Fairy Tales & Fantasy discussion

Levine does a lot of re=tellings

Ella enchanted is my favorite book :) But recently I read Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George and loved it. It was so well-written, I was constantly reacting aloud while I was reading. I couldn't put it down. :)

I read Sun and Moon too :)

Hmmmm I'm not sure. They were slightly different. At first I didn't find Sun and Moon as gripping, but it grew on me, especially as the story progressed. I think overall I liked Sun and Moon better; but Princess was very entertaining :)

I liked all of them. It it hard to choose the best. Each has its own strengths.

Hi, I just joined this group, I'm Alyssa!
I've read Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George, too, and I really loved it. I haven't read any of her others, but I know that Dragon Slippers has two sequels: Dragon Flight and Dragon Spear.
I also love Robin Mckinley. I liked Beauty better than Rose Daughter (both are retellings of Beauty and the Beast.) Anyway, I would definitely recommend Spindle's End by Robin Mckinley, if you liked Beauty. It's another retelling, this time of Sleeping Beauty.
Has anyone read Shannon Hale? Her book The Goose Girl is one of my very favorite fairy tale retellings. The sequels are entirely new, but very good.

I like Shannon Hale's books. I ODed on her earlier this year. I really need to go back and finish reading her books. They are really good. :)

Sometimes I go on a reading craze, and read a whole bunch of one author's books in a row or books on one topic. Then suddenly, I can't stand to read any more by that author or on that topic for a while. :) I sort of did that on Shannon Hale's books a while back. :)

Hello again, I'm sorry. I haven't checked this in a long while. I haven't had much computer access recently. Just checking in to say that ironically, I just finished The Goose Girl last night! It was wonderful :). I have already read Book of a Thousand Days, also by Shannon Hale. I'll have to look up her other ones. Have any of you read the rest of the Bayern Books??

Katie wrote: "I just started reading her Dragon Slippers. It has a different feel to it than the others, but it's just as good."

OMG!!!! I LOVE THAT BOOK!!

it's my fav book eva!!!

I've read all the Books of Bayern! I love them!

I just read Snow White and Rose Red by Patricia C. Wrede (something like that) and it was awesome! Very well-written, and original.

Hi, I'm a new member here. My name's Kathita ;)
I read the goose girl and loved it too! I also read Enna Burning but I think I like The Goose Girl better.

Hi everyone, I am a published author of fantasy based on folktale and legend. My books are The Stumpwork Robe (available on any Amazon site in any country) and the sequel called The Last Stitch which is due to be released in three weeks. Sample text is on Goodreads.

My favourite re-telling is Juliet Marillier's first book in the Sevenwaters Saga which is based on the swan brothers and the sister who must knit them garments to break the enchantment.

Alyssa, I love Snow White and Rose Red by Patricia C. Wrede. :) It is a favorite of mine. :)

Welcome Prue. I will have to look up your books. I am also a published author. My books (The Crown of Anavrea and The Mercenary's Marriage) are available on my website (www.freewebs.com/anavrea). I will have to look into the Sevenwaters Saga. I have always loved the Swan Brothers story. Someday I am hoping to write a retelling of it. I started a retelling of East of the Sun West of the Moon years ago that I will someday finish. If only I had more time. :)

Hmm, if you like that fairy tale, you could read Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George (mentioned above). I can't believe you're both published authors! That's so cool!

I really liked Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow. Jessica Day George did a great job with it. :)

Spindle's End by Robin McKinley is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, and I do believe it's my favourite. Beauty A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast and Rose Daughter are also excellent. In "Spindle" particularly, I was amazed at the author's ability to write a surprise ending to a story we all know already :). But she really did!

In a slightly different vein, The Pendragon Cycle, Stephen R. Lawhead's treatment of the Arthur legends, is excellent. The books are "Taliesin," "Merlin," "Arthur," "Pendragon," "Grail," and a spin-off, "Avalon The Return of King Arthur."

The story of Sleeping Beauty is re-told in a lovely reference by Cecilia Dart -Thornton in the later books of The Crowthistle Chronicles when Asrathiel's mother is unable to be woken from an enchanted sleep.

Sarah Zettel also has a wonderful series based on Arthurian legend with each of the books relating to one or other of the Knights of the Round Table.

I have a loose re-telling of the story of Aladdin in The Last Stitch, when the protagonist, Adelina, is helped to escape from her gaoler by the release of a djinn from a miniscule lamp that was destined for a woman's bracelet. Throughout the story, the three wishes granted to Adelina help her move through her fateful journey.

Rachel Starr wrote: "Spindle's End by Robin McKinley is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, and I do believe it's my favourite. Beauty A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast and [book:R..."

I love Robin Mckinley! She's incredible! And she has "The Outlaws of Sherwood" as a Robin Hood retelling, as well as "Deerskin" (Donkeyskin) and some other non-retelling books that are really good. And as I mentioned above, Shannon Hale is amazing! Besides "Goose Girl," she has a retelling of "Maid Maleen" called "Book of a Thousand Days," which is an awesome retelling of a fairy tale I'd never heard of.

Also, I just read Song of the Sparrow by Lisa Ann Sandell, which is a really good story with an original format. It's a loose retelling of the Arthurian legend of the Lady of Shallot.

I absolutely love so many of the titles you Rachel, and you Alyssa, have mentioned. About to go searching for them. Fairytale and legend based fantasy is the only fantasy for me!!

The Last Stitch

Katie wrote: "I think mine'd have to be Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast, by Robin McKinley."

I think so too! It was original and yet kept all the wonderfull things I loved about the original!

i really want to get my book published

What kind of book is it?

Prue wrote: "I absolutely love so many of the titles you Rachel, and you Alyssa, have mentioned. About to go searching for them. Fairytale and legend based fantasy is the only fantasy for me!!

Fairy tale and legend tends to influence most fantasy, I think, even if not obviously. One of my favourites (but it's older and very very different) is George MacDonald's Lilith.

Well, I just read Dragon Slippers and Dragon Flight by Jessica Day George (hoping to read the last one soon) and now I can say that they are amazing!!! I really liked the main character, Creel; sometimes heroines can seem perfect, but she was realistic because she was sometimes stupid or selfish, and was so well-written that you felt like she could've been your friend. I also liked the way the dragons were written. It had a different feel than most dragon books I've read and was very unique. I'd reccomend it, especially to Shannon Hale fans, or pretty much anyone in this group. :)

Soon I'm gonna read Lady Macbeth's Daughter, which is basically a retelling of Shakespeare's Macbeth with a single character added in. It looks interesting, and I've heard that's the character is written so well you feel like she was part of the original play.

Oh yeah, and Jessica Day George is coming out with a sequel to Princess of the Midnight Ball called Princess of Glass. It looks like a loose retelling of Cinderella with other elements added in. Anyway, I'm exctied because it's about my favorite character from POTMB, Poppy!