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Crossing the Line: Adult-Teen Relationships in YA Fiction and Beyond

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In Saturday’s Links of Note roundup, I pulled together some of the posts making rounds regarding the sexual misconduct scandal within DFTBA records. If you aren’t completely up on what’s going on — and I have to admit, I’m not entirely clear on everything happening either — here’s a piece that’ll give the rundown as it started. This is a story that has many layers to it, and I think that Jeanne has done a pretty good job breaking some more of them down in her post (and the subsequent update she’s linked to). Read this, as well as the comments. Her background is within the fandom perspective, which is an arena I know little about. 

But what’s stood out to me over the course of this is less the allegations of sexual abuse — which isn’t to say that’s not important because it certainly is — but instead, I’ve found myself fascinated by an organization which is run primarily (entirely?) by men who serve a primarily teen audience and fan base. There is nothing wrong with that, but it leads to a lot of questions about how those who are older than eighteen can or should interact with their underage audiences. This isn’t only about DFTBA; it’s about any situation where adults work with or for or come in contact with teens in some capacity. 

I was a teen girl once. I was a teen girl who loved male acoustic singers, and I was lucky enough to be able to go to a lot of concerts growing up. I lived close enough to Chicago to make this a reality, and I’d earned enough trust to go, whether with an adult or by myself/with a group of friends. I never thought a whole lot about the fact that I was under 18 and going and seeing these men who were in their late 20s and 30s performing. Many times because of my working for the high school newspaper, I was able to get in touch with these artists and set up either web-based or in-person interviews. 

I never found it weird to talk with them after a show or ask for an autograph or ask a few questions or even approach them for a hug. It never occurred to me that that could be uncomfortable. I was a teen girl and expressing my interest and my passion for music and the art someone else was making. 

One night after a show, I’d had such a good time and had a chance to talk with the singer afterwards, mentioning that I was really bummed I couldn’t go to his show the next night since it was a 21 and older only spot. I’d been there with my mom, and rather than invite me to come to the show anyway, he talked with my mom and said if she was willing to come with me, he’d sneak me in to sell merch for the show that night. 

But this was after he talked with my mom. 

Of course then it didn’t seem like a big deal to me, but in thinking about that moment now, it was exactly the right thing for him to do. Rather than invite me personally or offer to sneak me in, he asked my mom for approval and asked if she would come with me to do so. He didn’t lead me on and he didn’t try to make promises for me. He set up some clear boundaries and expectations immediately in order to protect not just himself but to protect me, as well. 

Barry Lyga wrote two really great posts last week talking about being in the sort of position where he’s regularly interacting with teenagers. The first, which you should read here, set off a lot of questions and discussion. Was he being too strict in having a “no hugs” policy? He followed up with a response to the things people asked or said to him — primarily to those who thought his approach was far too rigid and strict — in this post. The golden piece is this quote: “Why do we presume men are guilty? Dunno, but here’s the thing: until it changes, I’m not going to pretend it hasn’t changed. Change comes first —then hugs.” 

What Lyga speaks to isn’t the presumption of guilt. He’s not calling men the problem. He’s instead pointing out that we do live in a world where bad things happen and rather than contribute to that, his policy is simply hands off. Does it mean sometimes a teen doesn’t get what he or she wants? Something that could make his or her day or week or year? Certainly. 

In his own words: “A part of respect in a relationship between an adult and a minor is acknowledging the power imbalance and setting reasonable boundaries. We can quibble about the nature and tone of those boundaries, but I don’t think we should quibble about their necessity.”

This is where I find myself most fascinated by the DFTBA community and the events going on within it right now. There is a power imbalance. While we’re most familiar with imbalances that put someone in a position to hold their power over the heads of others, what is going on here is a power imbalance that’s never been considered: those who have power don’t see themselves in that way. It’s not that they should feel guilty or bad for what happened. It’s that the possibility of what could happen in such a position wasn’t at the forefront and wasn’t considered.

There was no blanket manner of dealing with issues that could arise because the idea that they could arise wasn’t something that they thought about. 

No matter how cool a 15 year old might be, a 22 year old shouldn’t be anything more than a 22 year old adult with that person. Gender does and doesn’t matter here. It matters because there’s certainly additional power imbalances when it’s a sexually-charged relationship, but it doesn’t matter because there is a clear line of legality regardless of the type of relationship being pursued. It can go either or both ways — older men or older women and/or younger boy or younger girl. 

What’s interesting in this particular instance is the language used to describe the teenager. She is not a teenager, nor is she a girl. She’s a young woman. There is a power construct in the word choice, whether intentional or not. Regardless of how cool or polished she comes off, she’s still a teenager. When I think about when I was a teenager, I was fueled by my feelings, especially in regards to how I was being talked to and treated by “cool” adults. I loved that respect and attention. 

But it didn’t change the fact I was a teenager and not a young woman. 

In thinking about relationships between adults and teenagers, I thought rather than try to deconstruct this further, it’d be worthwhile to build a short reading list of books that explore these relationships. In some instances, the imbalance is clear and the lines of right and wrong are crisp. In others, it’s not as clear. Descriptions come from WorldCat, and I’ve elaborated a little bit, too, about why these books are worthwhile reading and discussion fodder, especially in light of what’s happening in the DFTBA community. 

