10 YA Retellings Beyond Fairy Tales

You can’t enter a bookstore without tripping over a modern day Cinderella or Snow White. But with a little looking, you can also find Romeo and Juliet, Robin Hood, and Jane Eyre as well. Here are 10 of our favorite young adult literature retellings – beyond the fairy tales.

Alice in Zombieland by Nickolas Cook

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Retelling of: Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Caroll

No charming white rabbit here! This time Alice follows the Black Rat down an open grave to find herself in an undead nightmare of rotting flesh and insanity.

The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

Balzer + Bray / Via goodreads.com

Retelling of: The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells

Juliet Moreau works as a maid in the King’s College of Medical Research – a far cry from her former life as a daughter of privilege in London society. But when her father disappeared after rumors spread of his horrific experiments, Juliet was left destitute. When she learns he is alive on a remote tropical island, she risks life and limb to join him and find out if he’s really such a monster.

Across a Star-Swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund

Balzer + Bray / Via goodreads.com

Retelling of: The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emma Orczy

Centuries after wars nearly destroyed civilization, the two islands of New Pacifica stand alone as terraformed paradise. But when an uprising against the aristocrats on Galatea turns deadly, the only hope is rescue by a mysterious spy known as the Wild Poppy. On the neighboring island of Albion, no one suspects that the Wild Poppy is actually a frivolous aristocrat leading a daring double life.

Of Metal and Wishes by Sarah Fine

Margaret K. McElderry Books / Via goodreads.com

Retelling of: The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

A ghost haunts the slaughterhouse where Wen assists her father in his medical clinic, or so the rumors go. When Wen is humiliated by a worker, she makes an impulsive wish, one that’s brutally granted by the Ghost. Horrified, but curious, Wen is lured in by the mystery of the Ghost and learns he has been watching her for a very long time.

Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen

Walker Childrens / Via goodreads.com

Retelling of: Robin Hood

Posing as one of Robin Hood’s thieves to avoid the wrath of the evil Thief Taker Lord Gisbourne, no one in Nottinghamshire knows that the agile boy thief is actually Scarlet, a fearless young woman with a secret past. Fiercely loyal to Robin, Scarlet helps the people of Nottingham outwit the corrupt Sheriff, even though it could cost her life.

The Hollow by Jessica Verday

Simon Pulse / Via goodreads.com

Retelling of: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

When Abbey’s best friend, Kristen, vanishes at the bridge near Sleepy Hollow Cemetary, everyone else is all too quick to believe Kristen is dead, and it may not have been an accident. Abbey refuses to believe Kristen could really be gone, and as she investigates what may have happened to her friend, she learns a secret that makes her question everything she thought she knew.

Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

HarperCollins Children's Books / Via goodreads.com

Retelling of: Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

Tiger Lily doesn’t believe in love stories or happy endings, but when she meets Peter Pan, the impetuous and brave leader of the Lost Boys, she falls under his spell. Faced with a marriage to a terrible man in her own tribe, she must choose between the life she’s always known and running away to an uncertain future with the boy who never grows up.

Ophelia by Lisa M. Klein

Bloomsbury USA Childrens / Via goodreads.com

Retelling of: Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Ambitious, witty, and beautiful, Ophelia grows up in Elsinore Castle to become the queen’s most trusted lady-in-waiting. When she catches the attention of the captivating Prince Hamlet, their love blossoms in secret. When bloody deeds turn Denmark into a place of madness, Ophelia’s happiness is shattered, leaving her to choose between her love for Hamlet and her own life.

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

HarperCollins / Via goodreads.com

Retelling of: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Amy Gumm is the other girl from Kansas, swept up in a tornado and deposited in an Oz different from the movies and the books. Good Witches can’t be trusted, Wicked Witches may be the good guys, and the yellow brick road is crumbling. Recruited by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked, Amy has a mission that can only end one way: Dorothy must die.

Sway by Kat Spears

St. Martin's Griffin / Via goodreads.com

Retelling of: Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand

Jesse Alderman, known as “Sway,” specializes in getting things people want: term papers, a date with the prom queen, fake IDs. For Jesse, life is a series of transactions, and emotions can never get in the way. But when Jesse is hired to win the heart of the angelic Bridget Smalley for the captain of the football team, Jesse feels all sorts of things, and falls helplessly in love for the first time.