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Beast
by Donna Jo Napoli

ISBN 0689835906 (0-689-83590-6)
Softcover, Simon & Schuster Merchandise &

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Book summary:
In a narrative as glittering and richly detailed as a Persian miniature, Donna Jo Napoli interprets and amplifies the tale of Beauty and the Beast with startling originality. We've seen her keen psychological insights, surprising viewpoints, and clever twists on traditional fairy tales in previous novels: Hansel and Gretel in The Magic Circle, Rapunzel in Zel, Jack and the Beanstalk in Crazy Jack, and Rumpelstiltskin in Spinners. Here she uses the intriguing setting of ancient Persia in a glorious retelling of the now-Disneyfied favorite--a bold undertaking with which authors from Robin McKinley to Francesca Lia Block have also challenged themselves.
Napoli, however, brings a fresh slant to the story through the eyes of the Beast, Prince Orasmyn, who has been transformed by a curse into a lion--and can only be redeemed by the love of a woman. From this four-footed perspective, the young prince struggles to learn how to survive as a beast while retaining his humanity in devotion to Islamic moral principles. Fleeing his father's hunting park, he travels as an animal across Asia to France, where he at last finds an abandoned chateau. There, using paws and jaws, he plants a rose garden and prepares the castle for the woman he hopes will come to love him. Enter the merchant, the plucked rose, the brave Beauty, and the story wends to its traditional end--but this time with compassion and a new vividness. Into this sumptuous tapestry Napoli has woven a wealth of lore about Persian literature, the tenets of Islam, rose culture, animal behavior--even a leonine mating scene. This level of detail makes for a leisurely pace and a novel that may be more appropriate for older teens who are willing to savor the journey rather than the destination. After all, we all know how the story ends. (Ages 14 and older) --Patty Campbell [via]
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Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast
by Robin McKinley

ISBN 1417746637 (1-4177-4663-7)
Hardcover, Bt Bound

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Book summary:
This much-loved retelling of the classic French tale Beauty and the Beast elicits the familiar magical charm, but is more believable and complex than the traditional story. In this version, Beauty is not as beautiful as her older sisters, who are both lovely and kind. Here, in fact, Beauty has no confidence in her appearance but takes pride in her own intelligence, her love of learning and books, and her talent in riding. She is the most competent of the three sisters, which proves essential when they are forced to retire to the country because of their father's financial ruin.
The plot follows that of the renowned legend: Beauty selflessly agrees to inhabit the Beast's castle to spare her father's life. Beauty's gradual acceptance of the Beast and the couple's deepening trust and affection are amplified in novel form. Robin McKinley's writing has the flavor of another century, and Beauty heightens the authenticity as a reliable and competent narrator.
This was McKinley's first book, written almost 20 years ago. Since that time she has been awarded the Newbery Medal for The Hero and the Crown and has delighted her fans with another retelling of the Beauty and the Beast fable, Rose Daughter. Still, McKinley's first novel has a special place in the hearts of her devoted readers, many of whom attest to relishing Beauty time and again. (Ages 11 to Adult) [via]
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The Bloody Chamber
by Angela Carter

ISBN 014017821X (0-14-017821-X)
Softcover, Penguin Group USA

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Book summary:
From familiar fairy tales and legends Red Riding Hood, Bluebeard, Puss-in-Boots, Beauty and the Beast, vampires, werewolves Angela Carter has created an absorbing collection of dark, sensual, fantastic stories.
[via]
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Briar Rose
by Jane Yolen

ISBN 0812558626 (0-8125-5862-6)
Softcover, Tor Books

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Book summary:
It is an old, old tale, the German story of Briar Rose, the Sleeping Beauty. Now one of America's most celebrated writers tells it afresh, set this time in the forests patrolled by the German army during World War II. A tale of castles, of mists and thorns, of a beautiful sleeping princess, and an astonishing revelation of death and rebirth.

A tale that will leave you changed forever.

