Friday 31 December 2021

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Fairy Tale Retellings 2022 Reading Challenge

Fairy Tale Retellings 2022 Reading Challenge

Fairy Tale Retellings 2022 Reading Challenge


Welcome to the Fairy Tale Retellings 2022 Reading Challenge! As regular readers will know, I love a fairy tale retelling, and I generally try to read them throughout the year, and track what I've read. However, I didn't do very well last year, reading just two, and want to put more effort into picking up these kinds of stories I love in 2022. Inspired by some other reading challenges I've seen recently, I've decided to create my own!

As a mood reader, I'm not the kind of person who sees reading challenges as actual challenges, books I must read, but more of a tick box exercise where I can be more aware of what I'm reading. The challenges I generally take part tend to be more "read X amount of Z books," which isn't really any different than tracking what I read. But as I didn't do so well with reading fairy tale retellings last year, this year I've decided not only for this challenge to be actually be a challenge I try to achieve, but to also set prompts make it more fun, and have me reaching for some different stories. And thought others might be interested, too.

I've set up the challenge on StoryGraph, so if you have the app and are interested, get signing up. Otherwise, you can keep track of the prompts and what you read either on your blog, a thread on Twitter, story highlights on Instagram, a reading journal, etc. It's not required to create a sign up post or anything like that, as I set this up mainly for myself, and don't feel it's really required as people can sign up to it through StoryGraph.

There are 15 prompts of books you have to read to complete the challenge, and two extra bonus prompts just for fun. There are a couple of rules however:
  • It's one book per prompt, to read a total of 15. Even if a book fits more than one prompt, it can only count towards one prompt. Choose whichever prompt you'd like for that book, and read something else for the other prompts.
  • Books don't have to be direct retellings, they can also be prequels, villain origin stories, sequels, or retellings from an alternate perspective.
  • Books that aren't necessarily straight retellings, but feature fairy tale characters quite prominently, will count. For example, The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden, starting with The Bear and the Nightingale, features a number of Russian fairy tale characters.
  • This is a challenge for fairy tale retellings. No matter what Disney or whatever else might have you believe, children's classic novels are not fairy tales. So Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Pinocchio, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, etc., are not fairy tales, and retellings of them won't count.
So onto the prompts, and suggestions of books to read! Links will take you to StoryGraph. Were books work for other prompts, too, they're in brackets. I've also given the name of the original author/collector in brackets directly after the faily tale title, for the prompts for fairy tales by/collected by Alexander Afanasyev, Hans Christian Andersen, the Brothers Grimm, and Charles Perrault.

1. A fairy tale retelling with a BIPOC protagonist

Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao The Mirror Season by Anna-Marie McLemore

Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron - sequel to Cinderella (Giambattista Basile, though the version we know is by Charles Perrault) (YA, BIPOC author, queer protagonist - F/F romance)
Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao - prequel to Snow White (The Brothers Grimm), origin story for the Evil Queen (YA, BIPOC author, fantasy)
The Mirror Season by Anna-Marie McLemore - retelling of The Snow Queen (Hans Christian Andersen) (YA, fantasy, BIPOC author, queer protagonist - pan MC)

2. A retelling of a non-western fairy tale

The Crane Wife by Patrick Ness The Girl From the Well by Rin Chupeco

I had a lot of difficulty finding retellings as I don't know of many fairy tales that aren't western, mainly just myths. So any suggestions would be very welcome!

The Crane Wife by Patrick Ness - a retelling of The Grateful Crane (Japanese) (adult, fantasy)
The Girl From the Well by Rin Chupeco - a retelling of Banchō Saayashiki (Japanese) (YA, fantasy, BIPOC author, BIPOC protagonist)

3. A retelling of a fairy tale by Charles Perrault

Red Hood by Elana K. Arnold The Seventh Bride by T. Kingfisher A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly

Red Hood by Elana K. Arnold - a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood (Charles Perrault first, then Brothers Grimm) (YA, fantasy, not as popular)
The Seventh Bride by T. Kingfisher - a retelling of Bluebeard (Chalres Perrault) (adult, fantasy, not as popular)
A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow - a retelling of Sleeping Beauty (Giambattista Basile first, then Charles Perrault, then the Brothers Grimm) (adult, fantasy)
Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly - a sequel to Cinderella (Giambattista Basile first, then Charles Perrault, then the Brothers Grimm), from the perspective of one of the ugly stepsisters (YA)
Comfort Me with Apples by Cathrynne M. Valente - a retelling of Bluebeard (adult, not as popular)

