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Seeking Mansfield
Author: Kate Watson
Series: N/A
Publisher: Jolly Fish Press
Publication Date: 2017
What Does It Retell? Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
Summary:
Sixteen year-old Finley Price has perfected two things: how to direct a world-class production, and how to fly way, way under the radar. The only person who ever seems to notice Finley is her best friend and godparents' son, Oliver Bertram. If she could just take Oliver's constant encouragement to heart, she'd finally chase her dream of joining the prestigious Mansfield Theater.
When teen movie stars Emma and Harlan Crawford move across the street from the Bertram's, they immediately set their sights on Oliver and his vapid sister, Juliette, shaking up Finley and Oliver's stable friendship. As Emma and Oliver grow closer, Harlan finds his attention shifting from Juliette to the quiet, enigmatic, and thoroughly unimpressed Finley. Out of boredom, Harlan decides to make her fall in love with him. Problem is, the harder he seeks to win her, the harder he falls for her.
But Finley doesn't want to be won, and she doesn't want to see Oliver with anyone else. To claim Oliver's heart—and keep her own—she'll have to find the courage to do what she fears most: step into the spotlight.
SEEKING MANSFIELD is a charming YA contemporary reimagining of Jane Austen’s classic Mansfield Park, perfect for fans of Stephanie Perkins and Rainbow Rowell.
Why I'm Excited For It
I love Jane Austen retellings so I am very ready for this one to be released. I think it will be a great story and I am excited to see what Kate Watson brings to the original text and how she updates it to be new. I’m thinking Dani and I might review this one together on BAMF because we both live for Jane Austen.
The Duke of Bannerman Prep
Author: Katie NelsonSeries: N/A
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Publication Date: May 2, 2017
What Does It Retell? The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Summary:
Words are weapons. Facts can be manipulated. And nothing is absolute—especially right and wrong.
Tanner McKay is at Bannerman Prep for only one reason: the elite school recruited him after he brought his public school’s debate team to victory last year. Bannerman wants a championship win. Debate is Tanner’s life—his ticket out of his poor-as-dirt life and family drama, straight to a scholarship to Stanford and the start of a new, better future.
But when he's paired with the Duke, his plans for an easy ride seem as if they’ve hit the rails. The Duke is the quintessential playboy, beloved by everyone for his laissez-faire attitude, crazy parties, and seemingly effortless favors.
And a total no-show when it comes to putting in the work to win.
But as Tanner gets sucked into the Duke’s flashy world, the thrill of the high life and the adrenaline of existing on the edge becomes addictive. A small favor here and there seems like nothing in exchange for getting everything he ever dreamed of.
But the Duke’s castle is built on shady, shaky secrets, and the walls are about to topple down.
A contemporary retelling of The Great Gatsby, Katie Nelson’s taut debut is perfect for fans of John Green’s Looking for Alaska, Kate Brian’s Private series, and anyone who’s encountered the cut-throat world of competitive high school.
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Why I'm Excited For It
I don’t think y’all understand how excited I am for this one. F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of my all-time favourite authors and holy crap I am so excited for this. Not only is THE GREAT GATSBY a wonderful novel, I am so hyped to see how it will be updated to fit into modern times. This is my MOST anticipated release of 2017 and I cannot wait for it to be released because I already have it pre-ordered so I can read it right away!Sea Witch
Author: Sarah HenningSeries: N/A
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication Date: 2017
What Does It Retell? The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen
Summary:
Pitched as the never-before-told origin story of the sea witch from Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" told in the vein of Wicked – from the villainess's point of view.
Why I'm Excited For It
This is told from the villain’s point of view, which means that we get to see Ursula’s perspective on all things in this book. I am so excited for that because I feel like too often we see the hero or get a hero’s perspective but I love a good anti-hero. I have high hopes for this one.Beast
Author: Lisa JensenSeries: N/A
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Publication Date: September 12, 2017
What Does It Retell? Beauty and the Beast
Summary:
They say Château Beaumont is cursed. But servant-girl Lucie can’t believe such foolishness about handsome Jean-Loup Henri Christian LeNoir, Chevalier de Beaumont, master of the estate. The chevalier's cruelty is soon revealed, however, and Lucie vows to see him suffer. A wisewoman grants her wish, with a spell that transforms Jean-Loup into monstrous-looking Beast, reflecting the monster he is inside.
But Beast is nothing like the chevalier. Jean-Loup would never patiently tend his roses; Jean-Loup would never attempt poetry; Jean-Loup would never express remorse for the wrong done to Lucie. Gradually, Lucie realizes that Beast is an entirely different creature from the handsome chevalier, with a heart more human than Jean-Loup’s ever was.
