Tag: Retelling

We Kept Her in the Cellar – W. R. Gorman

I love a good retelling. I rewatched Ever After (yet again!) while I was reading this book and I adored it even more than I did when I first saw it, oh, about 25 years ago. This is not that retelling.

This Cinderella is the family secret for entirely different reasons.

Cinderella, when she comes, will show no mercy.

Cinderella is 12 years old when she arrives at the manor and meets her new stepsisters, Eunice (11) and Hortense (5). Told from the perspective of one of Cinderella’s wicked stepsisters, you’ll quickly learn why this Cinderella comes with her own set of rules.

“To see her, as she truly is – it would undo you.”

You see, this Cinderella story has teeth. She’s actually kinda bitey so you might want to maintain a safe distance. Beware of loopholes and be especially careful after midnight.

Kept underground, this Cinderella is more often than not out of sight. She is rarely out of mind.

With copious amounts of vomit splashing across the pages, this is not going to be everyone’s happily ever after. The body horror was everything I hoped it would be and I had so much fun racing through this book.

Hortense, my favourite character, brought the attitude and bugs. She also managed to snag the best lines.

Favourite no context quote:

“Stop, you’re getting tears in my hair!” protested Hortense. “If you’re going to be throwing your bodily fluids around, you could at least have the decency to put them in a glass jar, so I can look at them more closely later.”

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books, an imprint of The Quick Brown Fox & Company, for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Eunice lives her life by three simple rules: One, always refer to Cinderella as family. Two, never let Cinderella gain access to rats or mice. Three, never look upon Cinderella between the hours of twelve and three a.m. 

Cinderella has dark and terrifying powers. As her stepsister, Eunice is expected to care for her and keep the family’s secret. For years, Eunice has faithfully done so. Her childhood flew by in a blur of nightmares, tears, and near-misses with the monster living in the cellar. But when she befriends the handsome Prince Credence and secures an invitation to the ball, Eunice is determined to break free. 

When her younger sister, Hortense, steps up to care for Cinderella, Eunice grabs her chance to dance the night away — until Cinderella escapes. With her eldritch powers, Cinderella attends the ball and sweeps Prince Credence off his feet, leaving behind a trail of carnage and destruction as well as a single green glass slipper.   

With Cinderella unleashed, Eunice must determine how much of herself she is willing to sacrifice in order to stop Cinderella. Unsettling and macabre at every turn, this page-turning horror will bewitch horror fans and leave its readers anxiously checking the locks on their cellar doors.

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The Bright Sword – Lev Grossman

Cover image of The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman

I’ve been keen to read a Lev Grossman book for years but, for one reason or another, the stars never aligned. When I saw this book, which promised a bunch of oddballs, I was sure it was for me.

I conveniently ignored the fact that I’ve never been that interested in the legend of King Arthur. Sure, I watched The Sword in the Stone when I was a kid but that doesn’t count.

Initially I was hooked. I really liked Collum, who’s on his way to Camelot.

“Oh, you’re too late for that.”

Unbeknownst to Collum, King Arthur is dead and all that’s left of the Round Table are the leftovers, the ones that didn’t die.

While I enjoyed the chapters that focused on the characters’ backstories, I found it difficult to get into the actual quest at hand and by a third of the way into it, it started to drag for me.

The writing really engaged me in the beginning so I don’t think it has anything to do with the author’s style. I’m actually more keen than ever to read The Magicians trilogy, which is one of my favourite TV series.

I don’t think this is a case of this not being the book for me. I think it’s the right book at the wrong time. Once I read The Magicians trilogy, I don’t think you’ll be able to keep me away from it.

“The sword’s in the sea, and the last ship has sailed.”

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Del Rey, an imprint of Penguin Random House, for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

When gifted young knight Collum arrives at Camelot to compete for a place on the Round Table, he quickly discovers that he’s too late: The king died two weeks ago at the Battle of Camlann, and only a handful of the knights of the Round Table are left.