4. An adult* fairy tale retelling

*Not adult as in adult content, but a book marketed to an adult audience

Tender Morsals by Margo Lanagan For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten Drown by Esther Dalseno The Girl in Red by Christina Henry

Tender Morsals by Margo Lanagan - retelling of Snow White and Rose Red (The Brothers Grimm) (fantasy, not as popular)
For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten - Retelling of The Little Red Riding Hood (fantasy)
Drown by Esther Dalseno - retelling of The Little Mermaid, includes an origin story for the Sea Witch (Hans Christian Andersen) (BIPOC author, fantasy)
The Girl in Red by Christina Henry - retelling of Little Red Riding Hood (fantasy)

5. A retelling of a lesser-known/not quite as popular* western fairy tale

*Something other than Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White.

Dark and Deepest Red by Anna-Marie McLemore Thorn by Intisar Khanani Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi Gilded by Marissa Meyer

Dark and Deepest Red by Anna-Marie McLemore - retelling of The Red Shoes (Hans Christian Andersen) (YA, BIPOC author, BIPOC protagonist, fantasy)
Thorn by Intisar Khanani - retelling of The Goose Girl (Hans Christian Andersen) (YA, BIPOC author, fantasy)
Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi - loose retelling of Hansel and Gretl (The Brothers Grimm) (adult, BIPOC author, BIPOC protagonist)
Gilded by Marissa Meyer - a retelling of Rumplestiltskin (The Brothers Grimm) (YA, fantasy)
Deerskin by Robin McKinley - a retelling of Donkeyskin (Charles Perrault) (YA, fantasy)

6. A fairy tale retelling with a trans, genderfluid, or non-binary protagonist

Blanca & Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore Cinder Ella by S.T. Lynn Cinderella Boy by Kristina Meister

Blanca & Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore - a retelling of Snow White and Rose Red with a non-binary MC (YA, BIPOC author, BIPOC protagonist, fantasy, not as popular)
Cinder Ella by S.T. Lynn - a retelling of Cinderella with a trans MC (adult, BIPOC author, BIPOC protagonist, queer protagonist - f/f story)
Cinderella Boy by Kristina Meister - a retelling of Cinderella with a genderfluid MC (YA, contemporary, queer protagonist)

7. A fantasy fairy tale retelling

A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer Spinning Silver by Naomi Novak The Shadow in the Glass by J. J. A. Harwood A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer - a retelling of Beauty and the Beast (Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont) (YA)
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novak - a retelling of Rumplestiltskin (adult/not as popular)
The Shadow in the Glass by J. J. A. Harwood - a retelling of Cinderella (adult)
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas - a retelling of Beauty and the Beast (adult)

8. A retelling of a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen

The Mermaid by Christina Henry Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim Stain by A. G. Howard Sea Witch by Sarah Henning

The Mermaid by Christina Henry - retelling of The Little Mermaid (adult, fantasy)
Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim - a retelling of The Wild Swans (YA, BIPOC author, BIPOC protagonist, fantasy, not as popular)
Stain by A. G. Howard - a retelling of The Princess and the Pea (YA, fantasy, not as popular)
Sea Witch by Sarah Henning - a prequel to The Little Mermaid and villian origin story for the Sea Witch (YA, fantasy)

9. A fairy tale retelling by a BIPOC author

Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi Ash by Malinda Lo Of Curses and Kisses by Sandhya Menon

Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi - loose retelling of Snow White (adult, BIPOC protagonist, fantasy)
Ash by Malinda Lo - a retelling of Cinderella (YA, queer protagonist - F/F, fantasy)
Of Curses and Kisses by Sandhya Menon - a retelling of Beauty and the Beast (YA)

10. A collection or anthology of fairy tale retellings

Tangleweed & Brine by Deirdre Sullivan Beasts and Beauty by Soman Chainani by Angela Carter's Book of Fairy Tales

Tangleweed & Brine by Deirdre Sullivan (YA, not as popular, queer protagonist, fantasy,)
Beasts and Beauty by Soman Chainani (YA, BIPOC author, fantasy, not as popular)
Angela Carter's Book of Fairy Tales (adult, fantasy)
At Midnight ed. by Dahlia Adler (YA, BIPOC author, BIPOC protagonist, trans/non-binary/genderfluid protagonist, queer protagonist)