Lucie dares to hope that noble Beast has permanently replaced the cruel Jean-Loup — until an innocent beauty arrives at Beast’s château with the power to break the spell.
Lisa Jensen's multilayered novel will make you question all you think you know about beauty, beastliness, and happily ever after.
Why I'm Excited For It
I think this will be a great retelling. Beauty and the Beast is one of my favourite fairy tales and I love every retelling I read of it, so I think this one will be great. I like that there is magic and a second chance romance. I think this will be one that revigorates my love of fairy tale retellings.Heartstone
Author: Elle Katharine WhiteSeries: N/A
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Publication Date: January 17, 2017
What Does It Retell? Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Summary:
A debut historical fantasy that recasts Jane Austen’s beloved Pride and Prejudice in an imaginative world of wyverns, dragons, and the warriors who fight alongside them against the monsters that threaten the kingdom: gryphons, direwolves, lamias, banshees, and lindworms
They say a Rider in possession of a good blade must be in want of a monster to slay—and Merybourne Manor has plenty of monsters.
Passionate, headstrong Aliza Bentaine knows this all too well; she’s already lost one sister to the invading gryphons. So when Lord Merybourne hires a band of Riders to hunt down the horde, Aliza is relieved her home will soon be safe again.
Her relief is short-lived. With the arrival of the haughty and handsome dragonrider, Alastair Daired, Aliza expects a battle; what she doesn’t expect is a romantic clash of wills, pitting words and wit against the pride of an ancient house. Nor does she anticipate the mystery that follows them from Merybourne Manor, its roots running deep as the foundations of the kingdom itself, where something old and dreadful slumbers . . . something far more sinister than gryphons.
It’s a war Aliza is ill-prepared to wage, on a battlefield she’s never known before: one spanning kingdoms, class lines, and the curious nature of her own heart.
Elle Katharine White infuses elements of Austen’s beloved novel with her own brand of magic, crafting a modern epic fantasy that conjures a familiar yet wondrously unique new world.
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Why I'm Excited For It
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE PLUS DRAGONS EQUALS EVERYTHING I COULD WANT IN LIFE.Ronit & Jamil
Author: Pamela L. LaskinSeries: N/A
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication Date: February 21, 2017
What Does It Retell? Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
Summary:
Pamela L. Laskin’s beautiful and lyrical novel in verse delivers a fresh and captivating retelling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet that transports the star-crossed lovers to the modern-day Israel-Palestine conflict.
Ronit, an Israeli girl, lives on one side of the fence. Jamil, a Palestinian boy, lives on the other side. Only miles apart but separated by generations of conflict—much more than just the concrete blockade between them. Their fathers, however, work in a distrusting but mutually beneficial business arrangement, a relationship that brings Ronit and Jamil together. And lightning strikes. The kind of lightning that transcends barrier fences, war, and hatred.
The teenage lovers fall desperately into the throes of forbidden love, one that would create an irreparable rift between their families if it were discovered. But a love this big can only be kept secret for so long. Ronit and Jamil must face the fateful choice to save their lives or their loves, as it may not be possible to save both.
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Why I'm Excited For It
I don’t even know what to say. This one sounds SO good. I think there is a good story to be had here with the contemporary angle and the tense strife with the Israel and Palestine conflict. I am looking forward to seeing how this one gets updated and stays the same all at once.Hunted
Author: Meagan SpoonerSeries: Hunted #1
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: March 14, 2017
What Does It Retell? Beauty and the Beast
Summary:
Beauty knows the Beast’s forest in her bones—and in her blood. Though she grew up with the city’s highest aristocrats, far from her father’s old lodge, she knows that the forest holds secrets and that her father is the only hunter who’s ever come close to discovering them.
So when her father loses his fortune and moves Yeva and her sisters back to the outskirts of town, Yeva is secretly relieved. Out in the wilderness, there’s no pressure to make idle chatter with vapid baronessas…or to submit to marrying a wealthy gentleman. But Yeva’s father’s misfortune may have cost him his mind, and when he goes missing in the woods, Yeva sets her sights on one prey: the creature he’d been obsessively tracking just before his disappearance.
Deaf to her sisters’ protests, Yeva hunts this strange Beast back into his own territory—a cursed valley, a ruined castle, and a world of creatures that Yeva’s only heard about in fairy tales. A world that can bring her ruin or salvation. Who will survive: the Beauty, or the Beast?
