Alternative Fairytales

Do you like your fairytales a bit darker, or a bit twisted? Try these recommendations!

Updated December 11, 2024
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The house with chicken legs
Anderson, Sophie
Paper Book
My househas chicken legs. Two or three times a year, without warning, it stands up inthe middle of the night and walks away from where we've been living. A breathtaking reimagining of the Russian fairy tale of Baba Yaga, The House with Chicken Legs is the award-winning, spellbinding...
The girl who speaks bear
Anderson, Sophie; Honesta, Kathrin
Paper Book
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2021 CARNEGIE MEDAL"Written with passion and compassion, Anderson's talent as a weaver of magic and creator of evocative landscapes is growing with every book." - The Daily Mail"Enchanting story." - The Daily TelegraphThey call me Yanka the Bear. Not because of where I was found...
Cinderella is dead
Bayron, Kalynn
Paper Book
_______________ 'Kalynn Bayron does more than re-write a fairytale ... She breaks it apart and rebuilds it into a wholly original and captivating story where girls finally decide for themselves who lives happily ever after' - New York Times bestselling author...
This poison heart
Bayron, Kalynn
Paper Book
_______________ 'Kalynn Bayron does more than re-write a fairy-tale ... She breaks it apart and rebuilds it into a wholly original and captivating story where girls finally decide for themselves who lives happily ever after' - Brigid Kemmerer 'Brings...
This wicked fate
Bayron, Kalynn
Paper Book
THE BREATHTAKING SEQUEL TO THIS POISON HEART, FROM BESTSELLING AUTHOR KALYNN BAYRON _______________ 'This duology closer delves deeper into mythology while depicting textured, realistic relationships' - Kirkus Reviews 'A...
Ironside : a modern faerie tale
Black, Holly
Paper Book
When pixie Kaye declares herself to Roiben on the day of his coronation, he is forced to send her on a seemingly impossible quest. Now Kaye is forbidden to see or speak to him unless she can find the one thing she knows doesn't exist: a faerie who can tell a lie. Miserable and convinced...
Tithe : a modern faerie tale
Black, Holly.
Paper Book
In the realm of very scary faeries, no one is safe. Sixteen-year-old Kaye is a modern nomad. Fierce and independent, she travels from city to city with her mother's rock band until an ominous attack forces the sixteen-year-old back to her childhood home. There, amid the...
Blueblood
Blackman, Malorie
Paper Book
Malorie Blackman retells 'Bluebeard'. A Fairy Tale Revolution is here to remix and revive our favourite stories. These twists on familiar tales make the perfect Christmas gift. 'Please don't even try to get down to the basement. Just leave it alone - okay?...
Three Dark Crowns
Blake, Kendare
Paper Book
THREE SISTERS. ONE THRONE. A FIGHT TO THE DEATH."Gorgeous and bloody, tender and violent, elegant, precise, and passionate; above all, completely addicting." Kirkus"... a superb start to what promises to be a new exciting young adult fantasy book series." The Book BagIn every generation on the...
Cursed
Calonita, Jen
Paper Book
The final installment in the beloved Fairy Tale Reform School series where the teachers are (former) villains The evil Rumplestiltskin is planning to cast a curse that will erase Enchantasia as the world knows it, and a fairy prophecy declares that Gilly Cobbler will play a key role. Never one...
The little match girl strikes back
Carroll, Emma
Paper Book
It only takes one strike: A powerful feminist reworking of the Hans Christian Andersen classic, from bestselling and award-winning creators Emma Carroll and Lauren Child. 'Superb.  About community and voices and standing up for yourself' Phil Earle, British Book...
Bloody Chamber And Other Stories, The
Carter, Angela; Simpson, Helen
Paper Book
Discover Angela Carter's classic feminist retelling of favourite fairy tales interwoven by a master of seductive, luminous storytelling. From familiar fairy tales and legends - Red Riding Hood, Bluebeard, Puss in Boots, Beauty and the Beast, vampires...
To kill a kingdom
Christo, Alexandra
Paper Book
Dark and romantic YA fantasy for fans of Sarah J Maas - about the siren with a taste for royal blood and the prince who has sworn to destroy her.
The wimpy kid do-it-yourself book
Kinney, Jeff.
Paper Book
'First of all, let me get something straight- This is a journal, not a diary.' NOW YOU CAN WRITE YOUR OWN BESTSELLER! With The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book, you're the author illustrator, and main character. Filled with loads of interactive pages and...