11. A retelling of a fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey - a retelling of Snegurochka/The Snow Maiden (adult, fantasy)
Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente - a retelling of Koschei the Deathless (adult, fantasy)
Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter - a retelling of Vasilisa the Beautiful (YA, fantasy)
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden - prominetly features Morozko (adult, fantasy)
The Wicked and the Wise by Rebecca Podos - various Russian fairy tales are retold in this Russian folklore retelling (YA, fantasy)
These Feathered Flames by Alexandra Overy - a retelling of The Firebird (YA, fantasy)
The Witch and the Tsar by Olesya Salnikova Gilmore - a retelling of Baba Yaga (adult, fantasy)

12. A fairy tale retelling with a queer* protagonist

*A protagonist who is gay, lesbian, bi, pan, or ace.

Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust Little Thieves by Margaret Own Malice by Heather Walter Briar Girls by Rebecca Kim Wells

Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust - F/F retelling of Snow White, with Evil Queen origin story (YA, fantasy retelling)
Little Thieves by Margaret Own - retelling of The Goose Girl with an demisexual protagonist (YA, fantasy, not as popular)
Malice by Heather Walter - F/F retelling of/sequel to Sleeping Beauty (Giambattista Basile) from the perspective of the evil fairy (adult, fantasy retelling)
Briar Girls by Rebecca Kim Wells - F/F retelling of Sleeping Beauty (YA, BIPOC author, fantasy retelling)
The Bone Spindle by Leslie Vedder - an gender-reimagined F/F retelling of Sleeping Beauty (YA, fantasy retelling)

13. A contemporary fairy tale retelling

Geekerella by Ashley Poston Sometime After Midnight by L. Philips Everywhere You Want to Be by Christina June The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler

Geekerella by Ashley Poston - retelling of Cinderella (YA)
Sometime After Midnight by L. Philips - a M/M retelling of Cinderella (YA, queer retelling)
Everywhere You Want to Be by Christina June - a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood (YA)
The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler - a loose retelling of The Little Mermaid (YA, BIPOC protagonist)

14. A retelling of a fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm

The Shadow Queen by C. J. Redwine Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid Towering by Alex Flinn Frogkisser! by Garth Nix

The Shadow Queen by C. J. Redwine - a retelling of Snow White (YA, fantasy)
Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid - a retelling of The Juniper Tree (the Brothers Grimm) (adult, fantasy)
Towering by Alex Flinn - a retelling of Rapunzel (the Brothers Grimm) (YA, fantasy)
Frogkisser! by Garth Nix - a retelling of The Princess and the Frog (the Brothers Grimm) (YA, fantasy)

15. A YA fairy tale retelling

Hunted by Meagan Spooner House of Salt and Sorrows by Emily A. Craig Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

Hunted by Meagan Spooner - a retelling of Beauty and the Beast (YA, fantasy)
House of Salt and Sorrows by Emily A. Craig - a retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses (the Brothers Grimm) (YA, fantasy, not as popular)
Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer - a retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon (Norwegian fairy tale collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe) (not as popular) To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo - retelling of The Little Mermaid (fantasy)
Small Favors by Emily A. Craig - a loose retelling of Rumpelstiltskin (not as popular)


16. Bonus Prompt: A collection of original fairy tales

A book of fairy tales by the original author/collector - because why not read he originals, too? Examples: Alexander Afanasyev, Hans Christian Anderson, the Brothers Grimm, Joseph Jacobs, Andrew Lang, Charles Perrault, etc.

17. Bonus Prompt: A book of fairy tale literary criticism

For those, like me, that might want to go a little deeper. You might want to look up authors such as Jack Zipes, Marina Warner, Maria Tatar, Vanessa Joosen, Cristina Bacchilega, etc.


Obviously, this list is not exhaustive! There are so many fairy tales out there, and so many retellings! So many options, and putting this list together has me wanting to read so many more than just 15!

Will you be taking part in the challenge? What will you be reading? Let me know in the comments!

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4 comments:

  1. I'm excited to join up for this!

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  2. I love all the prompts you've come up for this! I see a lot of books from my TBR, so I'll have to consider participating...

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    1. If you do, I hope you enjoy it, Jenna!

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