I'm generally not much of a short story reader, except when it comes to re-told fairytales. This new anthology by some of today's leading YA authors is a real treat in that respect. It's a grab-bag of completely different takes on retelling (or remixing in some cases) existing fairytales. There are a few futuristic sci-fi versions. There are some good old-fashioned re-tellings, and there are some examples of bringing an old tale into a contemporary setting. One of my favorites for pure comedic entertainment value is Sarah Rees Brennan's retelling of "Beauty and the Beast". She makes worlds collide by mixing a traditional fairytale heroine with a modern frat-boy hero (beast).
Some of the material in this anthology is perhaps a little "adult" for teens. There are one or two stories that contain quite adult themes, but overall the book is suitable for younger audiences. Parents may want to read the stories first to decide how comfortable they are with some of the tales for their children.
I think my VERY favorite here was the futuristic android love story told by Claudia Gray ("A Real Boy"). But as I'm a sucker for a good sci-fi retelling of a fairytale, I also loved Shaun David Hutchinson's "Better" in a similar vein. There's a pretty grotesque (in a good way) retelling of Hansel and Gretel by Kimberly Derting ("Light it Up"). A short review like this one can't do justice to the range of interesting takes on fairytale narratives here. What I can say is that I enjoyed this book a lot more than I expected to - and I did expect to enjoy it. It's not all kids' stuff here, but real fairytales generally aren't all kids' stuff either. I highly recommend this book, although I do caution parents to think about how suitable some of the content is for younger readers.
Some of the material in this anthology is perhaps a little "adult" for teens. There are one or two stories that contain quite adult themes, but overall the book is suitable for younger audiences. Parents may want to read the stories first to decide how comfortable they are with some of the tales for their children.
I think my VERY favorite here was the futuristic android love story told by Claudia Gray ("A Real Boy"). But as I'm a sucker for a good sci-fi retelling of a fairytale, I also loved Shaun David Hutchinson's "Better" in a similar vein. There's a pretty grotesque (in a good way) retelling of Hansel and Gretel by Kimberly Derting ("Light it Up"). A short review like this one can't do justice to the range of interesting takes on fairytale narratives here. What I can say is that I enjoyed this book a lot more than I expected to - and I did expect to enjoy it. It's not all kids' stuff here, but real fairytales generally aren't all kids' stuff either. I highly recommend this book, although I do caution parents to think about how suitable some of the content is for younger readers.
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