New and Upcoming Retellings, 2015-2016

It's been like a year since I've listed some new and upcoming retellings! (For a more complete listing of retellings, check out my classic retellings and fairy tale retellings lists.)  I've noticed some trends lately, though I didn't list all the books that fit these as several don't have covers yet.  We have lots of Sherlock Holmes tales (not surprising, since the copyright is up), a handful of Frankenstein tales (some not out until 2017), as well as some lovely obscure fairy tale retellings.  Here are some newly released and upcoming retellings I've discovered.


Tear You Apart by Sarah Cross
This is a companion to her other book, Kill Me Softly (a sleeping beauty retelling).  It came out in January of this year and is a retelling of Snow White.


One Witch at a Time by Stacy DeKeyser
This one is also a companion book; the first one is The Brixen Witch (the Pied Piper).  This one is a retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk, not one that's seen a lot of retellings.  It came out in February of this year. 


Beastkeeper by Cat Hellisen
This is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, about the beast (a girl) and the curse that follows her family.  It came out in February of this year as well.


The Cottage in the Woods by Katherine Coville
As you can probably tell from the cover, this is a retelling of the Goldilocks story, but from the point of view of the bears.  Definitely not many of this fairy tale that I've read.  I'm intrigued!  It came out in February this year.


Valiant by Sarah McGuire
Another unusual fairy tale retelling, this one tackles the Brave Little Taylor.  I've yet to get my hands on it, but I'm interested enough to pick it up.  Arrived in April of this year.


Rook by Sharon Cameron
There have been a handful of Scarlet Pimpernel retellings lately, and here's another that's set in the future.  I'm pretty much a sucker for anything retelling that story, cause it's one of my faves.  Came out in April 2015.


Hold Me Like a Breath by Tiffany A. Schmidt
This one says it's loosely based on the Princess and the Pea, and it's first in a series called Once Upon a Crime Family.  I'm sold! Came out in May 2015.


Lock & Mori by Heather Petty
One of several Sherlock retellings that's come out recently.  This one looks intriguing as an origin story, and Moriarty is a girl (obviously).  Coming out September 2015.


The Beast of Cretacea by Todd Strasser
I'm not sure if this is a straight up retelling of Moby Dick or not, but based solely on the characters of Ishmael and a Captain Ahab, I'm putting it in there.  This is a futuristic tale, set in space.  Coming October 2015.


Winter by Marissa Meyer
If you haven't heard about this one, you've been living under a rock.  Yeah! I'm so excited for it to finally come out - in November. Also, in case you didn't know, a retelling of Snow White.


Teen Frankenstein by Chandler Baker
I'm gonna let you guess which book this one is based on. :)  It's first in a new series called High School Horror, with plans to tackle Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and The Phantom of the Opera in the next books. This one comes out in January 2016.


Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman
This one is a retelling of the tale of Blackbeard, also not something that there's much of (though, I might just be ignorant of others).  It's coming in February of 2016- and I LOVE that cover!


The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine
And here is another Snow White retelling, there are so many!  Coming in February of 2016.


The Great Hunt Wendy Higgins
And for another unusual retelling, this one is based on the Singing Bone, a Grimm brothers fairy tale that I know nothing about. Coming in March 2016.


Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E.K. Johnston
Not your typical retelling I believe, as this one "riffs on Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale," and it sounds rather interesting.  Coming next March.


Tru and Nelle by G. Neri
This is also not a straight up kind of retelling, as it's "inspired by the friendship between Truman Capote and Harper Lee."  It sounds rather interesting, nonetheless.  Coming in March 2016.


Red: The True Story of Red Riding Hood by Liesl Shurtliff
This is the third in Shurtliff's series, the first two retelling Rumplestiltskin and Jack and the Beanstalk.  I've enjoyed both of them, so I'm eager to try this one as well.  Coming in April next year.


A Fierce and Subtle Poison by Samantha Mabry
And one more unusual retelling, this one is based on Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story “Rappaccini's Daughter,” which I've never heard of.  Sounds rather interesting and makes me want to find that short story.  Coming in April 2016.


Suffer Love by Ashley Herring Blake
And to round things out, we have a contemporary retelling of Romeo and Juliet.  This one comes out in May 2016.

Any favorites? Any that I missed?

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On Retellings: A Guest Post by Jessica Lawson

I'm happy to welcome Jessica Lawson, author of The Actual and Truthful Adventures of Becky Thatcher to my blog today!  She's planning to tell us more about retellings and some rules to follow if you plan to write one!

 
Rules for Retellings/Reimaginings
 

Recycled stories are popular nowadays (just take a look at this epic chart of 162 YA retellings). Authors vary widely in their approach, from Gail Carson Levine’s Ella Enchanted (a take on the Cinderella fairy tale) to Seth Grahame-Smith’s Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (which is pretty much what the title implies—a zombie-fied version of Jane Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice). My own debut middle grade novel, The Actual & Truthful Adventures of Becky Thatcher, is a retelling/origin story mix, with old/new characters blending with old/new plot elements…and with the original tale’s author (a young Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain) thrown in as a happenstance observer.

All this to say, there are lots of ways to go about creating a new version of something that’s already been written. Fiction, by nature, is open to interpretation and there aren’t too many true instances of “you can never do that!” Still, if you’re thinking of writing your own story based on an already-established tale, there are a few things that you may want to keep in mind:

Three Rules for Retellings/Reimaginings

1. First, you should love the original work as written and have respect for the author. Basically, retell the story because you love it, not because you loathe it. In my opinion, a retelling shouldn’t be undertaken in order to “fix” something that the original author did wrong, but rather to bring fresh attention and a new perspective to a well-loved tale.

