YA A to Z: R is for Classic Retellings, a list curated by Natalie Korsavidis

Today for YA A to Z, YA Librarian Natalie Korsavidis is curating a list of classic stories retold. 

That’s R for Retellings

Anderson, Jodi Lynn. Tiger Lily. HarperTeen, 2012

Fifteen-year-old Tiger Lily receives special protections from the spiritual forces of Neverland, but then she meets her tribe’s most dangerous enemy–Peter Pan–and falls in love with him. (Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie) Editor’s Note: Because this book contains portrayals of Native Americans, I recommend that you read Debbie Reese’s thoughts on this novel at American Indians in Children’s Literature.

Brownlee, Tiffany. Wrong in all the Right Ways. MacMillan, 2018

Emma’s life has always gone according to her very careful plans. But things take a turn toward the unexpected when she falls in love for the first time with the one person in the world who’s off-limits: her new foster brother, the gorgeous and tormented Dylan McAndrews. (Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte)

Connolly, Kara. No Good Deed. Delacorte Press, 2017

Ellie is USA’s best shot at Olympic gold in archery, but one wrong turn in Nottingham on her day off from the trials and she’s somehow been transported back to the Middle Ages. Amidst an evil sheriff who wants to lock her up, a knight who might not be who he says he is, and an assassination plot, she must not only find her way back to the present, but fight to survive and not change history. (Robin Hood by Howard Pyle)

Donne, Alexa. Brightly Burning. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018

Stella Ainsley leaves poverty behind when she quits her engineering job aboard the Stalwart to become a governess on a private ship. On the Rochester, there’s no water ration, more books than one person could devour in a lifetime, and an AI who seems more friend than robot. But no one warned Stella that the ship seems to be haunted, nor that it may be involved in a conspiracy that could topple the entire interstellar fleet. (Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte)

An Epic Chart of 162 Young Adult Retellings – Epic Reads

Eulberg, Elizabeth. Prom & Prejudice. Point, 2011

For Lizzie Bennett, a music scholarship student at Connecticut’s exclusive, girls-only Longbourn Academy, the furor over prom is senseless, but even more puzzling is her attraction to the pompous Will Darcy, best friend of her roommate’s boyfriend.

Fletcher, Susan E. A Little in Love. Scholastic, 2015

Eponine, the street girl from Les Misérables, tells the story of her life and her unrequited love for Marius, which ultimately leads to her death on the barricades during the short-lived rebellion of June 1832.

George, McKelle. Speak Easy, Speak Love. HarperCollins Children’s Books, 2017

After she gets kicked out of boarding school, Beatrice goes to her uncle’s estate on Long Island. Beatrice’s cousin, Hero, runs a struggling speakeasy out of the basement. Along with Prince, a poor young man determined to prove his worth; his brother, John, a dark and dangerous agent of the local mob; Benedick, a handsome trust-fund kid trying to become a writer; and Maggie, a beautiful and talented singer; Beatrice and Hero throw all their efforts into planning a massive party to save the speakeasy. (Much Ado about Nothing by William Shakespeare)

Howard. A. G.  Roseblood. Harry N. Abrams, 2017

Shortly after arriving at RoseBlood conservatory, Rune starts to believe something otherworldly is indeed afoot. The mystery boy she’s seen frequenting the graveyard beside the opera house doesn’t have any classes at the school, and vanishes almost as quickly as he appears. When Rune begins to develop a secret friendship with the elusive Thorn, who dresses in clothing straight out of the 19th century, she realizes that in his presence she feels cured. (The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux)

Howard, A. G.  Splintered. Amulet Books, 2013

A descendant of the inspiration for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, sixteen-year-old Alyssa Gardner fears she is mentally ill like her mother until she finds that Wonderland is real and, if she passes a series of tests to fix Alice’s mistakes, she may save her family from their curse. (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll)

Howe, Catherine. Conversion. G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2014

When girls start experiencing strange tics and other mysterious symptoms at Colleen’s high school, her small town of Danvers, Massachusetts, falls victim to rumors that lead to full-blown panic. Only Colleen connects their fate to the ill-fated Salem Village, where another group of girls suffered from a similarly bizarre epidemic three centuries ago. (The Crucible by Arthur Miller)

