The best retelling books that tangle multiple fairy tales

This was one of the first books that introduced me to retellings incorporating multiple fairy tales, and I knew right there that this was a genre I both wanted to read widely and write in.

I was beyond fascinated by the world Meyer created, especially the juxtaposition of fairy tales and a futuristic society.

Cinder herself was a breath of fresh air—a mechanic who was much more than she appeared, and I connected with her in a hungry way, in a way that made me realize that I could be fiercely independent and still want others in my life (even a romantic interest).

I blew through this book in a day, and I’ve reread it to find everything I missed on that first go-through.

I read this a few years ago, thought it was cute, and moved on. I recently reread it on a much deeper dive, and I found a story that was so much more than it appeared initially.

Gidwitz’s humor is excellent—I laughed out loud reading this. But he also touches on so many themes that are present throughout fairy tales while not shying away from either the darkness or the light.

I loved the way he combined some of the lesser-known tales with Hansel and Gretel to make something that was more than any one story had been before. It was something I wanted to replicate in my own way, and he does it so well.

This is the first in a series about kids who’ve had their Wonderland experience—gone to another world where they fit in, only to be thrust back to Earth.

I devoured this book with all the needy fervor of a girl who spent her childhood looking for hidden doors in tree trunks and waiting for her to be summoned to her calling. This doesn’t call from any specific tales. Rather, it combines elements from fairy tales across cultures and authors to create a world that stole my breath.

It also incorporates another story element I’m a sucker for—the school for “special” or “gifted” children. Only I hope I’d never have to attend this school because it would mean I’d found my place and then lost it again.

I once pitched this to a friend as “Percy Jackson but with fairy tales.” I stand by that.

It occurs to me that most of my picks for my list have been middle grade titles, and this book gets to the heart of why. It has all the magic and wonder of the school experience I wished on a star for as a child. The combination of princesses and magical engineers, political intrigue and romance—I fell in love with it and found myself swept away.

If I could go back in time and go to Bach’s school instead of my middle school—I don’t have to tell you it would be a no-brainer.

Oh, this book. Alex, one of the main characters, wishes to find herself among the fairy tales that have been her best friends, and then she does. And I wanted to be her so badly.

This book made me believe in magic, even though I already believed in magic. I wanted to visit this world. I wanted to frolic through this world and meet all the characters who’d also been my best friends growing up.

Colfer puts such unique and interesting twists on some of my favorite tales, yet somehow, they still feel like the worlds of magic I expect and hope for them to be. This book was like coming home to a place I’ve never been.