Let's Discuss: Fairy Tale Retellings

 

So last week on Instagram I saw a post from a publisher about one of their new releases and when I saw the cover I was immediately intrigued and when I read what it was about, I suddenly knew why!

Fairy Tale Retellings

One genre I really enjoy is fairy tale retellings! I grew up on fairy tales, whether they were Disney or the originals, I loved them all! I can't really remember what age I was when I started reading the original Grimm ones instead of the "kid-a-fied" ones. You know, when they remove the elements that make them a little too scary or something like that! I remember once reading a storybook version of The Princess in Disguise that was called Princess Furball! It was basically a twist on Cinderella in some aspects as a princess ran away from an arranged marriage she wanted no part of, to in turn become a servant at another palace. But she took some of her things with her, such as gorgeous dresses and trinkets that belonged to her deceased mother. Then we have the Cinderella ball night times three and eventually the prince finds his princess in his very own kitchen!

Well, the Grimm version followed that story along mostly well, expect what was changed to make appropriate for children, which was the fact that the arranged marriage was actually the king marrying his own daughter as his dying wife told him you may remarry as long as the bride is as beautiful as her or something like that! So yeah. Definitely Grimm! 

But anyway, I got off topic! One fairy retelling I almost always jump at the chance to read is Peter Pan! I don't even know why this tale always gets to me, but it does! Of course it's one of my favorite rides at Disney World and just the aspect of being able to fly to a land where you never grow old and there's some magic and enchantment...it just appealed to me! So when retellings started popping up, I almost always grabbed at them all!

There were even contemporary ones folks! Yes! I read CONTEMPORARY books in my blogging years! I stipulated to myself because they had that fairy tale vibe that was kind of hidden that it wasn't quite the same as a regular contemporary one. But in the end, those particular books ended up not being favorites so I never bought my keeper copies as I believe they were ARCs I read.

But yes, I pretty much loved nearly all of them! There was Tiger Lily, which ironically was told from Tinker Bell's point of view instead of Tiger Lily herself, but it did focus on Tiger Lily. There was Christina Henry's Lost Boy, which was amazing and might have been one of the first books I read that gives Hook's side of the story! I also remember reading Alias Hook as an ARC as well. It was a bit more complex at the time of my reading it, so I didn't really enjoy that one all that well either, but I enjoyed the idea of it! I also remember another contemporary retelling of Peter Pan, but the title is escaping me!

Needless to say, Peter Pan is a fairy tale I enjoyed growing up, so whenever I see a retelling of it, I almost always want to read it! There was one exception though, I didn't read Hooked by Emily McIntire as that one I got the vibes of it being a more heavily romantic story and I'm more of a romance is on the side reader than having it be front and centered!

So this new book These Deathless Shores by P.H. Low takes a different spin on Captain Hook's origin stories and it all started with the first Lost Girl who wanted to be a Lost Boy instead of the Mother role Peter was aiming for her. It's definitely taking a different turn with the story but I couldn't stop thinking about it all week, so when B&N had their double stamp sale, I headed out to the only B&N that reported to have this brand new release and picked up the one and only copy I could find! Lol. The cashier was even intrigued by it and snapped a picture of the cover too for her memory for later!

But my main point is that I think Peter Pan retellings are ones I will always be drawn to! While I usually gravitate more towards the "princess" fairy tales, Peter Pan is just one of those exceptions (Alice in Wonderland is another too). They are among my favorites that don't involve "princesses!" And yes, Tiger Lily is a princess within her tribe, but that's not what I mean here. Just have to throw that out there before someone thinks it! Lol.

What about you? Do you have a favorite fairy tale you almost always pick up a retelling of when you find it?