Classic Princess stories with a Twist

[Acwoolet]

I didn't realize Once Upon a Time was a book series too! I will definitely have to look into that! I love all of the new classic fairy tales with a twist that have been coming out lately.

[jmjennings14]

There are 2 really good series that are different takes on classic fairytales. The first is the School for Good and Evil. There are currently 2 books out in the series and I love them! It's more about the next generation of fairytale characters i.e. the children of the famous princes and princesses. It also focuses on the dichotomy of good vs. evil and the gray in-between.

The other series has already been mentioned on here: The Lunar Chronicles. This series starts with the book Cinder which is about a Cyborg who goes through a lot of the same trials as the classic princess Cinderella. The similarities are fun to pick out and the story lines are different enough that the book is unpredictable and fun!

I would definitely recommend both of these series to anyone who loves classic fairytales!

[Kam_G]

The Goose Girl and Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. I love both of those stories. Shannon Hale has also written many other books, but those two are by far my favorite. I also really enjoyed her book The Book of a Thousand Days.

[PetalsOpenToTheMoon]

Ella Enchanted is my favorite twist on Cinderella. A few years ago, Anne Hathaway stared in a movie remake of the book. it was once upon a time my favorite, most adored movie... that is, up until i read the book and realized that it is 1000 times better than the cheesy, terrible movie. lol.

[Wreade1872]

I read an insane book call the The Wise Woman by George MacDonald (you can find it on Manybooks.net). Its about a suspiciously Mary Poppins like witch who kidnaps children to try and teach them to be good. The two kids in question are a farmers daughter and a princess who due to being spoiled are both essentially psychopaths .
The Princess in particular goes into violent rages at the drop of a hat and even tries to strangle her nurse and kill herself at various times.
The ending sucked but if your looking for something a little different its worth a try. Its got a very odd fairytale quality to it. Also given the ending its possible maybe that its supposed to be related to the Sleeping Beauty story but the link is tenuous.

[kfagan-14]

Ella Enchanted is my favorite twist on Cinderella. A few years ago, Anne Hathaway stared in a movie remake of the book. it was once upon a time my favorite, most adored movie... that is, up until i read the book and realized that it is 1000 times better than the cheesy, terrible movie. lol.

I read the book first and when I saw the movie my first thought was that I would of loved it if I hadn't read the book lol

[s_kiser]

The Little Princess. Because she isn't technically one; it comes with her experience.

I really like this book too. I think my stereotype is that a "little princess" should be spoiled, but I love how Sara uses her sense of her own worth to be magnanimous to other people instead of trying to put them down. I feel like that's how it ought to work, and it's a rather pleasant prescription for becoming a nicer person!

[J0ahna]

This is a great topic! I would love to read more stories like this. I read a short story a while ago by Isobel Carmody. The book was called "Green Monkey Dreams" and there was a short story in it called "the Pumpkin Eater." It was about a princess who was just beginning to question her role as a princess and in society. I found it very inspirational. The whole collection is great. They are all like fairy tales/parables with a sometimes darker twist. I love the worlds that she creates as well. I found her stories to be very imaginative, dreamlike and philosophical as well. The stories stayed with me for a while afterwards.

[kcondo]

Anyone who wants an unconventional princess story should read "The Selection" by Kiera Cass. Its a distopic novel about a world post America. It centers around a girl named America Singer who is chosen in the selection as one of 36 women who could potentially become the new princess. This is not what America wants. She has a guy back home that suits her just fine. She also isn't looking for the particular drawbacks of becoming a princess. Especially since she likes to run her own life. Also, this is a girl who has some ideas of her own as to how there screwed up kingdom be run. And she is not afraid to make herself heard or break a few bowls. This is definitely a why A book. America is a great role model for young girls out there. It is also is a fast paced page turner that leaves you guessing. There are two more book to the series and I would definitely suggest both.

-- 18 Nov 2014, 13:38 --

Anyone who wants an unconventional princess story should read "The Selection" by Kiera Cass. Its a distopic novel about a world post America. It centers around a girl named America Singer who is chosen in the selection as one of 36 women who could potentially become the new princess. This is not what America wants. She has a guy back home that suits her just fine. She also isn't looking for the particular drawbacks of becoming a princess. Especially since she likes to run her own life. Also, this is a girl who has some ideas of her own as to how there screwed up kingdom be run. And she is not afraid to make herself heard or break a few bowls. This is definitely a why A book. America is a great role model for young girls out there. It is also is a fast paced page turner that leaves you guessing. There are two more book to the series and I would definitely suggest both.

-- 18 Nov 2014, 13:39 --

Anyone who wants an unconventional princess story should read "The Selection" by Kiera Cass. Its a distopic novel about a world post America. It centers around a girl named America Singer who is chosen in the selection as one of 36 women who could potentially become the new princess. This is not what America wants. She has a guy back home that suits her just fine. She also isn't looking for the particular drawbacks of becoming a princess. Especially since she likes to run her own life. Also, this is a girl who has some ideas of her own as to how there screwed up kingdom be run. And she is not afraid to make herself heard or break a few bowls. This is definitely a why A book. America is a great role model for young girls out there. It is also is a fast paced page turner that leaves you guessing. There are two more book to the series and I would definitely suggest both.

[tamara_mc41]

cinder.JPG (164.09 KiB) Viewed 4043 times

I haven't read it yet but I am going to, from my understanding there are three books
cinder
scarlet
cress

its the retelling of three fairy tales but all the princess are robots?
it looks interesting.

[librarydancer]

I agree with a previous poster about The Story of Good and Evil. It's actually called Ever After High, and there are about 4 books in the series now. It is written by Shannon Hale.

The actor Chris Colfer has a series based on the Grimm Tales that she loves (and she is too young for Glee).
My 9 year old has been reading both...

[kaycee]

the land of stories. the land of stories is about a brother and sister who get transported to the fairy tale world and go on a crazy quest to find stuff that will help them get back to our world. they succed and meet a ton of famous fairy tale charactures on the way.

[Aspen_Reads]

Stray by Elissa Sussman
Half Upon A Time series by James Riley
Alex Flinn novels-all of these are retellings, which I thought were absolutely fabulous!

[methylaine]

I love Once Upon A Time from day 1 and it's so awesome the way they intertwine every fairy tales. They even incorporate original pieces that the Disney's and Modern version left out. This is a great example of how a tv show can make people interested in reading the original versions of a book. Some movies and series (Game of Throne for example) made me want to read the books they were based on just to get the whole picture. This is how you make people read more !

[godreaujea]

Cinder and its series. Pretty darn good.

Yeah! Very femme.