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Why I'm Excited For It
There is a lot to love about this one: I think it’s going to take a different twist on the original Beauty and the Beast. I am hoping for nitty and gritty plus a lot of death since the summary promises that one of them will survive. I know this is a series so I am hopeful that there are a lot of different subplots to keep it going.Nutcracked
Author: Susan AdrianSeries: N/A
Publisher: Random House
Publication Date: 2017
What Does It Retell? The Nutcracker
Summary:
Since her grandfather first took her to see The Nutcracker, Georgie has dreamed of being cast as Clara in her ballet company’s annual Christmas production of the Nutcracker. When it actually happens, it’s not at all as she’d hoped. Her best friend won’t talk to her, her grandfather is in the hospital, and every time she holds her teacher’s antique nutcracker in her arms while she dances, she goes somewhere else. Somewhere dangerous. Somewhere with massive Christmas trees, a three-headed mouse king, and row of toy soldiers bigger than her. With advice from a new friend, and a chance to mend bridges with her BFF, can she help the Nutcracker prince break the spell before the curtain goes up?
Why I'm Excited For It
I think what I like most about this one is that while it is a retelling of The Nutcracker, it bounces between present day and a magical land. I also love a good “transportation fantasy” where an object allows the character to go to a different dimension. I am very hopeful for this one to give me a little bit of everything I want.Unearthly Things
Author: Michelle GagnonSeries: N/A
Publisher: Soho Press
Publication Date: April 11, 2017
What Does It Retell? Jane Eyre by Jane Austen
Summary:
After losing her parents in a tragic accident, surfer girl Janie Mason is forced to trade the sunny beaches of Hawaii for the cold fog of San Francisco. She’s never even met her new guardians, the Rochesters—an old money family who relish being pillars of high society. Janie feels hopelessly out of place in their world of Napa weekends, fancy prep schools, and cotillions. Nicholas is the only Rochester who treats her with anything resembling kindness—but he’s only six. When she strikes up a friendship with Daniel, a fellow surfer, it feels like things might finally be improving.
But something isn’t right in the Rochester mansion. There are noises—screams—coming from the attic nearly every night. Noises everyone else claims they can’t hear. Then John, the black sheep of the family, returns after getting kicked out of yet another boarding school. Soon Janie finds herself torn between this new “brother” and Daniel, who has secrets of his own. Just when she thinks her life can’t get any worse, she learns the truth about the Rochesters: what they’re hiding, what they want from Janie, and how far they’ll go to get it.
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Why I'm Excited For It
I have an eARC of this one because I just couldn’t wait to read it. I am so excited to see how Gagnon takes this classic and updates it while still staying in line with the original text. I am hoping that a lot of the same themes stay the same and I can’t wait to read the romance.Wintersong
Author: S. Jae-JonesSeries: N/A
Publisher: Thomas Dunne
Publication Date: February 7, 2017
What Does It Retell? The movie Labyrinth starring David Bowie
Summary:
Beware the goblin men and the wares they sell.
All her life, nineteen-year-old Liesl has heard tales of the beautiful, mysterious Goblin King. He is the Lord of Mischief, the Ruler Underground, and the muse around which her music is composed. Yet, as Liesl helps shoulder the burden of running her family’s inn, her dreams of composition and childish fancies about the Goblin King must be set aside in favor of more practical concerns.
But when her sister Käthe is taken by the goblins, Liesl journeys to their realm to rescue her sister and return her to the world above. The Goblin King agrees to let Käthe go—for a price. The life of a maiden must be given to the land, in accordance with the old laws. A life for a life, he says. Without sacrifice, nothing good can grow. Without death, there can be no rebirth. In exchange for her sister’s freedom, Liesl offers her hand in marriage to the Goblin King. He accepts.
Down in the Underground, Liesl discovers that the Goblin King still inspires her—musically, physically, emotionally. Yet even as her talent blossoms, Liesl’s life is slowly fading away, the price she paid for becoming the Goblin King’s bride. As the two of them grow closer, they must learn just what it is they are each willing to sacrifice: her life, her music, or the end of the world.
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Why I'm Excited For It
Honestly, I read the first 40 pages and now I cannot wait for the rest. I have this one pre-ordered so that I can read it ASAP. I am excited to see how S. Jae-Jones takes the original movie and creates a fully visualized world. I’m also ready to be wooed by the Goblin King. Also !!!!
Oh my, there are so many awesome retellings coming out next year! Sea Witch and Nutcracked are particularly intriguing to me because I've never read retellings of those stories! This list is golden, thanks for bringing all of these to my attention. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing Jamie! I'm really excited for a couple of these :D
ReplyDeleteOOh nice! Quite a few new to me ones! Cannot wait for Hunted! Loooove B&tB retellings!
ReplyDeleteAhh I've been waiting for this list! I'm so excited!!
ReplyDelete