The tale of Briar Rose.
[via]
More editions of Briar Rose:
- Briar Rose: ISBN 0812558626 (0-8125-5862-6)
  Softcover, Tor Books
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Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister
by Gregory Maguire, Bill Sanderson

ISBN 0060987529 (0-06-098752-9)
Softcover, Harpercollins

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Book summary:
Gregory Maguire's chilling, wonderful retelling of Cinderella is a study in contrasts. Love and hate, beauty and ugliness, cruelty and charity--each idea is stripped of its ethical trappings, smashed up against its opposite number, and laid bare for our examination. Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister begins in 17th-century Holland, where the two Fisher sisters and their mother have fled to escape a hostile England. Maguire's characters are at once more human and more fanciful than their fairy-tale originals. Plain but smart Iris and her sister, Ruth, a hulking simpleton, are dazed and terrified as their mother, Margarethe, urges them into the strange Dutch streets. Within days, purposeful Margarethe has secured the family a place in the home of an aspiring painter, where for a short time, they find happiness.
But this is Cinderella, after all, and tragedy is inevitable. When a wealthy tulip speculator commissions the painter to capture his blindingly lovely daughter, Clara, on canvas, Margarethe jumps at the chance to better their lot. "Give me room to cast my eel spear, and let follow what may," she crows, and the Fisher family abandons the artist for the upper-crust Van den Meers.
When Van den Meer's wife dies during childbirth, the stage is set for Margarethe to take over the household and for Clara to adopt the role of "Cinderling" in order to survive. What follows is a changeling adventure, and of course a ball, a handsome prince, a lost slipper, and what might even be a fairy godmother. In a single magic night, the exquisite and the ugly swirl around in a heated mix:
Everything about this moment hovers, trembles, all their sweet, unreasonable hopes on view before anything has had the chance to go wrong. A stepsister spins on black and white tiles, in glass slippers and a gold gown, and two stepsisters watch with unrelieved admiration. The light pours in, strengthening in its golden hue as the sun sinks and the evening approaches. Clara is as otherworldly as the Donkeywoman, the Girl-Boy. Extreme beauty is an affliction...
But beyond these familiar elements, Maguire's second novel becomes something else altogether--a morality play, a psychological study, a feminist manifesto, or perhaps a plain explanation of what it is to be human. Villains turn out to be heroes, and heroes disappoint. The story's narrator wryly observes, "In the lives of children, pumpkins can turn into coaches, mice and rats into human beings. When we grow up, we learn that it's far more common for human beings to turn into rats." --Therese Littleton [via]
More editions of Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister:
- Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister: ISBN 0060392827 (0-06-039282-7)
  Hardcover, Harpercollins
- Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister: ISBN 0060987529 (0-06-098752-9)
  Softcover, Harpercollins
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Deerskin
by Robin McKinley

ISBN 044100069X (0-441-00069-X)
Softcover, Berkley Pub Group

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Book summary:
From the award-winning author of Sunshine comes a novel that "will involve readers from the first to the last page with its sheer beauty, its anguish, agony, horror, despair, and, ultimately, its joy" (Kliatt).

As Princess Lissar reaches womanhood, it is clear to all the kingdom that in her breathtaking beauty she is the mirror image of her mother, the queen. But this seeming blessing forces her to flee for safety from her father's lust and madness. With her loyal dog Ash at her side, Lissar will unlock a door to a world of magic, where she will find the key to her survival-and an adventure beyond her wildest dreams.

[via]
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Ella Enchanted
by Gail Carson Levine

ISBN 0060558865 (0-06-055886-5)
Softcover, Avon Books

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Book summary:
That fool of a fairy Lucinda did not intend to lay a curse on me. She meant to bestow a gift. When I cried inconsolably through my first hour of life, my tears were her inspiration. Shaking her head sympathetically at Mother, the fairy touched my nose. "My gift is obedience. Ella will always be obedient. Now stop crying child." [via]
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Enchantment
by Orson Scott Card

ISBN 0345416880 (0-345-41688-0)
Softcover, Ballantine Books

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Book summary:
Enchantment is the story of a Ukraine-born, American grad student who finds himself transported to the ninth century to play the prince in a Russian version of Sleeping Beauty. Early in the story, he muses that in a French or English retelling of the tale, the prince and princess would live happily ever after. But, "only a fool would want to live through the Russian version of any fairy tale."
Although his fears turn out to be warranted, as he and his cursed princess contend with the diabolical witch Baba Yaga--easily Russia's best pre-Khrushchev villain--to save the princess's kingdom, Enchantment is ultimately a sweet story. Mixing magic and modernity, the acclaimed Orson Scott Card (Ender's Game) has woven threads of history, religion, and myth together into a convincing, time-hopping tale that is part love story, part adventure. Enchantment's heroes, "Prince" Ivan and Princess Katerina, must deal with cross-cultural mores, ancient gods, treacherous kinsmen (and fianceés), and ultimately Baba Yaga herself.
Card has a knack for coming across like your nerdy dad at times, when he runs on too long or makes some particularly wince-inducing observation or reference ("Daaad, Bruce Cockburn is not cool!"). But, as you might expect of a good dad, as uncool as he might be, Card still manages to tell a good bedtime story. --Paul Hughes [via]
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Fire and Hemlock
by Diana Wynne Jones