Please feel free to offer up other titles that showcase adult-teen relationships and the power (im)balances within them. I’d love to have a nice resource list because I think that this is a topic that doesn’t get talked about much but offers a lot of places for empowering not just teenagers, but adults, as well. 

This Gorgeous Game by Donna Freitas

Seventeen-year-old Olivia Peters, who dreams of becoming a writer, is thrilled to be selected to take a college fiction seminar taught by her idol, Father Mark, but when the priest’s enthusiasm for her writing develops into something more, Olivia shifts from wonder to confusion to despair.

In Freitas’s novel, Olivia wants the approval of her idol so bad, she’ll go to the ends of the Earth to earn it. The problem is that Father Mark takes complete advantage of her desires and manipulates Olivia in the worst possible ways. Olivia is and is not entirely on to what’s going on. She believes that in order to achieve, she has to listen and follow with the instructions she’s given, even if it feels weird or creepy or wrong. What complicates the matter further is how well respected Father Mark is not just in the community, but in Olivia’s family in particular. 

The Lucy Variations by Sara Zarr

Sixteen-year-old San Franciscan Lucy Beck-Moreau once had a promising future as a concert pianist. Her chance at a career has passed, and she decides to help her ten-year-old piano prodigy brother, Gus, map out his own future, even as she explores why she enjoyed piano in the first place.

Zarr’s novel doesn’t seem like it would have this element to it, but it does. Lucy’s become a little bit smitten with one of her teachers, and there is a clear exploration of what the lines of appropriate and inappropriate are as it comes to their relationship. What I think is most noteworthy here is how much Lucy seeks that approval and admiration from an older male. He’s cool and she loves the attention he can give her. That desire in her is, at times, hard to separate from the fact she’s 16. 

Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo

A fifteen-year-old Australian girl gets her first job and first crush on her unattainable university-aged co-worker, as both search for meaning in their lives.

What Buzo’s novel does is offer us the perspective of both the boy and the girl. We have a fifteen year old girl who is enamored by her coworker, who is in his early 20s and who enjoys hanging out and talking with her. But he understands clearly where the lines are in their relationship. He isn’t interested in her beyond talking and being friendly. He won’t pursue a deeper relationship with her and he certainly isn’t interested in leading her on nor holding his power over her head. He thinks she’s cool and she’s very smart, but he’s well attune to their age difference. 

Pointe by Brandy Colbert (available April 10)

Four years after Theo’s best friend, Donovan, disappeared at age thirteen, he is found and brought home and Theo puts her health at risk as she decides whether to tell the truth about the abductor, knowing her revelation could end her life-long dream of becoming a professional ballet dancer.

I’ll have a lengthy, spoiler-laden review of Colbert’s novel next week, but it’s a title that fits within this list and does so in a bit of a different way. While we see the emotional tolls that happen in Freitas’s and Zarr’s novels, what happens in Colbert’s novel is not only emotional, it’s physical too. It takes Theo the entire novel to understand what happened to her and what ripple effects it had not only on her own well-being, but on the well-being of her best friend. 

Though not for teen readers, Alissa Nutting’s Tampa is another novel worth reading that delves into wildly inappropriate adult-teen relationships. I mention this title in conjunction with the YA ones because I think it gets at an aspect that I haven’t talked too much about, which is gender. While the other novels have an older male at the forefront, Nutting’s flips the script and has an older woman pursuing completely inappropriate relationships with teen boys. This is a challenging and squick-inducing read. 

What other titles would you add to the list? While I think there’s a lot worth exploring on the sexual abuse end (Pointe and Tampa fit there), I’d be particularly interested in titles where the power dynamic is on burgeoning non-sexual relationships. 

Girls Kicking Ass With Their Brains: Guest Post by Sarah Stevenson

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Let’s talk about girls who kick ass today. But let’s not focus entirely on the girls who are kicking ass when it comes to power and physical prowess. Instead, let’s hear about the girls who are smart, clever, savvy individuals. Sarah Stevenson will talk about her favorite smart girls who kick ass with their brains — and bonus, this post is definitely for those seeking to hear more about girls in genre fiction being fiercely intelligent. 

Sarah Jamila Stevenson is a writer, artist, graphic designer, introvert, closet geek, good eater, struggling blogger, lapsed piano player, ukulele noodler, household-chore-ignorer and occasional world traveler. Her previous lives include spelling bee nerd, suburban Southern California teenager, Berkeley art student, underappreciated temp, and humor columnist for a video game website. Throughout said lives, she has acquired numerous skills of questionable usefulness, like intaglio printmaking, Welsh language, and an uncanny knack for Mario Tennis. She lives in Northern California with her husband and two cats. She is the author of three YA novels: The Latte Rebellion (2011), Underneath(2013), and The Truth Against the World (forthcoming June 2014). Visit her atwww.SarahJamilaStevenson.com.





