Retelling Well Known Stories
Today in assembly we heard from Madeline Miller, the author of The Song of Achilles, a brilliant retelling of Homer’s Illiad. Miller tells the story from the point of view of Patroclus, a character who is mentioned in the Illiad but whose story we have not learned until now.
Miller is not the first author to retell a well-known story in an innovative and interesting way. Here are some more retellings you might enjoy!
Wicked by Gregory Maguire (The Wizard of Oz)
This novel (and subsequent Broadway musical) tells the story of Elphaba, more commonly known as the Wicked Witch of the West, and why she might not be as evil as we thought. The novel and its sequels focus mainly on Elphaba’s story, while the musical focuses on her friendship with Glinda the Good Witch.
This Dark Endeavor (Frankenstein) by Kenneth Oppel
This young adult novel is a prequel to Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and tells the story of twin brothers Victor and Konrad Frankenstein and Victors search for the elixir of life to help cure his ailing brother.
Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson (Peter Pan)
Orphaned Peter, his friend Molly and a group of boys set sail on the Neverland, fighting pirates and protecting treasure in the process.
The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor (Alice in Wonderland)
What would happen if the story of Alice in Wonderland was real? Alyss is the heir to the throne in Wonderland, but she leave her home to save her life. She ends up in London where she meets an author and tells him her story. However, he gets a few key facts wrong and Alyss’ bodyguard Hatter Madigan must track her down so she can reclaim what is rightfully hers.
Abandon by Meg Cabot (the story of Persephone)
In Greek mythology Persephone is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter and the Queen of the Underworld after Hades kidnaps her and makes her his bride. In this retelling Persephone is seventeen-year-old Pierce and Hades is the mysterious John Hayden who was there the first time Pierce died. Pierce just wants to live a normal life but she can’t escape her inexplicable need for John. Will she end up in the Underworld forever?
Ash by Malinda Lo (Cinderella)
Ever since her father died, Ash has lived a miserable life with her violent stepmother. Ash finds an escape in the fairy tales she reads and dreams of being taken away by fairies. Her wish comes true when the fairy prince Sidhean comes and takes her, but Ash falls in love with Kaisa, Sidhean’s female huntress which angers Sidhean and causes a battle where the winner gets Ash.
Once Upon a Time (TV series) (many fairy tales characters and more!)
Currently in season two on ABC (come check out season one in the library!) Once Upon a Time imagines a world where all the fairy tale characters live together in fairy tale land under the horrible rule of the evil queen Regina (the evil queen from Snow White.) Regina is angry at Snow White for a variety of reasons (that you learn over the course of the season) so she curses everyone in fairy tale land to forget their true identities and relocates them to the present day rural Maine town of Storybrooke. The show cuts back and forth between the fairy tale characters in fairy tale land (including Snow White, Cinderella, Rumpelstiltskin, Belle, Little Red Riding Hood and more) and their Maine counterparts, including Emma, the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming who escaped the curse and grew up not knowing her true history and ultimately destiny as the one who might eventually break the curse.
Click here for more suggestions of fairy tale retellings and let us know what your favorites are!
Happy Reading,
Ms.
s incredibly engaging and suspenseful! Libby was 7 when her mother and two sisters were murdered, supposedly by her Satan-worshipping older brother Ben. Now Libby is in her 30’s, living alone, and running out of the money that was raised for her by a victim’s fund. She meets a group of people fascinated with her family’s history who raise questions about that night that she isn’t comfortable answering. When she starts to dig a little deeper, she realizes not everything is as it seems and the killer might still be out there.
recounts his family’s experience dealing with his youngest son Joe’s mental health issues, suicide attempt, coming to terms with his sexuality, and road to recovery that has allowed him to be a happy and well-adjusted teen. This book deals extensively with John and his wife Jeanne’s struggles with the school system and its failure to help their son, as well as how parents can help and support their gay and lesbian children.
lyn, a young Puerto Rican girl growing up in New York in the late 1960s and how, during the summer of 1969, her life drastically changes in multiple ways. The first change occurs when she meets her activist grandmother, and the second when a Puerto Rican activist group, the Young Lords, begins demanding better treatment for the neighborhood and the community, in general.
es, capers, herbs, and pickled beets) to The Gam (ham, Gruyère, pickled green tomatoes, herb butter), Saltie features a fun array of sandwiches as well as soups, sweets and drinks. Plus, there are a handful of recipes for all of you picklers and probiotic fans.
another Nobles communication, but I had to give a shout-out to all the Deb Perelman fans here at school. We love her like a sister. How could we not, when she provides us with mouth watering savory dishes like Pancetta, White Bean, and Swiss Chard Pot Pies, Emmentaler on Rye With Sweet and Sour Red Onions, as well as sweet goodies like S’more Layer Cake and Apple Cider Caramels?
to the Lunar Landing by Andrea De Porti
Maine, gets enlisted by a local diner owner to take over his mission, which later becomes Jake’s obsession – to prevent the Kennedy assassination. The time travel begins at a portal in the diner’s storeroom and ends in Jolie, Texas. Jake’s new life in the Elvis era leads to a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald. While the history is rewritten, the time-travel plot was terrifying, suspenseful and unexpected.