And the survivors aren’t the heroes of legend either, like Lancelot or Gawain. They’re the oddballs of the Round Table, like Sir Palomides, the Saracen Knight, and Sir Dagonet, Arthur’s fool, who was knighted as a joke. They’re joined by Nimue, who was Merlin’s apprentice until she turned on him and buried him under a hill.

But it’s up to them to rebuild Camelot in a world that has lost its balance, even as God abandons Britain and the fairies and old gods are returning, led by Morgan le Fay. They must reclaim Excalibur and make this ruined world whole again.

But first they’ll have to solve the mystery of why the lonely, brilliant King Arthur fell.

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These Deathless Shores – P.H. Low

This is Peter Pan, but not as you know it.

Hook is a once upon a time Lost Boy who was unceremoniously exiled (that’s putting it nicely) when she got her first period. Now an addict, she’s coming back to the Island with her ‘Twin’ because the Island has the drug she needs and the villain who’s overdue for some revenge.

The villain of this story is Peter. You know, Peter Pan. With laughter I heard in my head as Michael Jackson’s (yeah, my brain’s weird) and a bloodlust that probably shouldn’t have surprised me, this Peter deserves everything coming to him, and more. He’s an absolute asshole and I wouldn’t have lost any sleep if Jordan had pulled Peter’s skeleton from his body while he watched. I may have helped her.

In case it’s not obvious, this is not Disney, with its cutesy songs and pixie dust. Okay, there is pixie dust but its ingredients were not approved by Walt.

With a backdrop of feminist rage – being relegated to specific roles in society approved by the patriarchy, making yourself small in order to fit the mould – this is oftentimes a painful read. The legacy of childhood trauma, multifaceted and cruel, is at its heart, with battles waged both against others and internally.

“We become what we need to be in order to survive.”

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Angry Robot for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Jordan was once a Lost Boy, convinced she would never grow up.

Now, she’s twenty-two and exiled to the real world, still suffering withdrawal from the magic Dust of her childhood – and the drug she’s using to medicate that withdrawal is wreaking its final, fatal effects.

With nothing left to lose, Jordan returns to the Island and its stories – of pirates and war and the cruelty of youth – intent on facing Peter one last time, on her own terms.

But Peter isn’t the only malevolent force moving against her. As Jordan confronts the nature of Dust, first love, and the violent legacy carved into the land itself, she realises the Island may have plans of its own.

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Stitch – Pádraig Kenny

Illustrations – Steve McCarthy

Stitch didn’t come first. Henry Oaf, his best friend, did. They live in a castle with the Professor, although they haven’t seen him for a while. He asked not to be disturbed while he was resting. That was 328 days ago.

Now Professor Giles Hardacre and his assistant, Alice, have arrived at the castle and things will never be the same.

Stitch, a wannabe explorer who has never left the garden, is learning what he’s made of. Literally and figuratively.

“It doesn’t matter what you’re made from, it doesn’t matter where you came from, all that matters is that you’re a good person.”

Stitch’s story is one of loss and grief but it’s also about self discovery and standing up for what is right, even when it’s difficult. Stitch is an absolute sweetheart.

Steve McCarthy’s cover image is what drew me to this book in the first place, with its Tim Burton vibes and bats. I love the bats pictured throughout this book. The chapter heading illustrations are relevant to the chapter’s content and often mean more once you understand the context.

Even if you’ve never read Frankenstein, pop culture osmosis has likely done its thing, so you’ll be both expecting and dreading the townsfolk bearing torches scene. You’ll desperately hope it doesn’t happen, though, because Stitch is the kind of character that you want to throw yourself in front of the flames for.

He wears his heart on his sleeve, he’s loyal to his friends and he is so adorably innocent. The world is new to him and everything he sees is a marvel. He makes you want to see through his eyes.

“I’ll always be your friend, Stitch. Of that you can be certain. Henry Oaf and Stitch. Friends for ever.”

Thank you so much to Walker Books for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Stitch is not a monster – he’s a creation.