ISBN 006447352X (0-06-447352-X)
Softcover, HarperCollins Canada, Limited

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Book summary:
A photograph called "Fire and Hemlock" that has been on the wall since her childhood. A story in a book of supernatural stories -- had Polly read it before under a different title? Polly, packing to return to college, is distracted by picture and story, clues from the past stirring memories. But why should she suddenly have memories that do not seem to correspond to the facts?
Fire and Hemlock is an intricate, romantic fantasy filled with sorcery and intrigue, magic and mystery, all background to a most unusual and thoroughly satisfying love story.
[via]
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The Goose Girl
by Shannon Hale

ISBN 1582349908 (1-58234-990-8)
Softcover, Bloomsbury USA

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Book summary:
Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee, Crown Princess of Kildenree, spends the first years of her life under her aunt's guidance learning to communicate with animals. As she grows up Ani develops the skills of animal speech, but is never comfortable speaking with people, so when her silver-tongued lady-in-waiting leads a mutiny during Ani's journey to be married in a foreign land, Ani is helpless and cannot persuade anyone to assist her. Becoming a goose girl for the king, Ani eventually uses her own special, nearly magical powers to find her way to her true destiny. Shannon Hale has woven an incredible, original and magical tale of a girl who must find her own unusual talents before she can become queen of the people she has made her own.
[via]
More editions of The Goose Girl:
- The Goose Girl: ISBN 158234843X (1-58234-843-X)
  Hardcover, Bloomsbury USA
- The Goose Girl: ISBN 1582349908 (1-58234-990-8)
  Softcover, Bloomsbury USA
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Grendel
by John Champlin Gardner

ISBN 0808566482 (0-8085-6648-2)
Hardcover, Bt Bound

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Book summary:
Grendel is a beautiful and heartbreaking modern retelling of the Beowulf epic from the point of view of the monster, Grendel, the villain of the 8th-century Anglo-Saxon epic. This book benefits from both of Gardner's careers: in addition to his work as a novelist, Gardner was a noted professor of medieval literature and a scholar of ancient languages. [via]
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Grendel
by Emil Antonucci, John Champlin Gardner

ISBN 0679723110 (0-679-72311-0)
Softcover, Random House Inc

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Book summary:
Grendel is a beautiful and heartbreaking modern retelling of the Beowulf epic from the point of view of the monster, Grendel, the villain of the 8th-century Anglo-Saxon epic. This book benefits from both of Gardner's careers: in addition to his work as a novelist, Gardner was a noted professor of medieval literature and a scholar of ancient languages. [via]
More editions of Grendel:
- Grendel: ISBN 0679723110 (0-679-72311-0)
  Softcover, Random House Inc
Grendel
by John Gardner

ISBN 0394471431 (0-394-47143-1)
Hardcover, Knopf Publishing Group

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- Grendel: ISBN 0394471431 (0-394-47143-1)
  Hardcover, Knopf Publishing Group
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Jenna Starborn
by Sharon Shinn

ISBN 044100900X (0-441-00900-X)
Softcover, Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated

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Book summary:
From the award-winning author of the Samaria trilogy-a classic story of a woman with the will to rise above the darkest secrets...

A baby harvested from the gen-tanks on the planet Baldus.

A girl scorned by the only family she has ever known.

