Dream High School Reading List

          Hello Book Nerds!

          As a college student majoring in English Literature with a Secondary Education Emphasis, I've often dreamed about creating book lists for High School curriculums.  So here is an opportunity for me to do so!  I've included books that my teachers had us read (both the ones I liked and the ones I disliked but learned a lot from) plus the ones I wish we'd studied.  I know this list is overly optimistic about the amount of time a High School English class would be allowed to allot to reading, but I can dream!  So without further or do, from Freshman year to Senior year, here is my dream High School reading list!

FRESHMAN YEAR:

1.  A Midsummer Night's Dream
(By William Shakespeare)

A unit on Shakespeare is just what is needed to start a high school experience off right.  So many students are taught from a young age that Shakespeare is extremely dull and difficult.  Proving them wrong and giving them a glimpse of how much fun Shakespeare can be is beneficial and will add to their reading skills.  Nearly all students will have to study Shakespeare at some point in their schooling career.  This play is a wonderful starting point.

2.  Romeo and Juliet
(By William Shakespeare)

Though I am not shy about my dislike of this particular play, it is unfortunately considered a classic.  I will admit that it has some literary merit, despite my dislike of it, and I know many people enjoy it.  Therefore I have added it to our Shakespeare unit.

3.  Much Ado About Nothing
(By William Shakespeare)
This is my all-time favorite Shakespeare play!  I know it is not as complex as many of his works, but Beatrice and Benedick are two of my favorite literary characters.  I love their witty banter!

4.  Shakespeare's Sonnets
(By William Shakespeare)

This would be a good way to transition into a poetry unit after Thanksgiving.  Perhaps there could even be a project to create a gift of poetry for a Christmas present.

5.  A Christmas Carol
(By Charles Dickens)

One of the best Christmas stories ever written!  This would be a nice one to have everyone take turns reading out loud.

6.  The Outsiders
(By S. E. Hinton)

Many students who dislike reading have been known to love this particular book.  I will not say I completely understand why, but anything to get more teenagers reading.

7.  Lord of the Flies
(By William Golding)

The book is very educational on the idea of a world without rules.  It is an interesting exploration of how a society, social classes, and superstitions are created.  I remember having an enjoyable time completing a project on this unit.  Others decided to created maps of the island, write poems, or to build game boards based off the characters and plot.  I chose to write a sequel to the book.  It was meant to be only a few pages long, but my over-achiever side took over and in the end it was somewhere around thirty pages.  I've never written horror before, and there were times that I scared myself while writing that story.

8.  The Hunger Games
(By Suzanne Collins)

I'm sure many people are surprised to see this book on the list.  However, I have several good reasons.  For one thing, I have a friend who's mother had her students do a unit on the book and it turned out very well.  Since it is such a popular series it is another great opportunity to convert teenagers into at least mild book lovers.  As for the literary merit, I think it would be absolutely fascinating to have discussions comparing the Hunger Games to today's social media and the gladiatorial games of ancient history.

9.  To Kill a Mockingbird
(By Harper Lee)

A wonderful classic!  A nice long book to end the year on.  Since Harper Lee is writing a sequel many students might be interested enough to add it to their summer reading list.  Watching the movie adaptation would be a good treat right before summer.  

SOPHOMORE YEAR:

1.  Animal Farm
(By George Orwell)
A shorter book full of amazing symbolism to start the year off.  It's a good classic to help study the genre of dystopian fiction.  I remember having this as required summer reading for my advanced English class.  I wish we'd come back and had more discussions about the political and societal themes in the book.  This would be a fun book to do some sort of art project with.

2.  Speak
(By Laurie Halse Anderson)
Speak is a young adult novel about a high school girl who's ostracized by her peers.  As a result she nearly stops talking all together and we get a good look at her internal thoughts during the school year.  The themes deal with some tough issues, but it's a book that just might convince students suffering from similar troubles to get help.  It also might draw the sympathy of potential bullies and show them that they can't know what kind of horrible things their victims have been through to make them the way they are.

3.  Hamlet
(By William Shakespeare)
What High School curriculum would be complete without this play?  My Senior English teacher had us watch a filmed version of the play to help us understand some of the subtler themes.  It's also a good one to read out loud.

4.  As You Like It
(By William Shakespeare)
To continue the mini-Shakespeare unit, we have my second favorite of Shakespeare's plays.  With the great mix of comedy and deep characters, I'd have the class read it out loud with each of them reading a part.

