Stories Based on Folk Tales and Fairy Tales - Our Unabridged Book Reviews
- unabridgedpod
- Apr 4
- 4 min read
Curated by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@ashley_dicksonellison)
What happens when folklore and fairy tales meet fresh new voices? In this post, we’re sharing book recommendations that weave mythology, legends, and fairy tales into captivating new stories. From Sleeping Beauty reimagined to West African folklore colliding with modern adventure, these books take familiar tales and transform them into something unexpected.
Whether you love fantasy retellings, stories rooted in cultural legends, or just a fresh take on an old favorite, this list has something for you.
From the review: "Bree Matthews is 16 and trying to move on from her mother's death. She's built a wall to contain her grief and has escaped with her best friend Alice to an early college program at UNC. On one of their first nights there, Bree and Alice go with Charlotte, a UNC student from their hometown, to an outdoor party that is strictly against the rules. And Bree sees some extremely strange things: a weird, floating shape; a monster that appears out of thin air; and a boy and girl who each have hidden weapons at the ready to fight said monster. When the boy (Selwyn) realizes that Bree and a few others saw what happened, he orders them all to move in the other direction AND to forget what they saw. It works for everyone. Except Bree. And then Bree and Alice are caught by the police, taken back to campus disgraced and afraid they'll be expelled."
From the review: "This slim book—it's only 128 pages—is a retelling or remix of the Sleeping Beauty story (one of my favorites). Here, the protagonist, Zinnia Gray, is turning 21 and celebrating more (and differently) than most people do. She has a rare medical condition that results in early death . . . and nobody has ever made it past 21. She's tried to take advantage of the time she has—she's even earned an advanced degree with a focus on (of course!) fairytales and, in particular, on Sleeping Beauty. She sees parallels between her own fate and that of the cursed princess."
From the review: "This brilliant YA fantasy read focuses on Princess Shiori, who at the beginning of the story is worried about her upcoming betrothal to one of the lords of the kingdom. However, as forbidden magic latent within her suddenly blooms, she finds herself in a much more precarious situation than a simple unwanted betrothal.
"When Kiki, Shiori's beloved paper crane that came to life thanks to Shiori's magic, winds up at the bottom of a lake, Shiori dives in to get her and encounters a dragon."
From the review: "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky begins with Rick Riordan’s introduction asking 'Can you imagine what it would be like if you could find a book that wove the whole brilliant, beautiful tapestry of West African and African American legend into one magical world?' (loc. 48). This, of course, is that novel. Kwame Mbalia’s middle-grade book is a gorgeous, exciting, moving account of Tristan Strong’s discovery of another world, one where John Henry, Brer Fox, and Gum Baby join together to fight the Fetterlings, manacle-like creatures that threaten the people of MidPass. Mbalia threads allusions to African-American history throughout the novel, providing threats that have haunted Black history into the present. "
Tehlor Kay Mejia's PAOLA SANTIAGO AND THE RIVER OF TEARS - The Perfect Blend of Middle School and Fo (Jen's Review)
From the review: "Paola Santiago is obsessed with the mysteries of the world: how humans can use algae to reduce fossil fuel use, what it's really like in space, why her mother won't let her get a dog, why her family never has enough money. But most of all, she wants to know why she wakes up every night with nightmares about the river.
"With Paola, Tehlor Kay Mejia has written an appealingly authentic twelve-year-old protagonist who is anchored firmly in what is objectively real. When her mother warns Paola about the dangers of the river, Paola scorns her fears because they’re not grounded in science--instead, they’re based in ghost stories, like the one about La Llorona."
From the review: "Saeed launches into the story of Aladdin and Jasmine a few days after they’ve met, alternating between their points of view. Fans of the movie know that Jasmine meets Aladdin, a 'street rat,' when she has disguised herself to explore the 'true' Agrabah--with his knowledge of the streets, the impoverished orphan is able to keep her safe. Now, however, Aladdin has used his first wish from the genie to transform him into Prince Ali of Ababwa, a show off who is failing to impress Princess Jasmine."
(A note to our readers: click on the hashtags above to see our other blog posts with the same hashtag.)
Interested in what else we're reading? Check out our Featured Books page.
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