. I won't spoil the ending, but it is breathtakingly beautiful.
This was my March random read. I considered it a meh read because I was expecting more from it. As per usual with the Grimm fairy tales there was a lack of depth and the many questions went unanswered. Because the stories were so short I didn't form any connection to the characters or any relationship with the story. Swan Sisters was a quick read and I did enjoy it, but I didn't overly love it.
October 10, 2017
#7
First this book has a bunch of different books in one. The first chapter is why the editors put all the fairy tale retailings in this book. The first book is Green Kid interpretation on Green Man. Then Golden Fur, (The Arabian Nights) then Chambers of the Heart (Story of Bluebeard) and Little Red and the Big Bad, (Little Red Riding Hood). Next are The Fishes Story (The Fisherman and his Wife) The Children of Tilfords Fortune (Like Sally, Toby, and Molly) The Girl in the Attic ( Cinderella) and the climax, The Harp that Sang( Cruel Sister). And for the falling action, A Life in Miniature( Tom Thumb) Lupe(Little Red Riding Hood) Awake(Sleeping Beauty) and Inventing Aladdin ( Aladdin). The very last story is My Swan Sister ( The Wild Swans).
My favorite character is the girl from My Swan Sister. She helped her baby sister and showed her New York. She promised Rachel, her little sister, to take her to a place. When it became fall, Rachel couldn't go out side. So the girl knitted something for her to go to the place she promised her, but she didn't finish it and Rachel was screaming all night. She was mad at her self that she didn't finish. She was disappointed in herself that she did a great thing.
I like how there are different fairytales, and how they are retold. I don't like how once you get into a story, it ends. Each story is only a chapter long. The change between stories are weird because you are used to the last one then it changes. My favorite book was My Swan Sister, but I wish it was longer. The whole book isn't my favorite because of all of the different stories.
First this book has a bunch of different books in one. The first chapter is why the editors put all the fairy tale retailings in this book. The first book is Green Kid interpretation on Green Man. Then Golden Fur, (The Arabian Nights) then Chambers of the Heart (Story of Bluebeard) and Little Red and the Big Bad, (Little Red Riding Hood). Next are The Fishes Story (The Fisherman and his Wife) The Children of Tilfords Fortune (Like Sally, Toby, and Molly) The Girl in the Attic ( Cinderella) and the climax, The Harp that Sang( Cruel Sister). And for the falling action, A Life in Miniature( Tom Thumb) Lupe(Little Red Riding Hood) Awake(Sleeping Beauty) and Inventing Aladdin ( Aladdin). The very last story is My Swan Sister ( The Wild Swans).
My favorite character is the girl from My Swan Sister. She helped her baby sister and showed her New York. She promised Rachel, her little sister, to take her to a place. When it became fall, Rachel couldn't go out side. So the girl knitted something for her to go to the place she promised her, but she didn't finish it and Rachel was screaming all night. She was mad at her self that she didn't finish. She was disappointed in herself that she did a great thing.
I like how there are different fairytales, and how they are retold. I don't like how once you get into a story, it ends. Each story is only a chapter long. The change between stories are weird because you are used to the last one then it changes. My favorite book was My Swan Sister, but I wish it was longer. The whole book isn't my favorite because of all of the different stories.
December 1, 2009
I loved the introduction and all the other fairytale related book suggestions.
My favorite retellings were:
Golden Fur
Chambers of the Heart (Bluebeard tale)
The Fish Story
Inventing Aladdin
The Girl in the Attic
Awake
My favorite retellings were:
Golden Fur
Chambers of the Heart (Bluebeard tale)
The Fish Story
Inventing Aladdin
The Girl in the Attic
Awake
August 3, 2016
I especially loved the last story.
February 16, 2016
Like a lot of anthologies, the stories in this were pretty hit or miss for me. I think the gem in this collection was Swan Sister by Katherine Vaz--almost brought a tear to my eye.
August 29, 2016
Jane Yolen's "Greenkid" is the best of this bunch, but "Swan Sister" made me cry.
January 30, 2017
Justifiably forgotten.