5.  Anne of Green Gables
(By Lucy Maud Montgomery)
I know this isn't usually on any of the curriculum, but this would be the perfect book for studying character.  There people in the story are so different and have such deep motivations and backgrounds that the students could probably pick one and write a whole essay on them.  Just think about the complexities of Marilla's character.  And come on!  Who can say no to that spunky, imaginative, red-headed Anne "with an 'e'"?

6.  The Hound of the Baskervilles
(By Arthur Conan Doyle)
Since Doyle was famous for hating his most famous creation of Sherlock Holmes.  It'd be interesting to do practice writing a research paper on this unwilling author.  Either that or it would be a good opportunity to do a genre study on mysteries and how the Sherlock stories both fit into it and influenced it.

7.  Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Speckled Band
(By Arthur Conan Doyle)
Doyle's Sherlock stories made a big impact on modern forensics and having two of them to compare would be very educational for the students.  (Plus this is one of my favorite Sherlock short stories.)

8.  Uncle Tom's Cabin
(By Harriet Beecher Stowe)
Here's a nice long classic to end the year with.  I'd make sure that we focused on the fascinating historical background of the book, as well as the huge influence it had once it was published.  The students could apply many of the things they'd learned over the year.

JUNIOR YEAR:

1.  Fahrenheit 451
(By Ray Bradbury)
Don't burn the books!  Since junior year can be so busy and exhausting, here's a little reminder for the students about what life might be like without books.  This dystopian story will remind them to be thankful for our freedom to think for ourselves.

2.  The Importance of Being Earnest
(By Oscar Wilde)
Okay, this is one of my absolute favorite pieces of literature!  The amazing satire and ridiculous antics of the characters never fail to make me laugh.  It's a wonderful one to be read out loud.

3.  And Then There Were None
(By Agatha Christie)
Just in time for Halloween, we get to read a tale by one of the best who-done-it writers of all time.  It might be an interesting study in character motives.

4.  Macbeth
(By William Shakespeare)
I know.  More Shakespeare.  But there are certain pieces that everyone should read at some point because Shakespeare is referenced so often in our culture today.  Macbeth is a great story that discusses the debate of fate versus choice.

5.  Little Women
(By Louisa May Alcott)
Many young men might groan when they see this on the book list, an unfair prejudice based solely on the title and the fact that the main characters are women.  It is one of the best stories of growing up and family ever written.  Both male and female readers can benefit greatly from this book.

6.  Little Men
(By Louisa May Alcott)
Little Women's sequel will at the very least make the boys stop complaining about the name.  However the themes are just as potent and beautifully executed.  Students will be able to compare and contrast the two books.  The broad range of character types in both books will ensure that all of the students have someone to identify with.

7.  The Book Thief
(By Markus Zusak)
This book is a great opportunity to examine the concept of the narrator.  For those of you who don't know, the novel is narrated by Death.  The power of words is an important theme in this World War II book about a foster child living in Germany.

8.  Pilgrim's Progress
(By John Bunyan)
Since this book is mentioned in Little Women, it's a good way to help clear up any questions.  It's also a wonderful study of analogy.


SENIOR:

1.   Of Mice and Men
(By John Steinbeck)
A sobering and moving classic, whether read in the play or the book version.  Another good study of characters.

2.  The Screwtape Letters
(By C.S. Lewis)
Screwtape, a demonic figure, writes letters full of detailed advice to Wormwood on how to undermine the Christian faith and promote sin in this complex and fascinating tale by C.S. Lewis.

3.  Pride and Prejudice
(By Jane Austen)
Nothing can rival the wit and brilliance of Austen's characters and lively plots.  The way she portrays the intricate interactions and relationships is definitely worthy of deeper study.  I dare any male student to scoff at the girlishness of this book after I'm done teaching it!

4.  The Odyssey
(By Homer)
Though this book is long and complicated, it's a wonderful reference for seniors to have under their belts for when they move on to college.  Students can study the Greek gods alongside this book, which are mentioned in hundreds if not thousands of other pieces of literature.

5.  The Oedipus Cycle
(By Sophocles)
A right proper Greek tragedy.  The concept of choruses and other aspects of Greek theater can be studied though this depressing yet classic tale.

6.  Jane Eyre
(By Charlotte Bronte)
Jane Eyre is often considered to be on top of the list of most influential and strong literary females of all time right next to Hermione Granger.  Along with themes of feminism and a look at class systems, Bronte gives us a heroine who has such a respect for herself that she's willing to give up everything in order to stay true to herself.