I could not be more thrilled that my Kidlitosphere compadre Kelly invited me to participate in Women’s History Month over here at STACKED—so the first thing I want to say is thanks for having me! I’m excited to have the opportunity to talk books (obvs. one of my favorite subjects in the universe) and I’m even more excited to talk about girls in YA fiction. I mean, it is an amazing time to be a girl character in YA fiction. We girls rock on the page. We win gladiatorial-style fights to the death. We compete with the boys—and hold our own—at everything from swords to sorcery to straight-out survival. Just ask Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games) or Katsa (Graceling), Alanna the Lioness or Jacky “Bloody Jack” Faber: Girls Kick Ass.

As you can see from that list, I really like reading about girls who are strong and accomplished and quick, who use powers both physical and supernatural to survive and thrive. But as an author who (so far, anyway) writes characters who are far more human than superhuman, I’m also a fan of girl characters who use cleverness and intelligence to make their way, whether it’s book learnin’ or street smarts. It’s a running theme in my own books, too. Asha, the narrator of my first book The Latte Rebellion, is bright and academic, but her bright ideas also land her in major hot water. Fortunately, she’s clever enough to swim rather than sink. We need realistic, believable girl characters (and guys!) to show us that brainpower is just as important as physical strength, and sometimes more so. So, for women’s history month, I present you with my list of Favorite YA Girl Characters Who Kick Ass With Their Brains. (And not just with their ass-kicking boots. Though I would dearly love a pair of those…).

Can I quickly just say—this was SO HARD. There are a lot of amazing, brainy YA characters. I noticed that many of these ladies have multiple books, which probably made them more memorable and likely to stick in my head, since I’ve gotten to spend time with them over multiple adventures. You may also notice that there are middle grade books on this list, too: I just couldn’t bear to leave out some younger female protagonists simply because they’re tweens. They are simply too awesome to ignore. So here you go, in no particular order:

1. Jacky Faber

Yes, I already mentioned her above under girls who kick (physical) ass, but honestly? It’s Jacky’s cleverness that is her true appeal for me. It isn’t just that she can hold her own physically, thanks to the School of Hard Knocks, but the fact that she’s smart enough to successfully do the crazy things she does, from disguising herself as a ship’s boy in the first book to, in some of the more recent Bloody Jack volumes, penning and organizing stage performances and, basically, running her own business. (Even if some of that business is slightly shady, perhaps a bit piratical…)

2. Hattie Brooks

In Hattie Big Sky, Hattie Brooks was driven to prove herself capable and practical, and in the sequel, Hattie Ever After, she’s driven to prove herself intellectually capable in a world that is still very much a man’s world. A lot of her long-term success—in my mind—comes from learning her limitations, but also learning that those limitations are due to factors beyond her control. There are certain things women can’t do during the time period she lives in, but more than that, there are just things that humans can’t always do, and sometimes life doesn’t work out the way you expect it to. Yet she carries on, and it’s her determination and smarts and willingness to work hard that get here where she needs to be, and where she wants to be: on the reporting staff of a newspaper, at a time when being a “woman reporter” was rare.

3. Frankie Landau-Banks

Oh, wow. I can’t say much about Frankie without giving away the plot of The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, but she is one of my favorite characters for sheer moxie and mischief and the smarts not to get caught. My character Asha would absolutely worship Frankie. And I can’t help but love the whole “least likely suspect” scenario, in which the academic girl everyone thinks is probably boring and normal is hiding a whole secret life. Please feel free to assume there is a psychological explanation for this involving wishful thinking and/or vicarious enjoyment because you’re probably right.

4. Flora Segunda


Flora! She has to save the world by finding out who she really is—the introspective mystery that involves her in a larger web of intrigue. Definitely the type of plot I gravitate towards, and as a character, she is unique, quirky (okay, downright bizarre at times) but always, always searching and wondering and trying. And it isn’t just Flora, but her entire world that lends itself to Girls Kicking Ass. The alternate world she lives in is matriarchal, and women tend to run things, so it’s a very strong-female-oriented fantasy setting in Flora Segunda, Flora’s Dare, and Flora’s Fury. Dare, win, or disappear!

5. Seraphina Dombegh

In the more recent fantasy novel Seraphina by Rachel Hartman, the title character is a musical genius, but she also wields a very formidable and logical intelligence—one which, in her world, is generally associated more with dragons. And dragons are not exactly universally loved for it, in this scenario. Seraphina’s unusual dragon-like skills draw the wrong kind of attention, but they also make her a perfect candidate for bringing humans and dragons together for mutual understanding. Of course, she’s got to solve a murder mystery first…

6. Meg Murry


How could I have this list without Madeleine L’Engle’s beloved Meg Murry, who is practically the original Girl Who Kicks Ass With Her Brain? I mean that almost literally. In A Wrinkle in Time, it’s Meg who saves her brother, her family, and saves the human race, too. I was reminded of how much I love Meg when I read the recent graphic novel adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time by Hope Larson—Meg is smart and science-minded, a reader and a thinker, and as a kid reading this, I was transfixed by a heroine who felt so much more “like me,” who had adventures even if she wasn’t a daredevil, and who was brave and full of heart.