Levithan, David. Marly’s Ghost. Dial Books, 2006

The spirit of Ben’s girlfriend Marly returns with three other ghosts to haunt him with a painful journey though Valentine’s Days past, present, and future. (A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens)

Korman, Gordon. Jake, Reinvented. Hyperion, 2003

Rick becomes friends with the popular new boy, Jake Garrett, football player and host of superlative parties, and in the process discovers the true nature of his schoolmates and uncovers the mystery of Jake’s past. (The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald)

Langdon, Lorie. Olivia Twist. Bloomsbury, 2018

Born in a workhouse and raised as a boy among thieving London street gangs, Olivia is as tough and cunning as they come. When she is taken in by her uncle after a caper gone wrong, her life goes from stealing on the streets to lavish dinners as a debutante in high society. (Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens)

Madsen, Cindi. All the Broken Pieces. Entangled, 2012

Following a car accident, Liv comes out of a coma with no memory of her past and two distinct, warring voices inside her head. As she stumbles through her junior year, the voices get louder until Liv meets Spencer, whose own mysterious past also has him on the fringe. As the voices invade her dreams, and her dreams start feeling like memories, she and Spencer seek out answers. Yet the deeper they dig, the less things make sense. (Frankenstein by Mary Shelley)

Mallory, Alex. Wild. HarperTeen, 2014

When Cade, a boy who has lived in the forest his whole life, saves a regular teen from a bear attack, he is brought into modern civilization for the first time. (Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs)

Monir, Alexandra. Suspicion. Random House, 2014

Seventeen-year-old Imogene Rockford turned away from her family and their English country manor after her parents’ death, but assumes her duty as the new Duchess of Wickersham despite threats and strange occurrences. (Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier)

Nelson, Katie A. Duke of Bannerman Prep. Sky Pony Press, 2017

Follows Tanner McKay, a star on his public high school’s debating team as he ambitiously pursues and wins a scholarship at the elite Bannerman Prep. Debate is Tanner’s ticket out of a life of poverty and family drama and into a new and better future. But when he’s paired with the prep school playboy everyone calls the Duke, Tanner’s plans seem doomed to fail. (The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald)

Oppel, Kenneth. This Dark Endeavor. Simon & Schuster BFYR, 2011

When his twin brother falls ill in the family’s chateau in the independent republic of Geneva in the eighteenth century, sixteen-year-old Victor Frankenstein embarks on a dangerous and uncertain quest to create the forbidden Elixir of Life described in an ancient text in the family’s secret Biblioteka Obscura. (Frankenstein by Mary Shelley)

Peterfreund, Diana. Across a Star-Swept Sea. Balzar + Bray, 2013

Sixteen-year-old Persis Blake struggles to balance her life as a socialite and a secret spy in a future where Regs, or regular people, have power over the Reduced–those genetically engineered or drugged into physical and mental impairments. (The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy)

Shepherd, Megan. The Madman’s Daughter. Balzar + Bray, 2013

Dr. Moreau’s daughter, Juliet, travels to her estranged father’s island, only to encounter murder, medical horrors, and a love triangle. (The Island of Dr. Moreau by H. G. Wells)

Watson, Kate. Seeking Mansfield. Flux, 2017

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, Oliver Bertram. If Finley could just take Oliver’s constant encouragement to heart and step out of the shadows, she’d finally chase her dream of joining the prestigious Mansfield Theater. (Mansfield Park by Jane Austen)

Watson, Kate. Shoot the Moon. Flux, 2018

Tate Bertram, a nineteen-year-old gambling addict who, despite almost losing his life over his vice, is not ready to admit he has a problem. (Great Expectations by Charles Dickens)

Zarins, Kim. Sometimes We Tell the Truth. First Pulse, 2016

A group of teens on a bus ride to Washington, DC, each tell a story–some fantastical, some realistic, some downright scandalous–in pursuit of the ultimate prize: an automatic A in civics class. (Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer)

Natalie Korsavidis is the Head of Young Adult at the Farmingdale Public Library. She received her MLS at CW Post University. She is currently President of the Young Adult Services Division of the Nassau County Library Association. She has spoken at New York Comic Con and the Long Island Pop Culture Convention.

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