7.  The Hobbit
(By J.R.R. Tolkien)
I think this would be a great treat to end the year and high school in general with.  There are plenty of great literary merits and interesting lessons to be got from this book.  But more than anything, it's a good reminder that reading for pleasure can be extremely fun as well as beneficial.

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          There we are!  Four entire years of reading!  Hopefully this would make proper, lifelong bookworms out of them!  

          Here is a quick list of books that I was forced to read or that are popular in curriculums that I intentionally didn't include for one reason or another:

1. Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
2. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
3. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
4. The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald
5. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
6. A Separate Peace by John Knowles
7. The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer 
8. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
9. The Pearl by John Steinbeck
10. Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
11. My Antonia by Willa Cather
12. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

          Thoughts?  Opinions?  Books you liked?  Books you didn't?  Books you though I should have included?

Sincerely, 

The Crazy Book Lady

10 Great Fairy Tale Adaptations

       

 Hello Book Nerds!

One of my favorite sub-genres of fantasy over the years has been Fairy Tale Adaptations.  I've read about dozens and dozens of Cinderellas, Beasts, Snow Whites, princes, princesses, and frogs.  This is a list of a few of the best ones.  They are not in any particular order and I've made sure to not give away any major spoilers.  Enjoy!

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Beastly
By Alex Flinn
Out of 5 Stars: 4.5
          A modern version of "Beauty and the Beast", we read this book through the eyes of the "Beast".  Kyle Kingsbury is a popular, rich, and very handsome high school boy.  On the outside, he seemed perfect.  However, when a strange looking new girl joins their school it takes only a few cruel pranks on Kyle's part to reveal his ugly heart to the readers.  Unluckily for him, that new girl just happened to be a witch.  One curse later, and he's now as ugly on the outside as he is on the inside.  He is transformed into a animal-like beast.  Despite visiting doctor after doctor, he can find no way to reverse the curse.  His only hope is to find a girl to fall in love with him and prove it by kissing him.  But who could love him now?  Who would care enough to kiss him when he doesn't even have lips?
Since the book is set in modern day we get a unique view of the life changes and prejudices that Kyle encounters in his new form, and they will get you thinking about the unreasonable biases our culture takes for granted now days.  Though the book lacks talking furniture we get a wonderful cast of characters that includes Will, an intellectual and humorous blind tutor, among others.
          There was a movie made in 2011 based off the book.  It wasn't horrible.  However they made several big changes.  For instance, Kyle's "beast form" consists of a bald head and gruesome scars instead of the animal-like form in the book.  Also, the ending was changed dramatically.  I was very disappointed.  However, they made up for it slightly by putting the "alternate ending" aka the RIGHT ending into the bonus features of the DVD.  I have no idea why they changed it if they'd filmed the ending from the book already anyway.  It's WAY better!

Entwined
By Heather Dixon
Out of 5 Stars: 4.5
          This book is based off of the fairy tale of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses", one of my favorite stories.  Azalea is the eldest of twelve princess sisters.  When their mother dies in childbirth she promises to protect her sisters.  The next day the Prime Minister informs the girls that according to tradition they will be forced into a year of grieving and isolation.  The sisters soon begin to chafe at the unreasonable restrictions, especially the one on dancing, which had always been their favorite past time.  Instead they spend their time raising their new baby sister, mourning their mother, and missing their father (who has shut himself away).  Months later, Azalea discovers a network of magical secret passages within the castle.  She leads her sisters down a passage with a staircase and they find a forest of gold and silver trees and a pavilion filled with enchanted dancers.  A mysterious figure appears and reveals himself as the owner of the pavilion.  He introduces himself as the Keeper and explains he was once part of the legendary High King's court.  But he rebelled and was trapped within the castle as punishment. He allows the princesses to dance to their hearts content in the pavilion every night.  However, Azalea soon becomes suspicious that he might be hiding a treasure trove of dark and dangerous secrets...
          Entwined is a wonderful portrayal of family, romance, and magic.  The protagonist is very believable and makes many mistakes as she desperately tries to keep her family safe.  As an eldest sibling myself, I can sympathize with her difficulties.  I would highly recommend this book!