A woman brave enough to follow her heart-wherever in the universe it may lead her. [via]
More editions of Jenna Starborn:
- Jenna Starborn: ISBN 0441010296 (0-441-01029-6)
  Softcover, Ace Books
- Jenna Starborn: ISBN 044100900X (0-441-00900-X)
  Softcover, Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
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Kissing the Witch
by Emma Donoghue

ISBN 0064407721 (0-06-440772-1)
Softcover, Harpercollins Childrens Books

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Book summary:
At age 28 Emma Donoghue is already a marvel. The author of two critically acclaimed novels, a fascinating work of lesbian history, and a series of successful stage plays, Donoghue can apparently do anything. With Kissing the Witch, a collection of revisionist fairy tales, she has proven once again that she is a great writer. In these 13 interconnected tales she finds new meanings in old stories: Cinderella runs off with her fairy godmother, Snow White's awakening is more erotic than romantic, and Rapunzel discovers that her freedom, although not her salvation, is in her hair. Donoghue writes about women, some lesbians and some not, and makes them the center of her fantastical world. The bold, daring boys of the Grimm tales are not here, but in their place are vibrant, knowing, and brave women and girls who are finding out what the world holds for them. [via]
More editions of Kissing the Witch:
- Kissing the Witch: ISBN 0060275766 (0-06-027576-6)
  Hardcover, Harpercollins
- Kissing the Witch: ISBN 0064407721 (0-06-440772-1)
  Softcover, Harpercollins Childrens Books
Kissing the Witch: Old Tales in New Skins
by Emma Donoghue

ISBN 0060275758 (0-06-027575-8)
Hardcover, HarperCollins Canada, Limited

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More editions of Kissing the Witch: Old Tales in New Skins:
- Kissing the Witch: Old Tales in New Skins: ISBN 0060275758 (0-06-027575-8)
  Hardcover, HarperCollins Canada, Limited
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Lady of the Forest
by Jennifer Roberson

ISBN 1575667495 (1-57566-749-5)
Softcover, Kensington Pub Corp

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Book summary:
Robin Hood and Maid Marian--their love has belonged to legend for centuries, and now it belongs to us all, stunningly brought to life by the masterful pen of a truly gifted storyteller. From the author of Chronicles of the Cheysuli and Sword-Dancer Cycle. [via]
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Mirror Mirror
by Gregory Maguire

ISBN 0060988657 (0-06-098865-7)
Softcover, Harpercollins

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Book summary:
A brilliant achievement.
Boston Herald

Entertaining&profound&.A novel for adults that unearths our buried fascination with the primal fears and truths fairy tales contain.
Christian Science Monitor

Gregory Maguire, the acclaimed author who re-imagined a darker, more dangerous Land of Oz in his New York Times bestselling series The Wicked Years, offers a brilliant reinvention of the timeless Snow White fairy tale: Mirror Mirror. Setting his story amid the cultural, political and artistic whirlwind of Renaissance Italyand casting the notorious Lucrezia Borgia as the Evil QueenMaguire and Mirror Mirror will enthrall a wide array of book lovers ranging from adult fans of Harry Potter to readers of the sophisticated stories of Angela Carter.
[via]
More editions of Mirror Mirror:
- Mirror Mirror: ISBN 006039384X (0-06-039384-X)
  Hardcover, Harpercollins
- Mirror Mirror: ISBN 0060988657 (0-06-098865-7)
  Softcover, Harpercollins
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Mirror Mirror Intl
by Gregory Maguire

ISBN 0060594535 (0-06-059453-5)
Softcover, Harpercollins

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Book summary:
> 11/11/2011 3:47:53 PM: 9780060594534, MIRROR MIRROR INTL, PB [via]
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- Mirror Mirror Intl: ISBN 0060594535 (0-06-059453-5)
  Softcover, Harpercollins
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Mists of Avalon
by Marion Zimmer Bradley

ISBN 0345350499 (0-345-35049-9)
Softcover, Ballantine Books

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Book summary:
Even readers who don't normally enjoy Arthurian legends will love this version, a retelling from the point of view of the women behind the throne. Morgaine (more commonly known as Morgan Le Fay) and Gwenhwyfar (a Welsh spelling of Guinevere) struggle for power, using Arthur as a way to score points and promote their respective worldviews. The Mists of Avalon's Camelot politics and intrigue take place at a time when Christianity is taking over the island-nation of Britain; Christianity vs. Faery, and God vs. Goddess are dominant themes.
Young and old alike will enjoy this magical Arthurian reinvention by science fiction and fantasy veteran Marion Zimmer Bradley. --Bonnie Bouman [via]
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The Once and Future King
by Terence Hanbury White

ISBN 0808576852 (0-8085-7685-2)
Hardcover, Bt Bound

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Book summary:
FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. Describes King Arthur's life from childhood to coronation, the creation of the Round Table, and the search for the Holy Grail. [via]
More editions of The Once and Future King:
- The Once and Future King: ISBN 0808576852 (0-8085-7685-2)
  Hardcover, Bt Bound
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The Outlaws of Sherwood
by Robin McKinley

ISBN 0441013252 (0-441-01325-2)
Softcover, Ace Books

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Book summary:
In the days of King Richard the Lionheart, a young forester named Robin set out one morning for the Nottingham Fair. But he never arrived. By the end of the day a man lay dead in the King's Forest, and Robin was an outlaw with a price on his head.