7. Theodosia Throckmorton

For an amazing middle grade heroine, I love Theodosia Throckmorton, star of Robin LaFevers’ series by the same name. She’s a budding archaeologist and an expert on all things Egyptian—both natural and supernatural. Her knowledge of Egyptology and hieroglyphs is rivaled only by her ability to defuse curses and detect evil magic.

8. Dewey Kerrigan







In The Green Glass Sea and White Sands, Red Menace by Ellen Klages, Dewey’s father is a scientist working on the Manhattan Project, out in the New Mexico desert in 1943. Dewey is mechanically-minded, loves numbers and patterns, and isn’t as easy with people…but she finds a place in this world of scientists, and her intelligence helps her ultimately figure out not just what her father is working on, but also how to be herself.

9. Gilda Joyce

Another really fun middle grade series is the Gilda Joyce books by Jennifer Allison. Gilda is a Psychic Investigator and gets to solve all sorts of entertaining mysteries. Even better, she gets to spend the summer as an intern at the International Spy Museum, which is a real place and I want to go there.

10. Lindy Sachs

Lindy is the hero of The Short Seller by Elissa Brent Weisman. She’s only a seventh grader, but it turns out she has a rather unexpected and major talent for day trading on the stock market. But it’s not just talent alone—she makes a point of reading and learning about stocks, and her extracurricular studies start to pay off. Until, of course, havoc ensues.

And there you go! I’m sure I’ve missed a few and will kick myself in my own ass later for it, but these are definitely some of my absolute favorite brainiac girls in YA fiction. If you haven’t read about their adventures, you’re missing out.

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Sarah Jamila Stevenson is the author of The Latte Rebellion, Underneath, and the forthcoming (June) novel The Truth Against the World. 

Get Genrefied: Fairy Tale Re-tellings

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Fairy tale re-tellings never go out of style. They were huge when I was a teen and they continue to be in demand now, though it seems the trend has shifted some from outright fantasy to a more science fiction-inspired flavor. Authors are also trying their hand at re-telling fairy tales in a completely realistic way, eschewing any sort of magic or futuristic technology. (Jane Nickerson’s historical re-tellings of Bluebeard and Tam Lin are good examples.) So while fairy tale re-tellings are most often a subgenre of fantasy, that’s not always the case. Like many of the other genres we’ve written about, fairy tale re-tellings can and do cross genres.

It’s no surprise that fairy tale re-tellings have tremendous staying power, given how versatile they can be. As readers, I think we like the combination of the familiar and the strange; we are naturally curious to see how an author can transform something so old and well-known into something new and unusual. There’s also something timeless about the original, bare-bones stories themselves. In many ways, fairy tales are the most basic of our stories, and even the most intricately-plotted of our modern tales usually draw from some sort of trope first found in a fairy tale or folk tale.

In my experience, teens are drawn to fairy tale re-tellings for the romance and adventure. The protagonists usually also go from a place of no power to a place of tremendous power, whether through the use of magic or simple resourcefulness. This is incredibly appealing to teens who may feel that they have zero power over their own lives.

While this guide will focus primarily on fairy tale re-tellings, teens who read them may also enjoy re-tellings of other classic stories, such as mythology, Robin Hood, King Arthur, Shakespeare, Bronte, and others. Epic Reads has created a truly Epic Chart of 162 Young Adult Retellings that covers a lot of this territory. It’s well worth a look.

A few authors who are known for writing fairy tale re-tellings include Donna Jo Napoli, Robin McKinley, Cameron Dokey, Alex Flinn, and Jackson Pearce. Some of their books were published when I was a teen (or before!), but fairy tale re-tellings tend to stand the test of time a bit better than other sorts of stories. Their source material is timeless, after all. Provided they’re not modernized re-tellings or saddled with dated covers, even 10 or 20 year old books should suit teen lovers of the genre just fine.

Simon Pulse published about 20 fairy tale re-tellings for teens between 2002 and 2010 written by various authors including Suzanne Weyn, Cameron Dokey, Debbie Viguie, Tracy Lynn, and Nancy Holder. A full list of those titles can be found at Simon and Schuster’s Once Upon a Time website.

Below are a few YA fairy tale re-tellings published within the past five years (roughly), grouped by original story. Descriptions are from Worldcat or Goodreads. Are there any glaring omissions?

Beauty and the Beast

 
Of Beast and Beauty by Stacey Jay
When nineteen-year-old Gem of the Desert People, called Monstrous by the
Smooth Skins, becomes the prisoner of the seventeen-year-old Smooth
Skin queen, Isra, age-old prejudices begins to fall aside as the two
begin to understand each other.

Beastly by Alex Flinn
A modern retelling of “Beauty and the Beast” from the point of view of
the Beast, a vain Manhattan private school student who is turned into a
monster and must find true love before he can return to his human form.  

 
Belle by Cameron Dokey

In this retelling of the traditional tale, Belle, a skilled
woodcarver, must carve the the legendary Heartwood to repay her father’s
debt to a fearsome beast that gave him shelter during a terrible storm.

