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
An extraordinary retelling of the Baba Yaga myth, this debut novel will wrap itself around your heart and never let go.All 12-year-old Marinka wants is a friend. A real friend. Not like her house with chicken legs. Sure, the house can play games like tag and hide-and-seek, but Marinka longs for a...
The girl who speaks bear
Anderson, Sophie; Honesta, Kathrin
Paper Book
The newest heart-expanding, magical adventure from Sophie Anderson, author of the critically acclaimed House with Chicken Legs."They call me Yanka the Bear. Not because of where I was found. Only a few people know about that. They call me Yanka the Bear because I am so big and strong."<...
Cinderella is dead
Bayron, Kalynn
Paper Book
"Wholly original and captivating." - Brigid Kemmerer, New York Times bestselling author of A Curse So Dark and Lonely Girls team up to overthrow the kingdom in this unique and powerful retelling of Cinderella from a stunning new voice that's perfect for fans of...
This poison heart
Bayron, Kalynn
Paper Book
Darkness blooms in bestselling author Kalynn Bayron's new contemporary fantasy about a girl with a unique and deadly power. Briseis has a gift: with a single touch she can grow plants from tiny seeds to rich blooms. When Briseis's aunt dies and wills her a...
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
In the realm of Faerie, the time has come for Roiben's coronation. Uneasy in the midst of the malevolent Unseelie Court, pixie Kaye is sure of only one thing -- her love for Roiben. But when Kaye, drunk on faerie wine, declares herself to Roiben, he sends her on a seemingly impossible quest. Now...
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...
Three Dark Crowns
Blake, Kendare
Paper Book
New York Times Bestseller * New York Public Library Best Book of 2016 * Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2016 * Kirkus Best Book of the Year Fans of acclaimed author Kendare Blake's Anna Dressed in Blood will devour Three Dark Crowns, the first book in a dark and inventive...
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...
The little match girl strikes back
Carroll, Emma
Paper Book
It only takes one strike . . . A powerful, beautifully illustrated feminist reworking of the classic fairy tale, from award-winning creators Emma Carroll and Lauren Child "You've got a lot to say for a little match girl." On the streets of Victorian London,...
Bloody Chamber And Other Stories, The
Carter, Angela; Simpson, Helen
Paper Book
From familiar fairy tales and legends - Red Riding Hood, Bluebeard, Puss-in-Boots, Beauty and the Beast, vampires, werewolves - Angela Carter has created an absorbing collection of dark, sensual, fantastic stories.
To kill a kingdom
Christo, Alexandra
Paper Book
AN INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER This action-packed YA debut pits a deadly siren princess and a siren-hunting human prince against each other as they fight to protect their kingdoms. Princess Lira is siren royalty and the most lethal of them all. With the hearts...
This tale is forbidden
Crosby, Polly
Paper Book
Now every kid can write like a Wimpy Kid! An exciting companion to the bestselling Diary of a Wimpy Kid...
Beastly beauty
Donnelly, Jennifer
Paper Book
*"A dreamy, sublimely written tale." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review From New York Times bestselling, award-winning author Jennifer Donnelly comes a revolutionary, gender-swapped retelling of Beauty and the Beast that will forever change...
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
* "Printz Honor winner Donnelly offers up a stunningly focused story that rips into the heart of familiar fairy tale. Isabelle [is] a shattered but not unredeemable girl with a warrior's heart." -- Booklist, starred review An instant New York Times bestseller ...
Sleeper And The Spindle, The
Gaiman, Neil
Paper Book
In a beautiful collaboration, New York Times bestselling and Newbery and Carnegie Medal-winning author Neil Gaiman and Kate Greenaway-winning illustrator Chris Riddell have created a thrillingly reimagined fairy tale, "told in a way only Gaiman can" and featuring "stunning metallic artwork"...
Rumaysa : a fairytale
Hafiza, Radiya; Touny, Rhaida El
Paper Book
A magical, empowering and fantastically funny fairytale mash-up with heroines that don't need saving, from debut author Radiya Hafizah.Rumaysa, Rumaysa, let down your hijab!For as long as she can remember Rumaysa has been locked away in a tall tower, forced to use her magic to spin...
A curse so dark and lonely
Kemmerer, Brigid
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller! "Has everything you'd want in a retelling of a classic fairy tale." - Jodi Picoult In a lush, contemporary fantasy retelling of Beauty and the Beast, Brigid Kemmerer gives readers another compulsively readable romance...
A heart so fierce and broken
Kemmerer, Brigid
Paper Book
In the sequel to New York Times bestselling A Curse So Dark and Lonely, Brigid Kemmerer returns to the world of Emberfall in a lush fantasy where friends become foes and love blooms in the darkest of places. Find the heir, win the crown. 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
"A Blade So Black is the fantasy book I've been waiting for my whole life." --Angie Thomas, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Hate U Give For fans of Marissa Meyer, L.L. McKinney's A Blade So Black delivers an irresistible urban...
Rapunzella, or, don't touch my hair
McLeod, Ella
Paper Book
Rapunzella is a genre-bending novel that weaves together a young girl's ordinary life and a wildly dangerous fairytale universe, celebrating Black hair and the power of coming into your identity. "Recasting classic fairy tales in the context of...
Cinder
Meyer, Marissa
Paper Book
The #1 New York Times Bestselling Series! Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth's fate hinges on one girl. . ....
Heartless
Meyer, Marissa
Paper Book
For fans of Wicked: Don't miss this #1 New York Times-bestselling romantasy of Wonderland's most notorious villain: the Queen of Hearts. Long before she was the terror of Wonderland, she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love. Catherine may be...
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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