There have been many tales and ballards about the man we know as Robin Hood, and the lady Marian, Little John, Will Scarlet and the rest. But Newbery medalist Robin McKinley brings her unique gifts of storytelling to the familiar legends, and creates an original and compelling novel.
[via]
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The Penelopiad
by Margaret Atwood

ISBN 1841957178 (1-84195-717-8)
Hardcover, Canongate Books Ltd

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Rose Daughter
by Robin McKinley

ISBN 0441005837 (0-441-00583-7)
Softcover, Ace Books

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Book summary:
"It is the heart of this place, and it is dying," says the Beast. And it is true; the center of the Beast's palace, the glittering glasshouse that brings Beauty both comfort and delight in her strange new environment, is filled with leafless brown rosebushes. But deep within this enchanted world, new life, at once subtle and strong, is about to awaken. Twenty years ago Robin McKinley enthralled readers with the power of Beauty. Now this extraordinarily gifted novelist retells the story of Beauty and the Beast again--but in a totally new way, with fresh perspective, ingenuity, and mature insight. In Rose Daughter she has written her finest and most deeply felt work, a compelling, richly imagined, and haunting exploration of the transformative power of love. [via]
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Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead
by Tom Stoppard

ISBN 0833553887 (0-8335-5388-7)
Hardcover, Bt Bound

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Book summary:
FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. Two minor characters from Hamlet offer a novel view of the melancholy Dane. [via]
More editions of Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead:
- Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead: ISBN 0833553887 (0-8335-5388-7)
  Hardcover, Bt Bound
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Snow
by Tracy Lynn

ISBN 1416940154 (1-4169-4015-4)
Softcover, Simon & Schuster

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Book summary:

Snow White, Rose Red

In a tiny Welsh estate, a duke and duchess lived happily, lacking only a child -- or, more importantly, a son and heir to the estate. Childbirth ultimately proved fatal for the young duchess. After she died, the duke was dismayed to discover that he was not only a widower, but also father to a tiny baby girl. He vowed to begin afresh with a new wife, abandoning his daughter in search of elusive contentment.
Independent -- virtually ignored -- and finding only little animals and a lonely servant boy as her companions, Jessica is pale, lonely and headstrong...and quick to learn that she has an enemy in her stepmother. "Snow," as she comes to be known, flees the estate to London and finds herself embraced by a band of urban outcasts. But her stepmother isn't finished with her, and if Jessica doesn't take control of her destiny, the wicked witch will certainly harness her youth -- and threaten her very life.... [via]
More editions of Snow:
- Snow: ISBN 1416905189 (1-4169-0518-9)
  Softcover, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
- Snow: ISBN 1416940154 (1-4169-4015-4)
  Softcover, Simon & Schuster
Snow White, Blood Red
by Ellen Datlow, Terri Windling

ISBN 0380718758 (0-380-71875-8)
Softcover, Avon Books

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Book summary:
A collection of charming childhood stories featuring such fairy tale characters as Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, and Puss in Boots takes on a darker, more sinister edge at the hands of such writers as Gahan Wilson, Tanith Lee, and Jane Yolen. [via]
More editions of Snow White, Blood Red:
- Snow White, Blood Red: ISBN 0688109136 (0-688-10913-6)
  Hardcover, Harpercollins
- Snow White, Blood Red: ISBN 0380718758 (0-380-71875-8)
  Softcover, Avon Books
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Son of a Witch
by Gregory Maguire

ISBN 0060747226 (0-06-074722-6)
Softcover, Harpercollins

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Book summary:
The Wicked Years continue in Gregory Maguires Son of a Witchthe heroic saga of the hapless yet determined young man who may or may not be the offspring of the fabled Wicked Witch of the West. A New York Times bestseller like its predecessor, the remarkable Wicked, Son of a Witch follows the boy Liir on his dark odyssey across an ingeniously re-imagined and nearly unrecognizable Land of Oza journey that will take him deep into the bowels of the Emerald City, lately abandoned by the Wizard, and into the jaws of dragons. At once a grim fairy tale and an uplifting adventure, Son of a Witch is a true wonder.
[via]
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Spindle's End
by Robin McKinley

