For quite some time one of the ongoing new trends in YA Literature has been the retelling of traditional fairy tales into exciting novels. Countless sources have been predicting the rise in retellings including this publisher, book bloggers and booksellers. The genre does, however, offer a different take on classic tales often turning them into interesting reads. Many authors have challenged the themes and character representations in traditional tales to suit a more modern audience.
The themes within many retellings turn the traditional fairy tale genre on its head. Tradition fairy tales can have some alarming themes including, loneliness, justice, loyalty and even rape. Modern retelling uses more modern themes, for example, CJ Redwine’s The Shadow Queen turns Snow White from a tale about parental abandonment and innocence of a child, to a coming of age/ hero quest. The twists and turns in the narrative follow the darker edge of the more traditional tale but ultimately the princess is her own heroine, she does not need to be saved by others like her more traditional or disneyfied counterparts. Another popular idea is to tell the story from the villain's point of view. This change in perspective can be more interesting as the reader is drawn into what makes a villain worth hating. While the themes within many of these fairy tales have received a modern update, so to have the characters. The characters have become richer and more dimensional. The female characters in fairy tales are often depicted as helpless and waiting for a man to save them, while the men are often brutal murderers, monsters or downright dull (Prince charming for example). Heartless by Marissa Meyer tells the tale of how the Red Queen from Alice in Wonderland became a villain. The main protagonist Catherine is a highly complex character, she is written as slightly naive. However, after the events of book develop, she is changed by her actions. Other characters in this book also have a lot of depth and dimension, leaving readers wondering about their intentions. These changes to the characters highlight more a diverse range of characters than their traditional counterparts. To conclude, retelling stories is something authors have done for a long time. Giving a new tale a different spin can refresh tired tropes and stereotypes, making something new from something old. This genre might be more suitable for those interested in fantasy and sci-fi novels but should be considered for any student, as it helps break down stereotyped characters. While the stories and novels mentioned are by no means the only ones in the genre worth reading, they are a small sample of what is on offer for those who are interested in the genre. Other Fairy tale retellings to look for (I will not spoil which fairy tale goes with each book) • The Cruel Prince by Holly Black • Hunted by Meagan Spooner • Heartless by Marissa Meyer • Beastly by Alex Flinn • Mirrored by Alex Flinn • A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn • The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert Please leave your suggestions for another reader in the comment section below.
2 Comments
Tom Mc
10/29/2018 01:53:46 am
This is a very entertaining read. I've always enjoyed the twisted or retold fairy tale genre. And it seems to be getting more and more popular with teenagers as well. I've got several students (Year 7s) who started writing twisted fairy tales back in term 1 and they are STILL writing them now. One of their stories is about 12k words now!
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Tori
10/29/2018 04:13:43 am
I love the idea of using modern versions of stories everybody is already familiar with. Modern fairytales are a great resource especially when you get students to compare them to the original. However, this topic of modern fairytales is not only limited to novels and written text. Over the past 10 years film after film has retold fairytales for young audiences and old. Films such as Beastly (2011) a retelling of Beauty and the Beast by Gabrielle-Suzanna Bardot de Villeneuve (1740) and Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) a new version of Snow White by The Brothers Grimm (1812). There are great mini series as well such as Tin Man (2007) and Alice (2010), which give Science Fiction versions of the original stories of the Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (1900) and Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865). This could add another layer by comparing films to the written versions and would be a great idea for drama and literacy classes.
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AuthorI am Miss McCarthy a Multimedia, ITS and History Teacher. I am also an aspiring Teacher Librarian. Archives |