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom —
all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth,
she has been in training to kill him. With no choice but to fulfill her
duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates
herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth
birthday, Nyx abandons everything she’s ever known to marry the
all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his
enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on
her people. Kimberly’s review

Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers
Sybella’s duty as Death’s assassin in 15th-century France forces her
return home to the personal hell that she had finally escaped. Love and
romance, history and magic, vengeance and salvation converge in this
sequel to Grave Mercy. Kimberly’s review

Bluebeard

Strands of Bronze and Gold by Jane Nickerson
After the death of her father in 1855, seventeen-year-old Sophia goes to
live with her wealthy and mysterious godfather at his gothic mansion,
Wyndriven Abbey, in Mississippi, where many secrets lie hidden. Kimberly’s review

Cinderella

 
Ash by Malinda Lo

In this variation on the Cinderella story, Ash grows up believing in
the fairy realm that the king and his philosophers have sought to
suppress, until one day she must choose between a handsome fairy cursed
to love her and the King’s Huntress whom she loves.



Before Midnight by Cameron Dokey
In this retelling of the Perrault fairy tale, Cendrillon’s father, grief
stricken over the death of his wife, leaves his baby daughter to be
brought up by servants together with an unidentified infant boy until
the day, sixteen-years-later, when a new stepmother with two daughters
arrives and changes their lives forever.

Bewitching by Alex Flinn
Tells the story of Kendra, a witch, and the first three-hundred years of
her life, including takes on a classic fairy tale, the 1666 plague in
Britain, the Titanic disaster, and the story of a modern-day, plain
stepsister.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer
As plague ravages the overcrowded Earth, observed by a ruthless lunar
people, Cinder, a gifted mechanic and cyborg, becomes involved with
handsome Prince Kai and must uncover secrets about her past in order to
protect the world in this futuristic take on the Cinderella story. Kimberly’s review

Shadows on the Moon by Zoe Marriott
Trained in the magical art of shadow-weaving, sixteen-year-old Suzume,
who is able to re-create herself in any form, is destined to use her
skills to steal the heart of a prince in a revenge pot. Kimberly’s review

Wayfarer by Lili St. Crow

In this retelling of Cinderella, Ellen Sinder’s violent stepmother
terrifies her, her plan for surviving and getting through high school
quietly begins to unravel, and Auntie, an odd old woman who takes her
in, may not be as kindly as she appears.

East of the Sun, West of the Moon

East by Edith Pattou
A young woman journeys to a distant castle on the back of a great white bear who is the victim of a cruel enchantment.
Ice by Sarah Beth Durst
A modern-day retelling of “East o’ the Sun, West o’ the Moon” in which
eighteen-year-old Cassie learns that her grandmother’s fairy tale is
true when a Polar Bear King comes to claim her for his bride and she
must decide whether to go with him and save her long-lost mother, or
continue helping her father with his research.
 
Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George
A girl travels east of the sun and west of the moon to free her beloved prince from a magic spell.

The Frog Prince

 
Enchanted by Alethea Kontis
When Sunday Woodcutter, the youngest of seven sisters named for the days
of the week, kisses an enchanted frog, the frog transforms back into
Rumbold, the crown prince of Arilland–a man Sunday’s family despises.  

Water Song by Suzanne Weyn
Stranded in war-torn Belgium, Emma Pennington finds a wounded American
soldier carrying vital information for the Allies and protects him from
the Germans occupying her family estate.

The Goose Girl

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
On her way to marry a prince she’s never met, Princess Anidori is
betrayed by her guards and her lady-in-waiting and must become a goose
girl to survive until she can reveal her true identity and reclaim the
crown that is rightfully hers.

Hansel and Gretel

Sweetly by Jackson Pearce
When the owner of a candy shop molds magical treats that instill
confidence, bravery, and passion, eighteen-year-old Gretchen’s haunted
childhood memories of her twin sister’s abduction by a witch-like
monster begin to fade until girls start vanishing at the annual
chocolate festival. 

Jack and the Beanstalk

 
The World Above by Cameron Dokey
When her twin brother, Jack, disappears after scaling a magical
beanstalk in an effort to reclaim their destitute family’s riches, Gen
enters the mysterious “Land Above” and confronts a dangerous giant, in a
reimagining of the classic tale, “Jack and the Beanstalk.”

The Little Mermaid

Fathomless by Jackson Pearce
Celia, who shares mental powers with her triplet sisters, finds
competition for a handsome boy with Lo, a sea monster who must persuade a
mortal to love her and steal his soul to earn back her humanity.

Midnight Pearls by Debbie Viguie
A retelling of “The Little Mermaid” in which Pearl, a teenaged girl who
was discovered in the sea as a small child by a fisherman and treated
with scorn by the villagers ever since, falls in love with James, a
prince, and faces powerful forces–human and magical–determined to tear
them apart.

Little Red Riding Hood

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Scarlet Benoit and Wolf, a street fighter who may have information
about her missing grandmother, join forces with Cinder as they try to
stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana in this story
inspired by Little Red Riding Hood. Kimberly’s review
 
Scarlet Moon by Debbie Viguie
Ruth’s grandmother lives in the forest, banished there for the “evil”
that the townsfolk believed she practiced. Amidst these dark days, a new man enters Ruth’s life. William
is a noble with a hot temper and a bad name, and he makes her shiver.
But the young man is prey to his heritage, a curse placed on his family
ages ago, and each male of the family has strange blood running in his
veins. Now Ruth must come face-to-face with his destiny at Grandma’s
house.