ISBN 0441008658 (0-441-00865-8)
Softcover, Ace Books

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Book summary:
Renowned fantasy writer Robin McKinley, author of the lush "Beauty and the Beast" retellings Beauty and Rose Daughter, has produced another re-mastered fairy tale, this time about the dreamy Sleeping Beauty. Much like in the original story, the infant princess, here named Rosie, is cursed by an evil fairy to die on her 21st birthday by pricking her finger on a spindle. That same day, Rosie is whisked away into hiding by a peasant fairy who raises her and conceals her royal identity. From that point on, McKinley's plot and characterization become wildly inventive. She imagines Rosie growing up into a strapping young woman who despises her golden hair, prefers leather breeches to ball gowns, and can communicate with animals. And on that fateful birthday, with no help from a prince, Rosie saves herself and her entire sleeping village from destruction, although she pays a realistic price. In a final master stroke, McKinley cleverly takes creative license when the spell-breaking kiss (made famous in "Sleeping Beauty") comes from a surprising source and is bestowed upon the character least expected.
Although the entire novel is well written, McKinley's characterization of Rosie's animal friends is exceptionally fine. Observations such as "...foxes generally wanted to talk about butterflies and grasses and weather for a long time while they sized you up," will spark reader's imaginations. It won't be hard to persuade readers of any age to become lost in this marvelous tale; the difficult part will be convincing them to come back from McKinley's country, where "the magic... was so thick and tenacious that it settled over the land like chalk dust...." Highly recommended. (Ages 12 and older) --Jennifer Hubert [via]
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Tam Lin
by Pamela Dean, Terri Windling

ISBN 014240652X (0-14-240652-X)
Softcover, Firebird

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Book summary:
A modern retelling of an ancient Scottish fairy tale sets the story of a girl whose lover is stolen by the Queen of Faeries against the backdrop of a midwestern college campus in the late sixties. Reprint. [via]
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Thomas the Rhymer
by Ellen Kushner

ISBN 1557100462 (1-55710-046-2)
Hardcover, Harpercollins

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Book summary:
Award-winning author and radio personality Ellen Kushners inspired retelling of an ancient legend weaves myth and magic into a vivid
contemporary novel about the mysteries of the human heart. Brimming with ballads, riddles, and magical transformations, here is the timeless tale of a charismatic bard whose talents earn him a two-edged otherworldly gift.

A minstrel lives by his words, his tunes, and sometimes by his lies. But when the bold and gifted young Thomas the Rhymer awakens the desire of the powerful Queen of Elfland, he finds that words are not enough to keep him from his fate. As the Queen sweeps him far from the people he has known and loved into her realm of magic, opulenceand captivityhe learns at last what it is to be truly human. When he returns to his home with the Queens parting gift, his great task will be to seek out the girl he loved and wronged, and offer her at last the tongue that cannot lie. [via]
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Till We Have Faces
by C. S. Lewis

ISBN 0156904365 (0-15-690436-5)
Softcover, Harcourt

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Book summary:
At once more human and more mythic than his Perelandra trilogy, Lewis's short novel of love, faith, and transformation (both good and ill) offers the reader much food for thought in a compact, impressively rich story. Less heavy-handedly Christian-allegorical than Narnia, Till We Have Faces gives us characters who remind us of people we know facing choices and difficulties we recognize. This deceptively simple book takes on new depth with each rereading. [via]
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Wicked
by Gregory Maguire, Douglas Smith

ISBN 0060745908 (0-06-074590-8)
Softcover, Harpercollins

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Book summary:
This is the book that started it all! The basis for the smash hit Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, Gregory Maguire's breathtaking New York Times bestseller Wicked views the land of Oz, its inhabitants, its Wizard, and the Emerald City, through a darker and greener (not rosier) lens. Brilliantly inventive, Wicked offers us a radical new evaluation of one of the most feared and hated characters in all of literature: the much maligned Wicked Witch of the West who, as Maguire tells us, wasn't nearly as Wicked as we imagined. [via]
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