April 25, 2021
All of Ellen Datlow/Terry Windling's anthologies are worth picking up -- they've made lasting editorial names for themselves as the ones who made faery tales real again. Whether it's their older "Year's Best" collections, the Adult Faery tales anthologies, or their newer Faery Tale collections for YA, if their names are on the cover as editors, you're in for a wonderful ride.
This collection is no exception. Datlow & Windling have never limited their anthologies to western European cultures, so their collections are always filled with the new, the haunting, the bright colors, and the rhythms of other cultures. Here, though, the best story of the lot is the final one, Katherine Vaz's "My Swan Sister", a wonderful rework of Hans Christian Anderson's "The Wild Swans" set in New York, with its heartbeat intertwined around two sisters, one a newborn with life-threatening birth defects that eventually claim her life, and the eldest a child frantically knitting a sweater so her dying baby sister might stay alive -- and how their mother re-weaves her baby daughter's death into a hope-filled, wonder-filled reality will make you cry even as you smile.
The other tales are just as strong, just as haunting, just as wonderful -- Vaz's story is simply my personal favorite of this collection. Brew a pot of tea, grab a quilt, and snuggle in for a fine evening of reading, wonder, and stories.
This collection is no exception. Datlow & Windling have never limited their anthologies to western European cultures, so their collections are always filled with the new, the haunting, the bright colors, and the rhythms of other cultures. Here, though, the best story of the lot is the final one, Katherine Vaz's "My Swan Sister", a wonderful rework of Hans Christian Anderson's "The Wild Swans" set in New York, with its heartbeat intertwined around two sisters, one a newborn with life-threatening birth defects that eventually claim her life, and the eldest a child frantically knitting a sweater so her dying baby sister might stay alive -- and how their mother re-weaves her baby daughter's death into a hope-filled, wonder-filled reality will make you cry even as you smile.
The other tales are just as strong, just as haunting, just as wonderful -- Vaz's story is simply my personal favorite of this collection. Brew a pot of tea, grab a quilt, and snuggle in for a fine evening of reading, wonder, and stories.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 12, 2017
I waited too long to review this... I planned on rating/reviewing each story separately, but I don't remember them all well enough for that. There was one I didn't like at all, a couple I enjoyed, and the rest were in the middle.
There were some pretty well known fairy tales in this book, and it's always great to see re-tellings of those, but I also loved hearing about fairy tales I had never heard of, or ones I was only vaguely familiar with.
I didn't care at all for the Red Riding Hood re-telling by Will Shetterly. I just found the tone of the story annoying, and I just couldn't get into it. One of the other stories (I can't remember which one) had several typos in it--just the one story, that I noticed. I don't know if that was the last one submitted or something, and so it wasn't looked over as well, or what.
One day I'll probably update this review so each story gets it's own rating, but... Overall, it's not a bad collection of stories, and I loved seeing how each author made the fairy tale their own.
There were some pretty well known fairy tales in this book, and it's always great to see re-tellings of those, but I also loved hearing about fairy tales I had never heard of, or ones I was only vaguely familiar with.
I didn't care at all for the Red Riding Hood re-telling by Will Shetterly. I just found the tone of the story annoying, and I just couldn't get into it. One of the other stories (I can't remember which one) had several typos in it--just the one story, that I noticed. I don't know if that was the last one submitted or something, and so it wasn't looked over as well, or what.
One day I'll probably update this review so each story gets it's own rating, but... Overall, it's not a bad collection of stories, and I loved seeing how each author made the fairy tale their own.
August 26, 2018
This is an anthology of re-envisioned fairy tales. They were okay but not great. Out of 13 stories, I only really liked three of them.
December 3, 2018
Excellent retelling of traditional fairy tales.
August 8, 2021
I didn’t realize it was a short story anthology. I liked some better than others, and the swans sister story at he end was unexpectedly touching.
November 15, 2022
some of these stories were good! but some were so, so bad they dragged the rest of it down...
August 16, 2024
Disappointing
January 30, 2016
This is an intersting book filled with magical tales for all of those fairy tale lovers. I found the later tales after "The Harp That Sang" to be slow and kind of boring. I felt that those stories lacked any interesting events, so I just skimmed though those last few chapters. I especially liked the stories like: Golden Fur, Chambers of the Heart, The Fish's Story, The Children of Tilford Fortune, The Harp that Sang.