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce
After a Fenris, or werewolf, killed their grandmother and almost killed
them, sisters Scarlett and Rosie March devote themselves to hunting and
killing the beasts that prey on teenaged girls, learning how to lure
them with red cloaks and occasionally using the help of their old
friend, Silas, the woodsman’s son. Kimberly’s review

Maid Maleen

Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
Fifteen-year-old Dashti, sworn to obey her sixteen-year-old mistress,
the Lady Saren, shares Saren’s years of punishment locked in a tower,
then brings her safely to the lands of her true love, where both must
hide who they are as they work as kitchen maids.

Rapunzel

Cress by Marissa Meyer
Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and
Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and
prevent her army from invading Earth. Their best hope lies with Cress, a
girl trapped on a satellite since childhood who’s only ever had her
netscreens as company.

Golden by Cameron Dokey
Rapunsel has only two nights and one day in which to free a girl from a curse.

Towering by Alex Flinn
A contemporary retelling of Rapunzel told from the alternating
perspectives of three teens whose fates unknowingly bind them together
to destroy a greater evil.

Rumpelstiltskin

The Crimson Thread by Suzanne Weyn
It is 1880. Bertie has recently emigrated to New York from Ireland.
Struggling to make ends meet and care for her younger siblings, Bertie
finds work as a seamstress for textile tycoon, J.P. Wellington. When the
Wellington family fortune is threatened, Bertie’s father boasts that
she can save the business. She can “practically spin straw into gold”
Amazingly, overnight Bertie creates exquisite evening gowns, but only
with the help of a mysterious man who uses an old spinning wheel. With
dazzling crimson thread, he makes the dresses look like they are laced
with real gold. Bertie would do anything to pay this man back for his
help. When he asks for her firstborn child, Bertie agrees, never
dreaming that he is serious.

A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce
Upon the death of her father, seventeen-year-old Charlotte struggles to
keep the family’s woolen mill running in the face of an overwhelming
mortgage and what the local villagers believe is a curse, but when a man
capable of spinning straw into gold appears on the scene she must
decide if his help is worth the price.

Sleeping Beauty

Beauty Sleep by Cameron Dokey
Princess Aurore learns that the curse that was placed on her at birth
may hurt others, so she goes on a quest to end the evil magic.
 
A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn
Sixteen-year-old Princess Talia persuades seventeen-year-old Jack, the
modern-day American who kissed her awake after a 300-year sleep, to take
her to his Miami home, where she hopes to win his love before the witch
who cursed her can spirit her away.
 
 
A Long, Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan
Sixteen-year-old Rosalinda Fitzroy, heir to the multiplanetary
corporation UniCorp, is awakened after sixty years in stasis to find
that everyone she knew has died and as she tries to make a new life for
herself, learns she is the target of a robot assassin. Kelly’s review

The Snow Queen

Cold Spell by Jackson Pearce
When her boyfriend disappears with a mysterious girl, seventeen-year-old
Ginny leaves her hometown of Atlanta and fights wolves, escapes
thieves, and braves the cold to rescue him.

Winter’s Child by Cameron Dokey
A retelling of the Andersen tale in which childhood best friends, Kai
and Grace, grow apart as teenagers after Grace spurns Kai’s declaration
of love, and a dejected Kai is lured away by the mysterious Snow Queen,
leaving Grace to realize her loss and determined to find him and bring
him back.

Snow White

Nameless by Lili St. Crow

In this retelling of Snow White, sixteen-year-old Cami, a mortal raised
by one of the powerful Families that rule magic-ridden New Haven, begins
to uncover the secrets of her birth and why her past is threatening her
now.

Snow by Tracy Lynn
A retelling tale of a princess who takes refuge from her wicked
stepmother by fleeing to London. Story inspired by brothers Grimm.

Twelve Dancing Princesses

Entwined by Heather Dixon
Confined to their dreary castle while mourning their mother’s death,
Princess Azalea and her eleven sisters join The Keeper, who is trapped
in a magic passageway, in a nightly dance that soon becomes nightmarish. Kimberly’s review

The Night Dance by Suzanne Weyn 
A knight falls in love with the youngest of twelve sisters, but they can
only marry if he can discover where the sisters secretly go to dance.
Inspired by the fairy tale of the twelve dancing princesses.

Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George
A retelling of the tale of twelve princesses who wear out their shoes
dancing every night, and of Galen, a former soldier now working in the
king’s gardens, who follows them in hopes of breaking the curse.

Short Stories/Anthologies

The original stories were short stories, so it’s natural that anthologies of fairy tale re-tellings abound as well.
 

Faery Tales & Nightmares by Melissa Marr
A collection of short stories featuring tales of characters from the
Wicked Lovely novels that mix with accounts of new characters.
 
Grim edited by Christine Johnson
Inspired by classic
fairy tales, but with a dark and sinister twist, Grim contains short
stories from some of the best voices in young adult literature today.
 