The Goose Girl
By Shannon Hale
Out of 5 Stars: 3.75
          Here we have a fairy tale that's a little less widely known.  "The Goose Girl" is often thought to be a one of the more gruesome fairy tales, but this book has made it into a interesting story of strange magics and pleasant characters.  As a child, Princess Ani bonds with her aunt who teaches her about three magical gifts.  The first is animal-speak, which she teaches to the young princess.  Ani especially enjoys speaking to birds and learning their various languages.  The second cannot be taught and is people-speaking.  Someone with this gift is able to convince and manipulate people into agreeing with them or into doing their bidding.  In the hands of a benevolent ruler like Ani's mother, this can be a good thing.  However, it is far too easy to abuse.  The last gift is nature-speaking which includes speaking to and controlling the elements.  This gift is extremely rare.  As Ani grows up her aunt dies, her mother tells her to stop her animal-speaking, and it becomes evident that Ani is not a natural leader like her mother.  When there is a death in the family, Ani's world is turned upside down.  Despite being the eldest child, she is informed that her younger brother will be inheriting the throne and she's being shipped off to be the bride of a prince in a far away land.  As she travels with her lady-in-waiting and a group of guards she begins to feel uneasy.  The lady-in-waiting, a girl named Selia, has the gift of people-speak and soon turns Ani's guards against her.  Barely escaping with her life, she makes her way to the kingdom where she was supposed to rule by a prince's side and instead finds a job as a goose herder.  Forced to hide her identity but feeling somehow freer than she did at home, she befriends her fellow workers as well as a palace guard that visits her field.  Soon Ani must find a way to stop the false princess from starting a bloody war with her home country with the help of her new-found friends and a new power within herself.
          After this book there are three other books about various characters, thought they are based less on fairy tales than this one.  I've had several of my friends read this series and fall in love with it too.  Shannon Hale is one of my favorite authors and she always manages to create memorable characters and interesting plot twists.

Violet Eyes
By Debbie Viguie
Out of 5 Stars: 3.5
          "The Princess and the Pea" is a fairy tale that is usually cruelly neglected, but it finally gets some much needed attention in this adaptation.  When a storm brings an ill Prince Richard to her family's farm, Violet falls in love at first sight.  However, when he returns to his castle, his parents inform him that his bride will be chosen through a contest between eligible princesses.  In order to marry the man she loves, Violet will have to compete against princesses in a set of seemingly frivolous tasks meant to asses things like her needlework and delicacy.  However, there may be more to these tests than what meets the eye.  On top of that a secret about Violet's true identity only complicates matters as she makes friends and enemies among the other contestants.
          Clever plot twists turn this seemingly simple fairy tale into one filled with intelligent characters and humor.


Beauty
By Robin McKinley
Out of 5 Stars: 4.5
          This is another version of "Beauty and the Beast" that follows more closely to the original fairy tale than Beastly or the Disney version (I'm a complete Disney Nerd, so don't think I'm hating on them!).  The story begins with a girl named Honour, not Belle.  Her childhood nickname is Beauty, which is ironic since she is considered the plain one one in the family.  Bookish and a tom-boy she spends most of her free time reading and riding her enormous horse while her two sisters become lovelier and more socially adept as the years go on.  When their merchant father loses several of his ships at sea, including one captained by one of Beauty's sister's fiance, they are forced to move to the countryside.  Over the next few years they are forced to learn many new skills in order to survive.  Beauty takes up many of the manly duties of the cottage and soon finds peace in her new home.  However, the family's luck takes another hard turn when their father returns one snowy night from a long trip very frightened and with saddle bags stuffed with gold and precious gifts.  He claims to have gotten lost and found a castle in the woods where his every need was attended to by invisible servants.  As he was leaving the next day he'd stopped to pick a rose from the garden, which was the only gift Beauty had asked for when he left on his journey.  Enraged by his action, a terrifying beast, whose face he couldn't bare to look at for long, accosted him.  The Beast was furious that the man had stolen from him after being shown such hospitality.  He only agreed to let the man leave on the condition that in a month either he must bring back one of his daughters to live with him forever, or the man must return himself and die.  To his credit, after the father told his family this story he declared that he had no intention of letting one of his beloved daughters go back to that place.  However, Beauty insists on saving her father, claiming that she will be missed the least of her siblings.  She goes to live with the Beast at his castle where she finds many interesting enchantments and unexpected magics.
          Beauty's spunky personality is refreshing and the reader will feel even more connected to her because of the extensive back story that proceeds her arrival at the Beast's castle.  Overall, a delightful read!