Greenkid by Jane Yolen: This story is about fey. It starts off kind of slow but picks up as soon as Sandy finds the kid. This story kind of reminds me of the story about Rumpelstiltskin because of the use of names.
Golden Fur by Midori Snyder: This is an interesting middle eastern story about greed and having a pure heart that can overcome temptations. I loved the different tests that Khan had to go through to win the girl.
Chambers of the Heart by Nina Kiriki Hoffman: This is a story of a family that is struggling to keep afloat and the selfless decision the girl has to make for them. This is also a story of resisting temptation. The ending was really interesting.
Little Red and the Big Bad by Will Shetterly: This story is a human version of Red Ridding Hood. I found this story pretty slow.
The Fish's Story by Pat York: I found this to be an interesting story about a magical being granting wishes. This story was filled with greed as well as the purity of wishing for other's happiness.
The Children of Tilford Fortune by Christopher Rowe: This was interesting how they made use of what they had and went to other places.
The Girl in the Attic by Lois Metzger: This is another interesting story of magical creatures that can grant wishes. I like when Ava meets the creature.
The Harp that Sang by Gregory Frost: This was a story of greed and lingering spirits.
Greenkid by Jane Yolen: This story is about fey. It starts off kind of slow but picks up as soon as Sandy finds the kid. This story kind of reminds me of the story about Rumpelstiltskin because of the use of names.
Golden Fur by Midori Snyder: This is an interesting middle eastern story about greed and having a pure heart that can overcome temptations. I loved the different tests that Khan had to go through to win the girl.
Chambers of the Heart by Nina Kiriki Hoffman: This is a story of a family that is struggling to keep afloat and the selfless decision the girl has to make for them. This is also a story of resisting temptation. The ending was really interesting.
Little Red and the Big Bad by Will Shetterly: This story is a human version of Red Ridding Hood. I found this story pretty slow.
The Fish's Story by Pat York: I found this to be an interesting story about a magical being granting wishes. This story was filled with greed as well as the purity of wishing for other's happiness.
The Children of Tilford Fortune by Christopher Rowe: This was interesting how they made use of what they had and went to other places.
The Girl in the Attic by Lois Metzger: This is another interesting story of magical creatures that can grant wishes. I like when Ava meets the creature.
The Harp that Sang by Gregory Frost: This was a story of greed and lingering spirits.
January 25, 2017
This book, Swan Sister, by Ellen Datlow is a bunch of fairy tales, retold. Each chapter is a different story, with the common fairy tales we know today, except told differently. It has all sorts of story's like Little Red Riding Hood, Aladdin, Sleeping Beauty and more. The book is called Swan Sister, and the last chapter is the fairy tale Swan Sister.
Since there is no definite story, there are many cause and effects for each story. One of them is Little Red Riding Hood. In the book they call her Red. Red tells the Bad, (Big bad wolf) the exact location of her grandma's house. The effect, was the Bad went to Grandma's house. This story has a twist at the end, which I can't spoil. Another story, was this one girl, who married a man. She was happy where she was. One day her husband had to go on a trip. He gave her keys to everything in the house, and told her she can go where ever she wanted in the house, except one room. The girl was curious to see what was in the room, she was forbidden to go in. This led her to go in the room, and change her life forever.
Out of 5 stars, (1, horrible-5, awesome) I would rate it a 3. It wasn't my most favorite book, since it didn't really have a story to it. Although it was interesting to see the different fairy tales retold. I would recommend this book, to 8-12 year old's, who like different story's in one book.
Since there is no definite story, there are many cause and effects for each story. One of them is Little Red Riding Hood. In the book they call her Red. Red tells the Bad, (Big bad wolf) the exact location of her grandma's house. The effect, was the Bad went to Grandma's house. This story has a twist at the end, which I can't spoil. Another story, was this one girl, who married a man. She was happy where she was. One day her husband had to go on a trip. He gave her keys to everything in the house, and told her she can go where ever she wanted in the house, except one room. The girl was curious to see what was in the room, she was forbidden to go in. This led her to go in the room, and change her life forever.