Rags and Bones: New Twists on Timeless Tales edited by Melissa Marr and Tim Pratt
In this collection, award-winning and bestselling authors reimagine
their favorite classic stories, the ones that have inspired, awed, and
enraged them, the ones that have become ingrained in modern culture, and
the ones that have been too long overlooked.
 
The Rose and the Beast by Francesca Lia Block
Nine classic fairy tales set in modern, magical landscapes and retold with a twist. 
 

A Wolf at the Door edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling
What ever happened to the seven dwarfs after Snow White ditched them?
What was life like for the giant above the beanstalk? Readers need
wonder no more. This collection of 13 fantasy short stories takes
favorite folk tales on a wild spin through the imagination. The roster
of authors includes Michael Cadnum, Jane Yolen, Garth Nix, Tanith Lee,
and Gregory Maguire. (Datlow and Windling edited at least two more anthologies of retold fairy tales for younger readers.)
 
Datlow and Windling also edited a number of anthologies of fairy tales retold for adults, beginning with Snow White, Blood Red. I’ve read a few of the collections, and if my memory serves me right, they’re don’t skimp on sex and gore, so hand them only to your most mature readers. 
 

Forthcoming



The Mirk and Midnight Hour by Jane Nickerson (March)

Seventeen-year-old Violet Dancey is spending the Civil War with a new
stepmother and stepsister and her young cousin when she comes upon a
wounded Yankee soldier, Thomas, who is being kept alive by mysterious
voodoo practitioners. [Tam Lin]
 
Princess of Thorns by Stacey Jay (December)
Though she looks like a
mere mortal, Princess Aurora is a fairy blessed with enhanced strength,
bravery, and mercy yet cursed to destroy the free will of any male who
kisses her. Disguised as a boy, she enlists the help of the handsome but
also cursed Prince Niklaas to fight legions of evil and free her
brother from the ogre queen who stole Aurora’s throne ten years ago.
 
Winter by Marissa Meyer (2015) 
This concluding volume re-tells Snow White.  

Music and Musicality: Reviews from the Outstanding Books for the College Bound List

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I’ve been working through talking about the different books on the Outstanding Books for the College Bound list over the last few weeks, and it’s been interesting to not only talk about a year’s worth of work, but it’s been interesting to see the different themes that have popped up beyond the categories the list has set up that mirror the liberal arts. A couple of weeks ago, I highlighted books tackling religion and spirituality, followed by books that looked at football and football culture. This week, I thought I’d talk about four books on the Arts and Humanities list that all dive into some component of music. These are four very different books — two are non-fiction, two are fiction, but all speak to an element of music and/or musicality and the way music impacts us.

Ready for a Brand New Beat: How “Dancing in the Streets” Became the Anthem for a Changing America by Mark Kurlansky

Admittedly, this is a book I had a hard time reading and ultimately ended up choosing not to finish, but it’s also one that I completely saw the merit in and understand why committee members loved it and wanted it on our list.

Kurlansky’s a great writer, and in this book, he looks at how the song “Dancing in the Street” came to be. It’s a story about not just the song and the power behind it, but it’s about the 1960s in Motown, as well as about race during the civil rights era. Woven in is how the song became an anthem for an entire generation — while many people may be familiar with the really dance worthy version of “Dancing in the Street,” Kurlansky talks about how the song has been rendered in far different manners by very different artists. In talking about that, he’s able to explore how once a piece of work is out there, it takes on a life of its own.

Readers who like Motown, classic rock, or are interested in the progression of music and the social climate of this time period will dig this book. There is an extensive list of versions of the song included, so readers who want to dive in deeper can seek out this versions and actually listen through the history and thesis presented.

The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, and the Unlikely Ascent of “Hallelujah” by Alan Light

Where Kurlansky’s exploration of “Dancing in the Street” didn’t work for me, Light’s book about “Hallelujah” did work for me. Like Kurlansky, this is a look at how a song changes and becomes something new and different as new artists choose to work and adapt it to their own interpretations. Unlike Kurlansky’s book, this one is far less about sociopolitical and cultural aspects surrounding the song and a lot more about how a song becomes the kind of song everyone knows (and how it becomes the kind of song no longer allowed to be reinterpreted on “American Idol”).

I’m familiar with “Hallelujah” because I’m quite familiar with Buckley. I went through a phase in high school where I became fascinated with his story, and it was through that I learned about the song and about the song having had its start with Cohen. However, I didn’t know the history of the song and Light did an excellent job talking about how Cohen wrote and presented the song against how Buckley chose to interpret and sing the song. While reading this one, I pulled up YouTube to look up every rendition discussed and it only aided in my enjoyment of the book.

Teens will be familiar with “Hallelujah” because of Idol or because of it having been a part of Shrek, and each of those things are talked about in here. There’s discussion of how the song has been interpreted as religious, as well as how it’s been interpreted to be the exact opposite of religious and how it is both of those interpretations can be accepted and embraced. Cohen’s original vision of the song, as well as some of the verses left off the Buckley track, are talked about. But I think my favorite thing was watching how the two of them sang the song as I read Light’s take on it — Buckley’s heart is bleeding while Cohen sings with a look that suggests it’s darkly humorous.