He and his friend Henry Oaf were brought to life by the genius Professor Hardacre, and have spent all their days in a castle deep in the woods, far from humankind. But when the Professor dies and his pompous nephew comes to take over the laboratory, they soon find out that his sights are set not on scientific discovery, but personal glory. And Henry is his next experiment.

Can Stitch and Henry escape his clutches and make their way in a world they were never built for – and may never be ready for them?

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The Crane Husband – Kelly Barnhill

Cover image of The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill

I should have been worried about the crane.

Our unnamed protagonist is fifteen when the crane arrives but they were parentified long before. Her mother, so entrenched in trauma generations in the making, doesn’t have the capacity to be there in a meaningful way for her children. It’s up to our fifteen year old to parent her younger brother, Michael, as well as herself.

This novella is a retelling of The Crane Wife and I still don’t know what to do with this story a week after I finished reading it.

It’s haunting and horrifying. It tackles domestic violence, which is ugly, no matter what form it takes.

There was no one to tell. So I told no one.

In the hands of Kelly Barnhill, though, even disturbing stories like this one contain beauty and that, my friend, is what cognitive dissonance is made of.

It’s the daughter doing everything in her power to protect her brother. It’s how she resists the violence that has invaded her home. But it’s also the way the author creates with words, so it feels like they’re dancing around me.

It’s fitting that the teller of this story doesn’t have a name. Women in her family are the subject of gossip and rumours but they don’t have identities outside of their roles: mother, artist, daughter, sister.

Her brother has a name. The sheep have names. The women do not.

I knew when I read When Women Were Dragons that I’d found a new favourite author. This book confirmed it while reminding me that I still need to read everything else Kelly Barnhill has ever written. I need those stories in my heart, even if they hurt.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

“Mothers fly away like migrating birds. This is why farmers have daughters.”

A fifteen-year-old teenager is the backbone of her small Midwestern family, budgeting the household finances and raising her younger brother while her mum, a talented artist, weaves beautiful tapestries. For six years, it’s been just the three of them — her mum has brought home guests at times, but none have ever stayed.

Yet when her mum brings home a six-foot tall crane with a menacing air, the girl is powerless to prevent her mum letting the intruder into her heart, and her children’s lives. Utterly enchanted and numb to his sharp edges, her mum abandons the world around her to weave the masterpiece the crane demands.

In this stunning contemporary retelling of “The Crane Wife” by the Newbery Medal-winning author of The Girl Who Drank the Moon, one fiercely pragmatic teen forced to grow up faster than was fair will do whatever it takes to protect her family — and change the story.

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After the Forest – Kell Woods

‘Something happened to Hans and me when we were children.’

Indeed. When they were children, Greta and Hans were led into the forest and abandoned by their father. There they encountered gingerbread, an oven and a cage. You might think you know their story but you don’t know what happened next.

Fast forward fifteen years, Greta Rosenthal is a 22 year old with no dowry, so obviously no man will ever want her. It’s not exactly helping her cause that people think she’s a witch.

It’s a good thing that Greta knows how to bake because Hans is doing his best to gamble away any money her gingerbread sales generate.

Ginger. Honey. Cinnamon. Flour.

It was clear what must be done. What Greta had always done to solve a problem.

Bake.

We catch up with the siblings in 1650, a time of superstition and suspicion. The people of the Black Forest have been impacted greatly by the war. They’re not averse to accusing their neighbours of witchcraft.

This could be a problem for Greta because remember the gingerbread everyone loves so much? Her recipe may sorta kinda involve a dash or two of witchiness.

I really felt for Greta. Here she was doing her best to survive the trauma of abandonment and captivity with a brother who’s not helping her cause at all and a town full of people just itching for another witch trial.

Alone in the forest there is real fear. Once felt, it is never forgotten.

My favourite character was the book, because of course it was. But when you meet them you’ll understand why.

I shall take care of you and you shall take care of me.

I really enjoyed learning how magic works in Greta’s world and seeing how the different types were used throughout the book.

