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 36  There are a total of 198 valid entries on the list.
Book cover for "Beauty"
Star rating for Beauty
Average Rating:
4.7 stars
Description:
Kind Beauty grows to love the Beast at whose castle she is compelled to stay, and through her love releases him from the spell which had turned him from a handsome prince into an ugly beast.
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 "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 "Bookish and the beast"
Star rating for Bookish and the beast
Series:
Once upon a con volume 3.
Average Rating:
3.5 stars
Description:
In this adaptation of "Beauty and the Beast," the teenaged star of a popular science fiction movie franchise hides out in a small town, following a tabloid scandal, and meets the bookish Rosie Thorne who is still grieving over her mother's death.

5. Cinder

Book cover for "Cinder"
Star rating for Cinder
Series:
Average Rating:
4.6 stars
Description:
As plague ravages the overcrowded Earth, observed by a ruthless lunar people, Cinder, a gifted mechanic and cyborg, becomes involved with handsome Prince Kai and must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect the world in this futuristic take on the Cinderella story.
Book cover for "Cinderella is dead"
Star rating for Cinderella is dead
Average Rating:
3.3 stars
Description:
"Queer black girls team up to overthrow the patriarchy in the former kingdom of Cinderella"--
Book cover for "A curse so dark and lonely"
Star rating for A curse so dark and lonely
Series:
Average Rating:
4.5 stars
Description:
Eighteen for the three hundred twenty-seventh time, Prince Rhen despairs of breaking the curse that turns him into a beast at the end of each day until feisty Harper enters his life.

8. 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...

9. 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 "Daughter of Sparta"
Star rating for Daughter of Sparta
Series:
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
Guided by the handsome Apollo, Daphne journeys across ancient Greece to recover nine mysterious items stolen from Mount Olympus before the gods lose their powers and throw the mortal world into chaos in this reinterpretation of the Greek myth.
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.

12. Gilded

Book cover for "Gilded"
Star rating for Gilded
Series:
Gilded duology volume 1.
Average Rating:
4.3 stars
Description:
"Long ago cursed by the god of lies, a poor miller's daughter has developed a talent for spinning stories that are fantastical and spellbinding and entirely untrue. Or so everyone believes. When one of Serilda's outlandish tales draws the attention of the sinister Erlking and his undead hunters, she finds herself swept away into a grim world where ghouls and phantoms prowl the earth and hollow-eyed ravens track her every move. The king orders Serilda...
Book cover for "Girl, serpent, thorn"
Star rating for Girl, serpent, thorn
Average Rating:
4.2 stars
Description:
Soraya, a princess cursed to be poisonous to the touch, has lived eighteen years in the shadows but as her twin brother's wedding approaches, she faces choices with unimaginable consequences.
Book cover for "The girl who fell beneath the sea"
Star rating for The girl who fell beneath the sea
Author:
Average Rating:
3.9 stars
Description:
In this retelling of the Korean legend The tale of Shim Cheong, sixteen-year-old Mina is swept away to the Spirit Realm, where, assisted by a motley crew of demons, gods, and lesser spirits, she sets out to awaken the sleeping Sea God and save her homeland and family from deadly storms.
Book cover for "Girls made of snow and glass"
Star rating for Girls made of snow and glass
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
This feminist fantasy reimagining of the Snow White fairytale traces the relationship of two young women who are doomed to be rivals. Only one can win all, while the other must lose everything unless both can find a way to reshape themselves and their story.
Book cover for "The goose girl"
Star rating for The goose girl
Series:
Books of Bayern volume 1.
Average Rating:
4.8 stars
Description:
On her way to marry a prince she's never met, Princess Anidori is betrayed by her guards and her lady-in-waiting and must become a goose girl to survive until she can reveal her true identity and reclaim the crown that is rightfully hers.
Book cover for "Heartless"
Star rating for Heartless
Average Rating:
4.5 stars
Description:
In this prequel to Alice in Wonderland, Cath would rather open a bakery and marry for love than accept a proposal from the King of Hearts, especially after meeting the handsome and mysterious court jester.
Book cover for "House of salt and sorrows"
Star rating for House of salt and sorrows
Series:
Average Rating:
3.6 stars
Description:
On a remote island estate, Annaleigh Thaumas, the sixth-born of twelve sisters, enlists the aid of an alluring stranger to unravel the family curse before it claims her life.

19. Hunted

Book cover for "Hunted"
Star rating for Hunted
Average Rating:
4.6 stars
Description:
Follows the experiences of an aristocrat's daughter, Yeva, who tracks a mysterious woodland creature her father has become obsessed with and that stands at the center of his failing sanity.
Book cover for "Labyrinth lost"
Star rating for Labyrinth lost
Series:
Brooklyn brujas volume 1.
Average Rating:
4.3 stars
Description:
Alex is a bruja and the most powerful witch in her family. But she's hated magic ever since it made her father disappear into thin air. When a curse she performs to rid herself of magic backfires and her family vanishes, she must travel to Los Lagos, a land in-between as dark as Limbo and as strange as Wonderland, to get her family back.