Fractured Fairy Tales

In our library, the staff all take part in a reading challenge we call DER (Dare to Extend your Reading). Every few months we read a book based on a different theme. We do it so that we read something that we might not have read ordinarily, which is a great way of growing our collection knowledge so we can help our lovely customers to find just the perfect book.

Over the last two months, our theme was a book that was a modern retelling of a classic. It was really interesting to see how many of us ended up reading retold versions of classic fairy tales such as Snow White, Cinderella, The little mermaid and so on. You can check out some of the reviews here on our Pinterest page.

I really loved my book, and it got me thinking about just how many fractured fairy tales I have enjoyed over the years. Fractured fairy tales are the fairy tales we know and love, but changed up a little, such as changing the characters, setting or the point of view. I just love seeing favourite characters doing new and unexpected things!

So here are a few of my all time favourites, and I would LOVE to hear about yours in the comments. I'm always looking for another good read.

First up is Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine. I loved this when it first came out, and was even happier when it was turned into a movie featuring Anne Hathaway several years later. This is a retelling of Cinderella, but this Ella (who was cursed at birth to always be obedient) is incredibly smart and sassy. Yes there is a glass slipper (and a happily ever after), but Ella doesn't wait to be rescued by her Prince, she takes matters in her own hands and heads off on a quest to reverse her curse, with many adventures along the way.

My read for the DER challenge was Spelled by Betsy Schow, which was a whole new spin on The Wizard of Oz. In this version,  our main character Dorthea, the Emerald Princess, is a bit of of spoilt brat. She is sick of being cooped up in the castle due to a family curse, and when her family decide to marry her off to a prince without her consent, she makes a bit of a bad wish, undoing magic in the realm and losing her parents. It is now up to her, Prince Kato (who is now a chimera)  and insolent servant Rexxi to try and put things right, without dying in the process as the Gray Witch chases them, intent on stealing Dorthea’s magic for herself. Many other fairy tale favourites pop up along the way during this fun read. 

I've already blogged about graphic novel series Fables by Bill Willingham before in my Graphic novels for Grown Ups post, but it is definitely worth a second mention. In this series, all the fairytale and folklore characters we know and love have been forced from their homelands by the big bad 'The Adversary', and they are living in a secret community called Fabletown within our world New York. They call themselves Fables (we're the mundys), and anyone who can't pass themselves off as a mundy ends up at the Farm in upstate New York. All of your favourites are there, mostly in whole new ways you have NEVER seen them before. The central ongoing relationship between Snow White and Bigby (also known as the Big Bad Wolf) is possibly my favourite literary relationship ever!

And from one for the grown ups to one for the kids. The true story of the 3 little pigs by A.Wolf as told to Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith  is a fun wee tale I've loved sharing with my mini-geeks at home. The wolf tells his version of those famous events concerning those certain pigs in this entertaining read. Who knew just how much trouble a sneeze can get you into? 

Graphic novels for Grown ups: Part two

Continuing on from my blog post about my great love for Terry Moore, here are some more of my must read graphic novels for grown ups. There is a little something for everyone here, and it is really interesting to note that one of these series are currently in production as a new upcoming TV series, and another is about to launch season two through the Playstation network - so get in first and read the books so you can be all 'I totally know what's happening next' like all those Walking Dead comic fans ;)

First up on my list is the fabulous Fables by Bill Willingham. This is a series that I WISH was going to be a TV show, but I'll settle for the fact that I can play the spin off game The Wolf Among Us (anything to get my Bigby fix). In this series, all the fairytale and folklore characters we know and love have been forced from their homelands by the big bad 'The Adversary', and they are living in a secret community called Fabletown within our world New York. They call themselves Fables (we're the mundys), and anyone who can't pass themselves off as a mundy ends up at the Farm in upstate New York. The best thing about this series is seeing beloved characters in a whole new light. For example, I'm never going to look at Jack (as in Jack and the beanstalk, Jack be nimble, and Jack Horner....he's pretty much any Jack you can think of) the same way again, he is hilariously a bad bad boy. And that Bigby I mentioned before? That's the big bad wolf in human form, and I adore him like you wouldn't believe. He and Snow White may be my most favourite Ship ever. I've read this series over a long 10 years, patiently waiting for each new volume, and yes, I may have shed tears when the final volume was released not so long ago. You are super lucky though, because now you (lucky reader) can binge the entire series like there is no tomorrow!

And then you can also read the two spin off series Fairest and Jack of fables.

Next up on my must reads list is Ex Machina by Brian K Vaughan. Pretty much anything written by Mr Vaughan is very good squishy indeed, but this series is my ultimate favourite of his. First up, please note this has nothing to do with the movie by the same name (I got a little excited when I read about the movie, but nope, something else). This series focusses on Mitchell Hundred, also known as the superhero The Great Machine. While on the surface this looks like a superhero / sci-fi comic, in reality it is such an interesting statement piece on politics, as in light of Mitchell's superhero actions during the 9/11 tragedy, he is elected the mayor of New York City. The story flips between his current role in office, and flashbacks to his time as The Great Machine (and the mystery surrounding how that came to be). With a rich cast of (often plenty flawed) characters, this is seriously good must read stuff.

Preacher by Garth Ennis is the series that is about to hit our screens (it starts screening in the US in May) and this is the potential next Walking Dead. It has such a dream cast, and I CAN'T WAIT to see what they do with the source material. This series was always a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine. I collected every issue, but always felt slightly guilty reading it, because OMG they went there, and with all the bad language imaginable (and I was such a good girl in those days, which was about 15-20 years ago). But it was such compulsive and compelling reading and I always had to know what came next. Jessie Custer is a slightly conflicted small town preacher who ends up with a bit of an unusual ability. As a result of that, he heads out with his ex-girlfriend Tulip (she is soooo kick butt, I love her) and an Irish vampire named Cassidy on a mission to find God. Yep, you read that right, a preacher and a vamp on a quest to find God. They have the craziest adventures on the way, and meet some highly disturbed and disturbing characters, some of whom I have tried my best to forget since finishing this series a long time ago, bahahaha. I think it says something about this series, that when my husband and I first moved in together, we were both collecting and reading this individually, and neither of us was willing to be the one to stop buying it, so we both brought it until the very end, lol.

Last up on my list is Powers by Brian Michael Bendis. Now, Mr Bendis is another writer who you totally can't miss with, I love anything of his that I have read. I started reading his comics way back when with Alias, which was one of the first 'adult' Marvel comics written under the Max imprint. That series featured the now rather well known Jessica Jones, ex super heroine and current private eye (thanks Netflix for bringing her to life). I loved Jessica, but for me Powers was where it was at. It is another superhero comic with a difference - this one focusses on Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim, two homicide detectives who work on cases that involve those with 'powers'. The cases are gritty, and the dynamic between the two lead characters is unmissable. This was made into a TV series that played through the Playstation network last year, and season two is due to start in May this year.....bring it baby!