Out of 5 stars, (1, horrible-5, awesome) I would rate it a 3. It wasn't my most favorite book, since it didn't really have a story to it. Although it was interesting to see the different fairy tales retold. I would recommend this book, to 8-12 year old's, who like different story's in one book.
November 19, 2015
Out of the three "fairy tales retold" books I read editted by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, this one was probably my favorite. Some of the stories were really touching, and some were really interesting spins off the original.
The last story in the book, "My Swan Sister" by Katherine Vaz was both heart breaking and heart warming. I really enjoyed "Little Red and the Big Bad" by Will Shetterly - the tone was very modern and "hip" and really made the story very interesting. I actually enjoyed both the Little Red Riding Hood retellings in this book, the one by Will Shetterly and Kathe Koja's "Lupe" (which, I really liked the Spanish inspired retelling).
There wasn't really man stories I didn't like. I wasn't too impressed with one or two, but compared to the other two books, this one had more stories I was interested in and less that I didn't like.
The last story in the book, "My Swan Sister" by Katherine Vaz was both heart breaking and heart warming. I really enjoyed "Little Red and the Big Bad" by Will Shetterly - the tone was very modern and "hip" and really made the story very interesting. I actually enjoyed both the Little Red Riding Hood retellings in this book, the one by Will Shetterly and Kathe Koja's "Lupe" (which, I really liked the Spanish inspired retelling).
There wasn't really man stories I didn't like. I wasn't too impressed with one or two, but compared to the other two books, this one had more stories I was interested in and less that I didn't like.
August 11, 2011
I love re-told fairy tales. Some stories enchant, some terrify. Some make you laugh; others make you cry. This book is a collection of short stories and one poem. Some stick with the story almost exactly only with a different perspective, while others are completely unique and only build from themes from the original tale. My favorites in this collection focus on love - a sad girl and her stepmother learning to love, an older sister's devotion to her baby sister, and a daughter's love for her family in "A Fish's Story." This is a great story collection of retold tales and I'm glad to have it on my shelf.
June 30, 2015
The second book in Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling's collections of fairy tale retellings is much stronger than the first; almost every story in here captures the lyrical beauty and imagination of their source material, and some, such as Tanith Lee's "Awake" and Neil Gaiman's "Inventing Aladdin," almost made me cry. Only two stories in this collection succumb to the failure of "modernization" rather than "retelling". Attention, writers: throwing in modern technology and spicing up your story with horribly outdated street slang does not a retelling make. Other than that, this is a very satisfying collection.
March 11, 2016
I liked it, but it wasn't as good as The Armless Maiden so I was kind of disappointed. That isn't really fair though, because this one is actually more appropriate for children and I was just hoping for/expecting the grown up versions with the darker twists.
For what it was though, reimagined versions of Fairytales, many of the stories were really good and interesting with fresh, insightful takes on the old standards. There were a couple of duds which I can't even remember to complain about, but overall it was an enjoyable anthology and I'll keep reading the books Datlow and Windling edit. Three and a half stars. Bachdel Test: Pass
For what it was though, reimagined versions of Fairytales, many of the stories were really good and interesting with fresh, insightful takes on the old standards. There were a couple of duds which I can't even remember to complain about, but overall it was an enjoyable anthology and I'll keep reading the books Datlow and Windling edit. Three and a half stars. Bachdel Test: Pass
January 23, 2009
It's strange; the tales I expected to like were generally the ones I didn't take to at all, and some of the tales that I thought sounded dull when I read the contents page turned out to be amazing. My favourite tales were Golden Fur, The Fish's Story, and The Girl in the Attic. I also thought the modern story of Tom Thumb was really cute. Overall, there's an interesting mix of stories in this anthology, but that means that no one's going to like them all. Still, I think there's something for everyone.
September 12, 2008
This book is a collection of fairy tale remakes. the last sory, swan sister, is about a girl who is born wih bird like feaures. the doctors say she will die, so her sister shows her around new york in hopes she will stay. When people see the swan they think she is very pretty. her older sister makes her a jacket but she dies before it is complete. it is very sad and touching and the other stories are just as good!
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