The Swan Kingdom 
By Zoe Marriott
Out of 5 Stars: 3.5
          The story of "The Wild Swans" is a little known fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson and Zoe Marriott gives it new life in this tale.  Alexandra is heartbroken when her healing abilities are not enough to save her mother when she's attacked by an unnatural beast.  The kingdom's grief is interrupted however by the arrival of a beautiful but suspicious woman who instantly charms the king into marrying her.  When Alexandra and her three brothers attempt to investigate the strange magic surrounding this woman everything goes wrong.  Her brothers disappear and she is banished to a neighboring kingdom.  As the once barren land suddenly seems to come back to life at her arrival, Alexandra makes the acquaintance of a young prince.  But her heart draws her back to her own kingdom in order to save her brothers, her father, and her people from the evil queen.  She must be unflinchingly brave and patient as she performs the long, painful, and self-sacrificing spell in order to bring peace to her home and save her family.  
          Since I bought this book they have come out with a new cover.  So if you can't find it with this one, don't worry, it's still the same book.

The Fairy's Return and Other Princess Tales
By Gail Carson Levine
Out of 5 Stars: 3.5
This is a book comprised of six short fairy tale retellings filled with humor and quirky characters.  Included are adaptations of "Cinderella"/"The Princess and the Glass Hill", "The Princess and the Frog"/"Puddocky"/"Rapunzel", "Toads and Diamonds", "The Princess and the Pea", "Sleeping Beauty", and "The Golden Goose".  My favorites are the stories of "The Fairy's Mistake" and "The Princess Test".  All of the stories take the original fairy tales and give them a very prominent twist.  Fairy gifts turn out to cause more harm than good, a girl eats nothing but parsley but somehow has the most beautiful smile in the world, and Cinderella is a boy.
          The reading level is a lot lower in this collection of tales than many of the others on my list.  It is a perfect read for anyone, but is marketed towards elementary and Jr. High readers, not that that means much.  Reading level is almost exclusively based on vocabulary and not by content.  (Sorry, it's a bit of a pet peeve of mine.)

Ella Enchanted
By Gail Carson Levine
Out of 5 Stars: 5
          Ella Enchanted has elements of the "Cinderella" fairy tale, but the majority of the story focuses on a misguided "gift" given to Ella at birth by a fairy.  The gift/curse is a spell of obedience.  Ella cannot disobey a direct order given to her by anyone, no matter what it is.  Her free-spirited nature causes her to be extremely quirky and to find little ways of rebellion whenever possible.  Despite keeping the curse a secret for the majority of her life, when Ella's mother dies and her father remarries she finds herself in danger of discovery.  It isn't long until her evil stepsister discovers her secret and uses it to control Ella.  Fed up, Ella runs away from the finishing school she'd been attending and takes a dangerous trek filled with ogres in order to try and find the fairy that put the spell on her.  Her humor and ability with languages gains her a friendship with Prince Char.  But even he can't save her from the orders of others.
          This was one of my ALL-TIME favorite books growing up.  I often rented the book on cassette from my school library, and listened to it over and over again.  It was chosen as a Newbery Honor winner in 1998 (it should have won in my opinion).  Extremely funny and filled with great characters and interesting creatures (including ogres, elves, fairies, gnomes, and giants) it definitely deserves the 5 stars!
          Don't even speak to me about the movie!!!!  They may as well have been different stories all together!  It was only loosely based off the book and should not reflect on the original work at all!  On its own the movie is sort of cute, I suppose...  But the book is fifty thousand times more intricate and enjoyable.  Normally I am able to appreciate both the book and the movie adaptation as separate works.  Not this time though.  The movie is simply too different and warps the spirit of the book.  There is simply no comparing them.  (#sorrynotsorry Anne Hathaway fans)

Fairest
By Gail Carson Levine
Out of 5 Stars: 3.5
          As you can see, Gail Carson Levine is another of my favorite authors.  This particular book is an adaptation of "Snow White".  It is in the same world as Ella Enchanted, though it takes place in a neighboring country.  Aza is the adopted daughter of an innkeeper in the land of Ayortha.  Ayortha is a country that values beauty and music.  Aza has the musical ability, but her appearance is so unusual that most people consider her ugly.  As she grows up she develops the unique talents of throwing her voice and imitating other people's voices.  When the extremely beautiful, young, queen-to-be hears her one day she instantly seizes the opportunity to use these talents for her own ends.  The queen, who has come from another country to marry the king, reveals that she does not have a natural singing voice and fears rejection by her new subjects.  She blackmails Aza with the threat of imprisonment and the closing of her family's inn if she does not help her.  Aza is forces to sing for the queen by throwing her voice.  When the king is injured, the queen's plots become harder for Aza to bear, even as she grows close to the king's son.  What will happen if she is discovered?  And what is the terrible secret that surrounds the queen and a certain mirror in her possession?
       
