2000 List of Popular Paperbacks for YA

I'm almost shocked that this book is to be found in the children's section of a bookstore, it seemed to me to be a bit too grown up for children. But that's ok. With what many will view as lesbian themes, or at the very least feminist themes, letting children read literature that accepts such normally taboo or looked-down upon concepts might just inadvertantly teach them tolerance and acceptance. That's definitely a good thing, and I know from experience that what a child reads is more than a little influential in her life.

The sum of it is, this book is superbly written with finely, finely crafted stories, and I highly recommend it to everyone.


An Compassionate Alternative to Tradition   June 9, 2001
 12 out of 12 found this review helpful

One page read aloud and one image shared (the book's cover on an overhead transparency)aroused a thirst for more as I listened to a review of this new collection of fairytales. As I sat in the audience of over eighty other English teachers, gathering notes about new adolescent literature, my ears perked up as the eloquent speaker, a very conventional looking lady, gave accolades to this potentially controversial anthology. Once I bought a copy and read it for myself I admired the author's clever skill at delicately weaving each tale to the next, taking every opportunity to dispell the subtle patriarchal oppressive seeds of thought planted by their traditional ancestors. As a literary instructor, I put much faith in the science and art of bibliotherapy (using books to address emotional and psychological issues). This book is excellant balm for a young lady confronting her emerging sexuality, should it diverge from mass cultural expectations. Furthermore it is a vivid example of how a story can be beautifully retold, keeping the frame of the original but explaining something much deeper than "happily ever-after." I would not limit this book by saying that its only audience is comprised of lesbians, bisexuals, or adolescents. It is a book from which we can all gain lessons of tolerance, peace, and a deeper understanding of human emotion.


Wonderful, almost cryptic retellings of classics   June 14, 1999
 10 out of 10 found this review helpful

I picked up the book on a whim. My friends gave me curious looks as I explained it was a retelling of fairy tales. As I started to read it (I consumed it in one sitting), I realized it was much more. The problem with fairy tales is that they provide this bland, generalistic view of what romance is, what a woman is, what a man is. And the view is incorrect. These tales are wonderful in their change of the old stories. These are not simple retellings. Quite often it took me a lot of the story to realize which fairy tale it was. It is great for any age, either sex, and people who prefer pretty much any genre of story. I loved this book as a writer and a reader.


Intriguing, but I admit to reservations   April 14, 2006
 10 out of 13 found this review helpful


Virtually all the other reviewers have commented on the books wonderful and novel takes on these stories. And they are actually, quite interesting. And there are some amusing references to recent popular retellings of the tales -- the witch in the version of the Little Mermaid is rumored to be "an octopus below the waist." Sound familiar?

But I have to admit to some problems. One of them might be my own unfamiliarity with some of the stories -- I can't figure out, exactly, what fairy tale "The Tale of the Bird" is supposed to be, for example. Also, while the linkage of the stories is interesting, some of them defy easy understanding; I find myself wondering how, exactly, Rapunzel became the horse in the story of the Goose Girl, to say nothing of how the Little Mermaid turns into a version of the bad fairy in Sleeping Beauty. Which in and of itself begs the question, in a collection of stories that includes a talking horse's skull, why does the author feel the need to demystify the Little Mermaid into a fisherman's daughter?

And ultimately, I feel like I've read half a book. The nested structure only takes us to the point where one of the characters asks another for her story, without explaining what then happened to the first character to bring her into the story where she was asked, and so on, and so forth. (I think I'm probably not being as clear as I could be, but so it goes.)

Still, this is an excellent and subversive retelling of stories that probably could stand a bit of subverting; I wish that I could like it better than I do.


The truth of the fairy tale is the power of a woman.   May 7, 1999
 8 out of 8 found this review helpful

I impulsively picked up this book because of the name & cover design. I had no idea that it was directed at an adolescent audience until I was about to order one as a gift for one on my heroes. I read it through with delight and anticipation for each story to come. I think this is an excellent book for women of any age. It provides our younger siblings with an alternative to all things boys. Its life affirming with out sentimental illusions, and portrays the other side of the story, our side, with humor & accuracy seldom seen. It takes the fairy tale back from the Grimm brothers, and their superstitious fears about women with knowledge, self determination and freedom. I loved it and have a list a mile long of friends I'll be sharing it with.