Beastly beauty
Donnelly, Jennifer
Paper Book
  From New York Times bestselling, Carnegie-award-winning author Jennifer Donnelly comes a revolutionary, gender-swapped retelling of Beauty and the Beast that will forever change how you think about beauty, power, and what it really means to follow your heart. "Absolutely...
Poisoned
Donnelly, Jennifer
Paper Book
From Jennifer Donnelly, author of the acclaimed New York Times bestseller Stepsister, comes a fairytale retelling that'll forever change the way you think about strength, power, and the real meaning of "happily ever after." "...a journey of self-discovery and empowerment, wrapped...
Stepsister
Donnelly, Jennifer
Paper Book
A stunning and shocking retelling of the Cinderella fairytale from a Carnegie Medal novelist
Sleeper And The Spindle, The
Gaiman, Neil
Paper Book
WINNER of the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2016A thrillingly reimagined fairy tale from the truly magical combination of author Neil Gaiman and illustrator Chris Riddell - weaving together a sort-of Snow White and an almost Sleeping Beauty with a thread of dark magic, which will hold readers...
Tinder
Gardner, Sally; Roberts, David
Paper Book
Otto Hundebiss is tired of war, but when he defies Death he walks a dangerous path. A half beast half man gives him shoes and dice which will lead him deep into a web of dark magic and mystery. He meets the beautiful Safire - pure of heart and spirit, the scheming Mistress Jabber and the...
Rumaysa : a fairytale
Hafiza, Radiya; Touny, Rhaida El
Paper Book
Step into a Once Upon a Time where anything is possible . . . Radiya Hafiza's enchanting and funny debut weaves together three stories, spinning the classic fairytale to show that anyone can be a hero.'Rumaysa, Rumaysa, let down your hijab!'For as long as she can remember Rumaysa has been locked...
A curse so dark and lonely
Kemmerer, Brigid
Paper Book
_______________ The first book in the New York Times bestselling Cursebreakers series: a lush, contemporary fantasy retelling of Beauty and the Beast. _______________ 'Everything you'd want in a retelling of a classic...
A heart so fierce and broken
Kemmerer, Brigid
Paper Book
_______________ The second book in the New York Times bestselling Cursebreaker series: a lush, contemporary fantasy retelling of Beauty and the Beast. _______________ Find the heir, win the crown. Win the...
A vow so bold and deadly
Kemmerer, Brigid
Paper Book
Kingdoms will clash. Choose your side. The incredible conclusion to New York Times bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer's Cursebreaker series. Face your fears, fight the battle. Emberfall is crumbling fast, torn between those...
Charming
Linwood, Jade
Paper Book
John Tucker Must Die meets Shrek in a revenge tale where Princesses save themselves. Brave, Resourceful, Deceitful, Double-Crossing... Charming. Prince Jean-Marc Charming Arundel, known to friends and enemies alike as "Prince Charming," is...
A blade so black
McKinney, L.L.
Paper Book
Age range 14 to 18 A fresh take on an old classic, A Blade So Black is Alice in Wonderland as urban fantasy with a black teen heroine. The first time the Nightmares came, it nearly cost Alice her life. Now she's trained to battle monstrous...
Rapunzella, or, don't touch my hair
McLeod, Ella
Paper Book
  "a stunningly lyrical exploration of a teenager coming into her power as a young woman." - United By Pop A genre-bending YA that weaves together inner-city life and a wildly dangerous fairytale universe. Rapunzella is imprisoned in an enchanted forest made of her own...
Cinder
Meyer, Marissa
Paper Book
The first book in the #1 New York Times- and USA Today-Bestselling Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer like you've never seen it before, now with new cover art! See where the futuristic YA fairytale saga all began, with the tale of a teenage cyborg who must fight for Earth's...
Heartless
Meyer, Marissa
Paper Book
A vision of Wonderland like none you've seen before, Heartless tells the untold story of the girl who would become the notorious Queen of Hearts. From New York Times bestselling author and TikTok sensation, Marissa Meyer. Long before she was the Queen of...
Scarlet
Meyer, Marissa
Paper Book
This is not the fairytale you remember. But it's one you won't forget. SCARLET BENOIT'S grandmother is missing. The police have closed her case. The only person Scarlet can turn to is Wolf, a street fighter she does not trust, but they are drawn to each other. ...

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