Fairy Tale Adaptations Are Having a Moment — Is Your Childhood Favorite One of Them? (Exclusive)

Whether you're a full-fledged Disney adult or the name Grimm means nothing to you, these novels based on fairy tales will tickle your fancy

The words Once Upon a Time have always carried magic for me. Growing up, my copy of Grimm’s Fairy Tales was so well-loved that its pages were breaking away from its spine. Most of my summers were spent at our neighborhood pool, convinced that if I stayed in the water long enough, I’d be transformed into a character fromThe Little Mermaid. 

I never became a mermaid (spoiler), but the spell these tales cast over me never broke. In fact, the more I immersed myself in those stories, the stronger my desire for them became. Luckily for me, there’s no shortage of fairy tale adaptations. I scoured my local library, discovering everything from Shelley Duvall’s Faerie Tale Theatre television series to Gregory Maguire’s novels. 

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The concept of a retelling isn’t unique. These tales have a long history of being told around hearth fires, bedsides and kitchens, each version differing slightly based on the teller. In a way, it’s like the stories themselves are living beings, drawing new life with every generation.

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As an author, (my book The Crimson Crown comes out Aug. 27), the reimagining of a well-known tale appealed to me because it offered an opportunity to hold up a mirror to an aspect of our world — or ourselves — that hasn’t been seen before. And because I’m just as obsessed with fairy tales today as when I was a young mermaid-hopeful, here are five books offering fresh takes on the stories we think we know.

'The Last Tale of the Flower Bride' by Roshani Chokshi

This lush and magical retelling of Bluebeard had me by the throat. You might know that older versions of fairy tales are sinister and violent. Cinderella’s stepsisters cut off pieces of their feet to fit into the glass slipper. The Little Mermaid sacrificed herself so that her ex could live happily ever after with his new wife. This book is achingly loyal to those dark hearts.

Chokshi’s novel follows the mysterious and alluring heiress, Indigo Maxwell-Castaneda, and her husband — referred to only as “The Bridegroom.” Though the Bridegroom is head-over-heels in love with his wife, Indigo will only remain in the marriage under one ominous condition: that he agrees never to pry into her secrets. Predictably, nothing makes the Bridegroom more desperate to uncover what his wife might be hiding. When the couple returns to Indigo’s childhood home, details of her shrouded past surface, only stoking the Bridegroom’s curiosity. As pressure mounts, the Bridegroom must decide whether he will keep his vow or risk his life (and Indigo’s) by unearthing the truth.

What I appreciated most about this book was that Chokshi wasn’t afraid to celebrate the dark spirit of the original tale. The author’s haunting prose and transportive story stayed with me for weeks after I finished the story. Every character is nuanced, every relationship humming with tension — which only builds until the book’s epic and terrifying conclusion. 

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'If the Shoe Fits' by Julie Murphy

The polar opposite of Roshani Chokshi’s decadent darkness, Julie Murphy’s retelling of Cinderella is pure fairytale sparkle. Cindy is an aspiring fashion designer whose career is at a standstill as she navigates her grief after her father’s death. When a spot opens up on her stepmother’s Cinderella-inspired reality TV dating show, Cindy decides to shed her usually shy nature and join the cast.

But being the first (and only) plus-sized contestant on the show isn’t easy — and neither is finding out that Cindy has history with the show’s “Prince Charming.” As the contest, very literally, heats up, Cindy must find a way to be her own fairy godmother.

I loved Murphy’s take on the Cinderella tale, especially the drama of setting it within the world of reality TV. Though this is a largely faithful retelling, Murphy puts her own spin on many of the tale’s elements, and I especially appreciated that Cindy possessed much more agency in this book than in other versions of the Cinderella story. And rest assured: this book wraps up in the much longed-for happily ever after — especially for Cindy.

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'Violet Made of Thorns' by Gina Chen

While some books on this list are focused on one story, Gina Chen’s YA debut is a masterful mashup of elements from many.

Violet serves as her kingdom’s prophet, a coveted position that provides Violet a comfortable life, save for one caveat: she has zero talent for divination. Most of Violet’s sought-after predictions are fabrications invented to appease her rich and annoying patrons. But when the king asks her to deliberately falsify a prophecy regarding his son’s marriage — a prince Violet also happens to harbor highly inconvenient feelings for (when she isn’t insisting that she loathes him) — things get complicated. After she accidentally awakens a curse that puts the kingdom’s fate on the line, Violet must choose between her own feelings or her desire for power.

With its morally-gray anti-heroine, steamy angst and whiplash twists, Violet Made of Thorns packs a punch. I adored the footprints of various fairy tales sprinkled throughout, but what I loved most about Chen’s book is that rather than being the damsel in distress, Violet herself causes the distress and is utterly unapologetic about the mess she leaves behind.

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'Book of Gothel' by Mary McMyne

I learned from a young age that villains are far more interesting than their heroic counterparts. They’re usually much more complex, funnier and infinitely better dressed. Unfortunately, we often only glimpse a tiny sliver of a villain’s inner character, leaving us to wonder — who are they? How did they become so deliciously wicked?

McMyne’s Book of Gothel seeks to answer exactly those questions for the villainess in Rapunzel. The novel is the story of Haelewise, a young woman living in Germany during the 12th century. With her otherworldly black eyes, strange fainting spells and family history, Haelewise is a pariah in her superstitious village. When her mother dies and her father abandons her, she’s forced to flee the townsfolk’s looming pitchforks, eventually winding up in the Tower of Gothel. There, she studies under the tutelage of a witchy wise woman who promises Haelewise a new life filled with power. But as secrets about the old woman come to light, Haelewise finds herself squarely in the sights of an evil prince. If she’s going to survive, Haelewise must learn to trust her own power — no matter the cost.

What I loved most about McMyne’s novel was how deftly she wove Haelewise’s story into real history, making her feel like an actual person. More impressively, I found myself rooting for her even though I knew that Haelewise turned into the rapunzel-hoarding witch in the end.

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'Starling House' by Alix E. Harrow

Rather than being an overt retelling, Harrow’s Starling House weaves fairytale elements — specifically those of Beauty and the Beast — into a modern gothic narrative.

The story features Opal, a young woman desperate to get out of the decaying and sinister town of Eden, Ky. When a lucrative job opportunity presents itself, Opal feels she has no choice but to accept it, even if it is working for Arthur, the last brooding heir to the mysterious Starling House. Though they initially clash, the two slowly form an unlikely friendship. And as Opal and Arthur’s relationship starts to blossom into something more, the secrets of Starling House — and Arthur’s dark past — begin to emerge. Opal is forced to decide what she’s willing to pay for the home and family she’s always wanted.

While Starling House isn’t technically a retelling, the elements are all there — a haunted castle, a cursed prince, a young woman hungry for more, true love. Ambiguity is arguably the nature of fairy tales. We recognize them not by their words, but by their bones that live inside us, twined with our own, just waiting to be awakened.

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The Crimson Crown by Heather Walter comes out Aug. 27 and is available for preorder now, wherever books are sold.

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