I used to actively avoid retellings. I wrongly assumed that I knew the stories well enough already and that nothing could (or maybe even should) be added to them. Then I fell in love with a few books that I didn’t realise were retellings when I started reading them and I finally got it. Retellings don’t diminish the original stories. They add to them: new perspectives, character depth, what happened after The End.

Greta’s story didn’t end when she and Hans survived the gingerbread house in the forest. It was only just beginning.

You learn to be careful when you have been lost.

Magic gingerbread to the rescue!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and HarperVoyager, an imprint of HarperCollins Australia, for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Ginger. Honey. Cinnamon. Flour.

A drop of blood to bind its power. 

1650: The Black Forest, Wurttemberg. Fifteen years after the witch in the gingerbread house, Greta and Hans are struggling to get by. Their father and stepmother are long dead, Hans is deeply in debt from gambling, and the countryside lies in ruin, its people recovering in the aftermath of a brutal war.

Greta has a secret, though: the witch’s grimoire, secreted away and whispering in her ear, and the recipe inside that makes the most sinfully delicious – and addictive – gingerbread. As long as she can bake, Greta can keep her small family afloat.

But in a village full of superstition, Greta and her intoxicating gingerbread is a source of ever-growing suspicion and vicious gossip.

And now, dark magic is returning to the woods and Greta’s own power – magic she is still trying to understand – may be the only thing that can save her …

If it doesn’t kill her first.

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When Frankie Made a Human – Rachel Delahaye

Illustrations – Maïté Schmitt

Frankie isn’t like the other monsters in Monsterweld. They enjoy showing off the weird things their bodies can do, like Violet the Skeleton and her musical rib cage, but Frankie needs to be careful he doesn’t accidentally undo the stitches and bolts that hold his body together.

Frankie’s home, Frankenstein Castle, sets him apart even more because … ‘humans used to live there.’ Sure, humans are creepy but Frankenstein Castle has secret tunnels so it’s definitely my kind of creepy.

Frankie really wants a friend, but not Spooky Suki. He does have standards. So he comes up with an ingenious plan; he’ll make his own friend. Sounds easy enough.

Fido might be human but it quickly becomes apparent that Frankie has indeed created a monster.

Rachel Delahaye has reimagined a classic in a fun, imaginative way that will make you wonder why you didn’t think of it. The focus is on friendship but there’s some accidental learning in there as well. 

I always look forward to finding out how Rachel is going to play with words to make me smile. One of my favourites in this book was discovering that Monster Radio plays rhythm and boos.

Maïté Schmitt’s illustrations are detailed and just the right amount of quirky. The characters are expressive and there’s just so much to find in the backgrounds. I absolutely adored the Jaws poster.

I really liked Frankie and wanted him to find a friend. It was Suki who stole my heart, though. She was independent, smart and merrily did her own thing instead of trying to blend in with the crowd. I need another story set in Monsterweld that has her centre stage. I’m also keen to watch Frankie’s mother at work. She’s definitely got some stories to tell. 

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Sweet Cherry Publishing for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

A charming twist on a classic gothic tale, a classic villain is turned into the good guy in this story that explores modern themes and issues.

‘But there wasn’t any harm in making one human…’

Frankie is fed up of his nasty monster classmates and bored of being lonely in freaky Frankenstein Castle. What he needs is a friend. But since monsters are mean and werewolves are scary, Frankie decides to make his own friend – a human!

But with a mind of his own, this new friend might make Frankie realise why humans were banned from Monsterweld in the first place…

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Thornhedge – T. Kingfisher

“Remember us, and if you can, find your way back to us in time.”

You know those special reads that cause you to immediately search out a signed copy as soon as you reach The End, if not sooner, because it’s now one of your forever books? Welcome to Thornhedge and check out my pretty Broken Binding preorder.

description

You probably think you know this story … a princess trapped in a tower in an enchanted sleep … the whole Sleeping Beauty thing. You’ve seen the Disney movie. You’ve read the retellings. You may have even read the original. You’ve absolutely questioned the lack of consent of that kiss.

