YA Classic Retellings

YA adaptations or stories inspired from classic tales including fairy tales, fables, and classical literature. Not a complete or exhaustive list. *The Young Adult Collection is made up of books for a wide age range (12-18 years old) and includes a variety of different topics and interests. Not all titles will be appropriate for all readers.*

Showing 1 - 20 of 73  There are a total of 196 valid entries on the list.
Book cover for "An arrow to the moon"
Star rating for An arrow to the moon
Description:
"A lyrical and magical novel about two teens who fall in love despite their families being caught in a bitter rivalry."--
Book cover for "As I descended"
Star rating for As I descended
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
Tapping a dark power to prevent the favorite candidate of a distinguished educational prize from winning, school power couple Maria and Lily unleash fatal energies that blur the lines between reality and madness.
Book cover for "Bad girls never say die"
Star rating for Bad girls never say die
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
In this gender-flipping reimagining of S.E. Hinton's "The Outsiders" set in 1964 Houston, Evie must redefine what it means to be a bad girl and rethink everything she knows about loyalty after she is saved from the unimaginable by a good girl from the "right" side of the tracks.
Book cover for "A blade so black"
Star rating for A blade so black
Series:
Nightmare-verse volume 1.
Average Rating:
4.3 stars
Description:
An ... urban fantasy retelling of Alice in Wonderland... The first time the nightmares came, it nearly cost Alice her life. Now she's trained to battle monstrous creatures in the dark dream realm known as Wonderland with magic weapons and hardcore fighting skills. Yet even warriors have a curfew. Life in real-world Atlanta isn't always so simple, as Alice juggles an overprotective mom, a high-maintenance best friend, and a slipping GPA. Keeping the...
Book cover for "Blanca & Roja"
Star rating for Blanca & Roja
Average Rating:
3 stars
Description:
The del Cisne girls have never just been sisters; they're also rivals, Blanca as obedient and graceful as Roja is vicious and manipulative. They know that, because of a generations-old spell, their family is bound to a bevy of swans deep in the woods. They know that, one day, the swans will pull them into a dangerous game that will leave one of them a girl, and trap the other in the body of a swan. But when two local boys become drawn into the game,...
Book cover for "The blood spell"
Star rating for The blood spell
Series:
Ravenspire volume 4.
Average Rating:
3.7 stars
Description:
A dark romantic fantasy inspired by "Cinderella" finds Blue de la Cour, a girl hiding the magic in her blood from a cruel custodian, teaming up with a bride-seeking prince, Prince Kellan who she despises in order to stop a series of disappearances throughout the kingdom.
Book cover for "The Boneless Mercies"
Star rating for The Boneless Mercies
Description:
Four female mercenaries known as Boneless Mercies, weary of roaming Vorseland, ignored and forgotten until they are needed for mercy killings, decide to seek glory by going after a legendary monster in this reimagining of Beowulf.
Book cover for "Bookish boyfriends"
Star rating for Bookish boyfriends
Series:
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
Merrilee Campbell, 16, thinks boys are better in books, chivalry is dead, and there'd be nothing more romantic than having just one guy woo her like the heroes in classic stories. She's about to get the chance to test these daydreams when she, her best friend, Eliza, and her younger sister, Rory, transfer into Reginald R. Hero High, where all their fantasies come true--often with surprising consequences.
Book cover for "The boy next story"
Star rating for The boy next story
Series:
Description:
Rory likes Toby, but Toby likes Rory's sister Merrilee, even though Merrilee is already dating Toby's friend Fielding--and it's all about to get even more complicated at Reginald R. Hero High.
Book cover for "Briar girls"
Star rating for Briar girls
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
"Lena has a secret: the touch of her skin can kill...But after a devastating mistake, she and her father are forced to flee to a village near the Silence, a mysterious forest with a reputation for luring people into the trees, never to be seen again...Until the night an enigmatic girl stumbles out of the Silence...Miranda...is on a quest to wake a sleeping princess believed to hold the key to liberating the Gather from its tyrannical ruler and she...
Book cover for "Bright ruined things"
Star rating for Bright ruined things
Description:
Growing up on a island where the powerful Prosper family controls both the magic and the spirits who inhibit it, eighteen-year-old Mae longs for magic of her own to impress her best friend Coco and her crush Miles, but when the spirits start inexplicably dying, Mae and her friends start to the unravel the mysteries of the island and a secret from Mae's past. Loosely based on Shakespeare's "The Tempest" and set in the 1920s.
Book cover for "Bright smoke, cold fire"
Star rating for Bright smoke, cold fire
Series:
Average Rating:
3 stars
Description:
Bound by her family's magical heritage to punish their enemies, Juliet nearly loses her life trying to execute her beloved Romeo for killing her cousin, a situation that compels her guardian, Paris, to uncover dark secrets about their walled city.
Book cover for "The Circus Rose"
Star rating for The Circus Rose
Description:
A retelling of Snow White and Rose Red in which teenage twins Ivory and Rosie battle evil religious extremists to save their loves and their circus family.
Book cover for "A clash of steel"
Star rating for A clash of steel
Author:
Series:
Description:
Xiang and Anh--ages sixteen and seventeen--hunt the South China Sea for the lost treasure of the fabled pirate queen Zheng Yi Sao.

15. Cursed

Book cover for "Cursed"
Star rating for Cursed
Series:
Gilded duology volume 2.
Average Rating:
3.8 stars
Description:
"Adalheid Castle is in chaos. Following a shocking turn of events, Serilda finds herself ensnared in a deadly game of make-believe with the Erlking, who is determined to propel her deeper into the castle's lies. Meanwhile, Serilda is determined to work with Gild to help him solve the mystery of his forgotten name and past. But soon it becomes clear that the Erlking doesn't only want to use Serilda to bring back his one true love. He also seeks vengeance...

16. Damsel

Book cover for "Damsel"
Star rating for Damsel
Average Rating:
4.8 stars
Description:
Waking up in the arms of Prince Emory, Ama has no memory of him rescuing her from a dragon's lair, but she soon discovers there is more to the legend of dragons and damsels than anyone knows and she is still in great danger.
Book cover for "Dark and deepest red"
Star rating for Dark and deepest red
Average Rating:
3 stars
Description:
"Summer, 1518. A strange sickness sweeps through Strasbourg: women dance in the streets, some until they fall down dead. As rumors of witchcraft spread, suspicion turns toward Lavinia and her family, and Lavinia may have to do the unimaginable to save herself and everyone she loves. Five centuries later, a pair of red shoes seal to Rosella Olivas feet, making her dance uncontrollably. They draw her toward a boy who knows the dancing fevers history...
Book cover for "The dark descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein"
Star rating for The dark descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein
Average Rating:
4.3 stars
Description:
The events of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein unfold from the perspective of Elizabeth Lavenza, who is adopted as a child by the Frankensteins as a companion for their volatile son Victor.
Book cover for "Debating Darcy"
Star rating for Debating Darcy
Description:
"A life-long speech competitor, Leela loves nothing more than crushing the competition, all while wearing a smile. But when she meets the incorrigible Firoze Darcy, a debater from an elitist private school, Leela can't stand him. Unfortunately, he'll be competing in the state league, so their paths are set to collide. But why attempt to tolerate Firoze when Leela can one-up him? The situation is more complicated than Leela anticipated, though, and...
Book cover for "Ella enchanted"
Star rating for Ella enchanted
Series:
Ella enchanted volume 1.
Average Rating:
4.4 stars
Description:
In this novel based on the story of Cinderella, Ella struggles against the childhood curse that forces her to obey any order given to her.