Thorn – A Fairy Tale Re-telling

Title: Thorn
Author: Intisar Khanani
Source: from author for review
Rating: ★★★★☆
Review Summary: This book was darker and more violent than I expected from the pretty cover, but I was pleasantly surprised when the main character turned out to be a strong heroine you could really root for.

As I mentioned in my previous review of a Goose Girl retelling, the basic gist of both this book and the original fairy tale is as follows. A princess is sent to marry a prince in a foreign land and on the journey, her maid uses some form of magic to take on the princess’s identity. Once they reach the foreign capital, the princess becomes a goose girl and must decide if and how she wants to regain her place as a princess.

Bookends About The Goose Girl

Title: The Goose Girl
Author: Shannon Hale
Source: library
Rating: ★★★★☆
Review Summary: I really liked how true this book was to the style of a fairy tale and how well it fleshed out the original story.

I picked up this version of The Goose Girl planning on using it as an original to read before another re-telling. Further research suggests you’d need a children’s book (or the wikipedia page) to get the most original story, since the original is far too short for a book. The basic gist of both this book and the original fairy tale is as follows. A princess is sent to marry a prince in a foreign land and on the journey, her maid uses some form of magic to take on the princess’s identity. Once they reach the foreign capital, the princess becomes a goose girl and must decide if and how she wants to regain her place as a princess.

Bookends About Scarlet

Title: Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles #2)
Author: Marissa Meyer
Source: library
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review Summary: Creative, awesome world-building and interesting protagonists made this an enjoyable read very similar to Cinder but the lack of action was disappointing.

Loosely based on Little Red Riding Hood, Scarlet’s story starts as she searches for her missing grandmother. Along the way, she meets the dark and handsome street fighter Wolf who might be able to help her, if she can trust him. We also learn a little more about Cinder’s escape and how she might be connected to Scarlet’s grandmother.