But you don’t know this story. See, this isn’t the princess’ story. It’s Toadling’s. I unequivocally adore Toadling, with her blue-black tears and her determination to complete the task she was given so long ago.

“But we are not always given the choices that we want.”

Toadling is an absolute sweetheart whose loyalty is strong enough to endure for centuries and who wants nothing more than to be with her family. Not the family of her birth; the one who adopted her after she was stolen.

Toadling’s got a job to do, though, and it involves the princess in the tower that this story is not about. Unbeknownst to dear Toadling, although soon to be knownst, a knight has commenced a quest and it’s quite possible he’s going to make a right mess of the status quo.

“This is my place,” she said finally. “You are in it.”

This is a story of aching loneliness and not entirely fitting in anywhere. It’s found family and deep connections. It has magic and it is magical. It’s dark and it’s delightful and, I have to agree with the author here, it is sweet.

T. Kingfisher has quickly become one of my favourite authors and this novella has confirmed why. Toadling lives in my heart now and she’s not leaving anytime soon.

Favourite no context quote:

“This would be easier if you could turn into a toad”

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Titan Books for the opportunity to read this novella.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

There’s a princess trapped in a tower. This isn’t her story.

Meet Toadling. On the day of her birth, she was stolen from her family by the fairies, but she grew up safe and loved in the warm waters of faerieland. Once an adult though, the fae ask a favor of Toadling: return to the human world and offer a blessing of protection to a newborn child. Simple, right?

If only.

Centuries later, a knight approaches a towering wall of brambles, where the thorns are as thick as your arm and as sharp as swords. He’s heard there’s a curse here that needs breaking, but it’s a curse Toadling will do anything to uphold…

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Arch-Conspirator – Veronica Roth

Antigone lives in the last city of an irradiated landscape. It’s perpetually dusty, the population is dwindling and if you have a viable uterus you’re going to reproduce, whether you like it or not. Your chances of surviving childbirth are 50-50.

When you die in this world, your ichor is extracted from you and stored in the Archives. Would-be parents wander the Archives and make their choices, the Archivist implants the combined cells (complete with edited genes) and, hey presto, designer babies.

Antigone and her siblings, Polyneikes, Eteocles and Ismene, aren’t like everyone else, having been made the old fashioned way.

We were unique among our people, pieced together from whatever random combination of genes our parents provided. Table-scrap children.

This novella is a dystopian retelling of Sophocles’ play. Because I wasn’t already familiar with the story, I found a summary to read before I started this book. While it helped in comparing the two, it also spoiled the ending for me. I could have easily followed this story, even if I hadn’t done any homework before tackling it.

If you do know anything about Antigone, you’ll know this isn’t a happy book. It’s tragedy, grief and the abuse of power.

Doomed from the start, I found myself thinking. All of us.

I sometimes find multiple perspectives distracting and that was the case here for the first few chapters. However, once I figured out who everyone was, I began to enjoy hearing from the different characters: Antigone, Polyneikes, Eurydice, Ismene, Kreon and Haemon.

I would have liked to have explored this world more. I wanted to meet the Archivist. I wanted to understand why this pocket of land was currently habitable when the rest of the planet wasn’t. I would have liked to have gotten to know the characters better. Realistically, though, achieving the level of detail I craved would have pushed this way outside of novella territory.

The themes explored here lined up well with what I’ve read about the original story. I loved Antigone’s fierce loyalty to her family and her resistance against the status quo. I’m not sure what Sophocles would have made of this book (there’s a spaceship!) but I enjoyed this read.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Titan Books for the opportunity to read this novella.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Outside the last city on Earth, the planet is a wasteland. Without the Archive, where the genes of the dead are stored, humanity will end.

Antigone’s parents – Oedipus and Jocasta – are dead. Passing into the Archive should be cause for celebration, but with her militant uncle Kreon rising to claim her father’s vacant throne, all Antigone feels is rage.

When he welcomes her and her siblings into his mansion, Antigone sees it for what it really is: a gilded cage, where she is a captive as well as a guest.

But her uncle will soon learn that no cage is unbreakable. And neither is he.

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