Wildwood Dancing
By Juliet Marillier
Out of 5 Stars: 5
          Wildwood Dancing is a combination of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" and "The Princess and the Frog" but also contains hints of "A Midsummer Night's Dream", Pride and Prejudice, and even vampires.  The story is told from Jena's point of view, the second eldest of five sisters who's ages range from 5 to 17 years old.  It takes place in the 1500s in Transylvania, a land rumored to be full of fairies and other dubious creatures.  Their family lives in a renovated old castle near a lake that's rumored to be sinister and magical in nature.  Jena is the practical, mathematically talented sister who happens to have a pet frog that only she can hear speak. When the girls' father leaves for the winter to recover his health the girls are left to run the household on their own.  They manage quite well until their cousin Caesar deems them unfit to rule themselves and becomes increasingly controlling.  But the girls also have a secret.  Every full moon they cross a magical divide and journey across the lake to dance in the Other Kingdom with various magical creatures.  It is a beautiful world full of magic and danger.  However, humans mistrust and hate the creatures of the Other Kingdom, and often with good reason.  When her older sister, Tati, falls in love with a seemingly sinister man from the Other Kingdom, Jena fears for her family.  She tries desperately to keep her home from falling into Caeser's hands, to keep Tati from being lost to them forever, and to keep the Other Kingdom from being discovered and destroyed by humans.  Will her logical brain get in the way of her heart and ruin them all?
          The book is incredibly rich and intricate (just like the front cover) and I've read it over and over again.  There is a sequel that deals with one of Jena's sisters that is another one of my favorites.  It's called Cybele's Secret.

5 Honorable Mentions

Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George
          Only the OCD-ish desire to keep my list to 10 books could have forced me to leave this one out!  It is another version of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" and though it is not as long as Entwined or Wildwood Dancing it makes up for it in a charming love story and excellent writing from two characters' points of view.  A unique aspect of this book can be found in the fact that in this version, the princesses are being forced to dance their shoes to pieces at night.  Can a young soldier with a talent for knitting save them from a terrible curse?


Midnight Peals by Debbie Viguie
          This is a version of "The Little Mermaid" that I read a long time ago.  Pearl was rescued from the sea as a baby by a fisherman and raised by him and his wife.  However as she grows older her life becomes quite complicated.  The villagers shun her for her strange appearance and her friendship with Prince James must be kept a secret.  I don't remember the entire plot, but I remember that I read it more than once and enjoyed it greatly.


Belle by Cameron Dokey
          A retelling of "Beauty and the Beast", there are several unique twists to this book.  For one, Belle has a talent for carving.  One of the reasons she agrees to go and live with the Beast in the first place is to catch a glimpse of the legendary Heartwood Tree.  If carved by the right hands, the tree is supposed to reveal the face of one's true love.  Another change is the fact that in order to break the curse, someone has to be able to look into the face of the Beast for a set number of seconds.  A feat which no one has ever been able to achieve.

The Diamond Secret by Suzanne Weyn
          Now, this might not be considered strictly a fairy tale since it is based off the legend of Anastasia Romanov.  Yet it was too good for me not to include it!  Nadya is a mischievous kitchen girl working in a Russian tavern.  When two men show up at the inn and claim that her long-lost grandmother has sent them to find her, she gladly leaves her life of drudgery behind.  She cannot remember her grandmother, or for that matter any part of her past.  But she eagerly sets off on a journey filled with laughter, love, and betrayal.


Ophelia by Lisa Klein
          This is another book that is not exactly based off of a traditional fairy tale.  Here we get a retelling of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" from the point of view of Ophelia.  I was highly skeptical of this book, considering the often unflattering portrait of Ophelia that we get in the play.  I was pleasantly surprised at the depth of character that the author gave her as well as the complicated plot that she wove behind the original story.  The ending was extremely satisfying and I'd recommend it to anyone who has read the play and pitied poor Ophelia.

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          Have you read any of these books?  Will you now?  Do you have any more fairy tale adaptations that you love?  Leave me comments and let me know!
  
                               Sincerely, 

             The Crazy Book Lady