This one’s for the pop culture lovers, as well as those who like good — though not necessarily hard-hitting — music journalism.

 

Two YA fiction titles are included on the Arts & Humanities list, too, which feature music in some capacity. Both are books I’ve talked about here and here, so I won’t go into too much depth, other than to talk a bit as to why they’re on the list and how they work in the music and musicality theme.

All Our Pretty Songs by Sarah McCarry: I talked about the feminist aspect of this book, but something I didn’t touch on was the musicality of it. This is a novel that’s not only lushly written, but it’s a story set in the grunge heavy, 1990s Pacific Northwest. McCarry’s story is a retelling of Orpheus myth, and the main character (who is unnamed) and her best friend Aurora are drawn to a boy named Jack because of his musical charm. While the focus isn’t the music, music is a huge part of the story and it’s the bond that ties the two girls together. This could have easily fit into the Literature & Languages category, but it was the music, combined with the story of a tighter-than-tight friendship between two girls, that made it fit the Arts & Humanities list.

It’s a challenging, literary title that will resonate really strongly with the right readers.

The Lucy Variations by Sara Zarr: This is a story about a girl who was forced into the “family business” of piano performance, as she’s a legacy. It’s what the Beck-Moreaus do. But after being pushed to the brink, Lucy chooses to walk away from everything unraveling before her as a career pianist. The story follows as she learns to rediscover herself after performance, as much as it’s about Lucy coming to learn that she can love playing piano completely and entirely for herself, as opposed to doing it to meet the expectations of those around her.

The pursuit of passion and the exploration of how one chooses to devote to art as a career or art as a hobby should hit strong notes for those readers who’ve ever had to think about what it means to make art and what it means to be an artist.

The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski

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The plot of The Winner’s Curse is fairly simple: Kestrel, the daughter of a Valorian general, purchases a Herrani slave at the slave market. It’s an impulse on her part, but completely calculated on the slave’s, whose name is Arin. He has plans of his own, and unknown to Kestrel and the general, he has a very good reason for causing himself to be placed in that position.

When the Valorians conquered the Herrani, they took the Herrani as slaves. Now the Valorians live in the Herrani homes, and a whole generation of Herrani are growing up barely remembering what it was like to be free. Meanwhile, the Valorian empire continues to wage war on its neighbors, determined to further grow its holdings.

A book like this could very easily be ludicrous, offensive, or both. A situation like this is not pure fantasy; in her author’s note, Rutkoski explains how such things were and are common. Her American readers should know this already. But Rutkoski is a phenomenal writer. She’s careful to allow Kestrel to be sympathetic without condoning her actions. She doesn’t relish in the misery of the conquered or make them out to be uniformly victimized. It’s a tricky tightrope to walk, but Rutkoski does it well.

Despite its lack of magic or strange creatures, this is a fantasy novel, and its world-building is part of what makes it soar. Rutkoski excels at creating new places and showing them to us in a way that feels natural. We learn a little bit about the history of the Valorians and Herrani from their history books, but most of what we learn comes from their lived experiences in this world. This is the very definition of showing instead of telling. We learn about the slave market because Kestrel is there, seeing and smelling and experiencing it. We learn about Valorian parties because Kestrel goes to them, and we see them through her eyes. We learn about the slave quarters because Arin lives and works there. Rutkoski’s world is detailed and complex and fascinating. It recalls a memory of ancient Rome or Greece, but it’s also wholly new. (I appreciated the mix of oppression and liberation that women face in the Valorian empire, as well. They are trained fighters and many of them join the army, but they also are not allowed to venture anywhere alone. This is just one example of how original and well-crafted the world is.)

Another aspect that sets this book head and shoulders above its peers is the romance. Teen novels are no strangers to romance, but I can’t say there are many that are quite this intense. Intensity comes not only from the depth of feeling espoused between the leads, but also from just how well the two click on the page. I have to give major kudos to Rutkoski’s writing. She knows just when to let Kestrel and Arin touch – and when to pull them apart. She allows their feelings to develop organically, from many conversations and observations. Through their observations of each other, we learn how they see themselves, how they see each other, and how they really are. (These can often be three very different things.) It’s a brilliant way to explore character and it makes the romance that much deeper.

At times, it hurts just to read the book. Because Kestrel and Arin are fated to be at odds with each other, it’s a given that no matter what happens, one or both of them will end up in pain (emotional, physical, or both). Rutkoski makes us care deeply about both characters – so deeply that their pain becomes ours, and it’s difficult to see any end where both will be happy.

The book isn’t action-heavy. Most of it focuses on politics and society, but it does have two pretty major plot shifts (I wouldn’t call them twists). The second one provides an ending of sorts, giving us a full story in this first volume, and some measure of satisfaction. It once again changes the dynamic between Kestrel and Arin; I’m eager to see where Rutkoski takes the relationship in further installments, not to mention how she develops the relationship between the Valorian empire and the people it has subjugated.

Review copy provided by the publisher. The Winner’s Curse is available today.