and executed, this story artfully examines the largest possible considerations—life, love, and death—with sensitivity, intelligence, honesty, and integrity. In the process, Green shows his readers what it is like to live with cancer, sometimes no more than a breath or a heartbeat away from death. But it is life that Green spiritedly celebrates here, even while acknowledging its pain. In its every aspect, this novel is a triumph. — Booklist
instructions. I enjoyed this book because the projects do not require fancy or expensive tools to create your cards. The back of the book includes a gallery of sketches and templates that one could resize for any card-making or scrapbooking projects.
ylor This is an epic fantasy series about a (not so) regular girl named Karou. With her blue hair and lifelike drawings of monsters, Karou seems different from the rest of her friends in Prague. And Karou is different, below the surface there is much more to her and her history then we can ever imagine, a history that will force its way to the present, leading to an epic battle where good and evil are not so clear cut and Karou must try to figure who she truly is.
(bravery), and Amity (peace). When you are sixteen you are tested and told which faction you are best suited for as an adult, but then you are allowed to choose. Beatrice was raised in Abnegation and has spent her whole life being told how important it is to sacrifice her own happiness for the sake of others well-being. But when Beatrice is tested, something goes wrong and it is revealed that she is Divergent, a rare person who is suited for multiple factions. Beatrice must keep this a secret, for there are those who would kill her for this, and she must decide if she wants to honor her parents and stay with her birth faction or choose another group to join.
Set in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in a (hopefully) unrecognizable future, this is the story of Offred, a concubine in a new world, known as the Republic of Gilead, where women have no rights. Offred’s sole purpose is to serve as a reproductive vessel, as the men of the Republic try to repopulate their society. This is Offred’s story and we learn, through flashbacks, what her life was like before society fell and how her country collapsed. 
Frankie is angry. Angry that her boyfriend’s secret society won’t accept female students and angry that no one takes her seriously, that she is just a “pretty face.” So Frankie decides to get back at her boyfriend and his friends with a few lighthearted pranks. Soon however, these pranks grow out of control and Frankie’s actions begin to seem like the work of a criminal mastermind.
ing more than to be a knight. But as a girl she is destined to learn how to be a young lady. Desperate to change her fate, Alanna disguises herself as her brother Thom and makes her way to the royal court, where she must learn to fight, ride horses, and protect her kingdom, all while hiding her true identity.
Room by Emma Donoghue Five-year-old Jack has spent his entire life in Room, an eleven by eleven foot space where he and his mother are held captive by Old Nick, a man who kidnapped Jack’s mother many years before. Jack has never known anything besides Room and he is content there, but his mother wants out and she will stop at nothing to leave Room and get herself and Jack to freedom.
Unorthodox by Deborah Feldman Feldman’s memoir tells of her religious Jewish upbringing in Brooklyn, New York, and the brave decision to leave all that she knew behind so she could live a life of fulfillment and happiness with her young son.
Is everybody hanging out without me? by Mindy Kaling Written by Mindy Kaling, the star of The Mindy Show and former writer/producer/actress from The Office, this is a hilarious book of essays that deals with, among other things: her childhood growing up in Cambridge (she went to BB&N), her rise to fame, her hilarious exploits in Hollywood, and her idealistic look at love and relationships (which often resembles a romantic comedy).
Mandy by Julie Andrews Edwards (best known for her portrayal of Mary Poppins and Maria Von Trapp) This was on of my favorite stories when I was in middle school. Mandy is an orphan who wants nothing more than a family and a place to call her own. When she finds an abandoned cabin on one of her walks she becomes obsessed with turning it into her own safe haven. But who does it really belong to? And since no one knows where is spending most of her time, when tragedy hits will they find her in time? The fact that Julie Andrews, who played Mary Poppins and Maria in the Sound of Music, wrote this book makes me love it even more!
The graphic novel on which the movie was based, this is the story of V, the masked vigilante out to reclaim a dystopian England from its corrupt government, and Evey, the young woman who falls under his spell and aids him in his fight.
T.C. and Augie have been best friends for almost their whole lives. But now they are 9th graders, living in Brookline, MA, and falling in love for the first time. T.C. with Ale, the new female transfer students, and Augie, with a boy, something he does not accept about himself, but that everyone else realizes almost instantly. Riddled with references to all the things we love about Boston (go Sox!) this is a hilarious tale of two best friends growing up.
Stanley Yelnats did not steal those sneakers. But no one believes him, so he is sent to a camp in the desert where he spends all day, every day, digging holes alongside other boys in need of reform. But what exactly are they digging for? And what connection does Stanley have to the treasure their wardens hope to find?
In this dystopian society there is an annual walk, where 100 teenage boys walk until 99 of them have dropped dead and one remains alive, the winner, guaranteed anything he wants for the rest of his life. The book focuses on Raymond Garrity, one of the walkers and the relationships he forms with many of the other boys over the course of the walk.