I love Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer exactly as written. I love the story so much that I found myself thinking of its characters often, and eventually that emotional closeness to the story prompted me to revisit the world I loved so well.

2. There must be at least one large twist. But the twist should be a playful/thoughtful/deliberate one that has meaning within the original elements, not just a random item. In the words of Mark Twain, “know the facts and then distort them as you please.” Know why you’re changing a key element of the story and be confident in your reasoning. A version of Charlotte’s Web in space? That’s fine! But you need to be able to justify the twist being necessary in order to bring something new to the context of the original. Utilize the twist to strengthen your version of the story and let it inform your plot and characters. Choose your twist deliberately and with attention to the plot/characters of the original.

3. Keep the heart of the original in mind and try your best to honor it. Even if you’re retelling Cinderella to make the wicked stepmother character the heroine and her stepdaughter a horrible conniving brat, the basic idea is the same—one person is unfairly treated and must find their own journey to happily-ever-after, while the baddie gets punished.

While my own retelling of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer alters personalities and changes plot elements, the themes of learning what it means to grow up and struggling with losing pieces of childhood are still there and are recognizable.

Happy writing and reading! And if you haven’t read a retelling lately, my blog hostess Melissa’s own Classic Double Challenge is a wonderful way to get motivated.

Thank you so much, Melissa!

Jessica Lawson’s debut middle grade novel, The Actual & Truthful Adventures of Becky Thatcher is available now. You can visit her at http://jessicalawsonbooks.com and on twitter. 

Thanks for the post, Jessica!  I've always wanted to write a retelling and now I have some lovely guidelines (for if I eeeeever get around to it).  You can check out my review of Jessica's book, The Actual & Truthful Adventures of Becky Thatcher. 

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New and Upcoming Retellings

It's been ages since I last did a New and Upcoming Retellings post, which means there are LOTS of retellings that have come out and that are announced. Here's what I've been able to gather. I'd love to hear about any that you have heard about! See my previous retellings posts and my master list of classic retellings and fairy tale retellings. (My thanks to Bonnie at A Backwards Story for blogging about many of the fairy tale retellings coming out.  She's got some fabulous lists and reviews of fairy tale retellings on her site.  Check it out!)

Already released:

Gorgeous by Paul Rednick, released April 2013, a contemporary retelling of Cinderella


A Midsummer Night's Scream by R.L. Stine, released July 2013, a retelling of A Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare


Gris Grimly's Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, illustrated by Gris Grimly, released August 2013, creepily retells Frankenstein by Mary Shelley


Will in Scarlet by Matthew Cody, released October 2013, retelling Robin Hood


Roses by G.R. Mannering, released November 2013, retelling Beauty and the Beast


Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge, released January 2014, retelling Beauty and the Beast (and apparently some Greek mythology too)


Splintered by A.G. Howard came out over a year ago, but the sequel Unhinged released in January 2014 and the third title, Ensnared, is coming in January 2015, all of them retelling Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll


Exposure by Kim Askew and Amy Helmes came out in January 2013, retelling Macbeth by Shakespeare.  Anyone But You published on January 2014 retelling Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare (I mentioned their Tempestuous in a previous New and Upcoming Retellings post)


Such Sweet Sorrow by Jenny Trout, released February 2014, retelling Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare (and, apparently, Hamlet by Shakespeare)


The Glass Casket by McCormick Templeman, released February 2014, retelling Snow White and various other fairy tales


While Beauty Slept by Elizabeth Blackwell, released February 2014, retelling Sleeping Beauty


Wayfarer by Lili St. Crow, released March 2014, retelling Cinderella


The Mirk and Midnight Hour by Jane Nickerson, released March 2014, retelling Tam Lin


A Phantom Enchantment by Eve Marie Mont, released March 2014, retelling The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux


Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige, released April 2014, retelling The Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum


Second Star by Alyssa Scheinmel, released May 2014, retelling Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie


Cinderella's Dress by Shonna Slayton, released June 2014, retelling Cinderella


The Stepsister's Tale by Tracey Barrett, released June 2014, retelling Cinderella

Not Yet Released:

Wild by Alex Mallory, coming July 2014, retelling Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs


Alias Hook by Lisa Jensen, coming July 2014, retelling Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie


Frostborn by Lou Anders, first in a new series called Thrones and Bones, coming August 2014, based on Norse mythology and folklore


Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth, finally coming to the US in September 2014, retelling Rapunzel


Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer, coming September 2014, retelling Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath


Egg and Spoon by Gregory Maguire, coming September 2014 (I think?), featuring Baba Yaga of Russian folklore fame


Stray by Elissa Sussmann, coming October 2014, more of a fairy-tale-esque story featuring fairy godmothers


Stitching Snow by R.C. Lewis, coming October 2014, retelling Snow White


Exquisite Captive by Heather Demetrios, coming October 2014, inspired by The Arabian Nights


Princess of Thorns by Stacey Jay, coming December 2014, retelling Sleeping Beauty


Crown Of Ice by Vicki Weavil, coming December 2014, retelling The Snow Queen


Fairest by Marissa Meyer, coming January 2015, retelling Snow White (the queen's backstory anyway)

Love, Lucy by April Lindner, coming January 2015, retelling A Room with a View by E.M. Forster


Dearest by Alethea Kontis, coming February 2015, retelling The Wild Swans and Goose Girl

Any you can think of I missed? What are you most excited for?

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