Each month, Typhani Russo from the Altoona Area Public Library shares her top 10 book picks that center around a specific theme. This month’s theme is “Twisted Tales.”
Book information and summaries cited from Goodreads.com.
All books listed are available at the Altoona Area Public Library.
CHILDREN’S BOOKS:
Book: How the Library (Not the Prince) Saved Rapunzel, by Wendy Meddour
Synopsis: Rapunzel sits on the sixteenth floor of an inner city block, dreaming and looking out at the rain. No one can rouse her from her apathy, not the milkman or the postman or her aunt; not even the prince. But when at last a letter is delivered, it contains news that has Rapunzel on her feet again. She has a new job at the library! And suddenly her life is busy and sparkling! “For despite her long hair and her ravishing looks, she loved nothing better than reading good books!”
Book: The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs, by Jon Scieszka
Synopsis: In this hysterical and clever fairy tale picture book that twists point of view and perspective, young readers will finally hear the other side of the story of The Three Little Pigs. Lane Smith’s simplistic and wacky illustrations add to the effectiveness of this fractured fairy tale.
Book: Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China, by Ed Young
Synopsis: This version of the Red Riding Hood story features three daughters left at home when their mother goes to visit their grandmother. Lon Po Po, the Granny Wolf, pretends to be the girls’ grandmother, until clever Shang, the eldest daughter, suspects the greedy wolf’s real identity. Tempting him with ginkgo nuts, the girls pull him in a basket to the top of the tree in which they are hiding, then let go of the rope, killing him. Like ancient Oriental paintings, the illustrations are frequently grouped in panels. The juxtaposition of abstract and realistic representations, the complicated play of color and shadow and the depth of the artist’s vision all help transform this simple fairy tale into an extraordinary and powerful book.
YOUNG ADULT BOOKS:
Book: The Looking Glass Wars, by Frank Beddor
Synopsis: When Alyss Heart, newly orphaned heir to the Wonderland throne, flees through the Pool of Tears to escape her murderous Aunt Redd, she finds herself lost and alone in Victorian London. Befriended by an aspiring author named Lewis Carrol, Alyss tells the violent, heartbreaking story of her young life. Alyss trusts this author to tell the truth so that someone, somewhere will find her and bring her home. But he gets the story all wrong. Fortunately, Royal Bodyguard Hatter Madigan knows all too well the awful truth of Alyss’ story and he’s searching every corner of our world to find the lost princess and return her to Wonderland, to battle Redd for her rightful place as the Queen of Hearts. The Looking Glass Wars unabashedly challenges our Wonderland assumptions of mad tea parties, grinning Cheshire cats and a curious little blond girl to reveal an epic battle in the endless war for Imagination.
Book: The Forbidden Wish, by Jessica Khoury
Synopsis:
When Aladdin discovers Zahra’s jinni lamp, Zahra is thrust back into a world she hasn’t seen in hundreds of years. A world where magic is forbidden and Zahra’s very existence is illegal. She must disguise herself to stay alive, using ancient shape-shifting magic, until her new master has selected his three wishes. But when the King of the Jinn offers Zahra a chance to be free of her lamp forever, she seizes the opportunity only to discover she is falling in love with Aladdin. When saving herself means betraying him, Zahra must decide once and for all if winning her freedom is worth losing her heart. As time unravels and her enemies close in, Zahra finds herself suspended between danger and desire in this dazzling retelling of Aladdin.
Book: Dorothy Must Die, by Danielle Paige
Synopsis: Amy Gumm was just a girl from Kansas: unpopular, lippy and practically hunted by her school’s very own personal demon, the “ever lovely” Madison Pendleton. Then, one day, a tornado hits her home and Amy is swept away to Oz. Only, it’s not the Oz she’s read about. This Oz has no cheerful munchkins or joyful parades; here in Oz, Dorothy rules, and Oz has paid a heavy price for it. Torture, imprisonment and evil punishments are all Amy finds in this new, drained version of the magical land she knew as a child. She’s been recruited by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked with one mission and one mission only: Dorothy must die.
Book: Roseblood, by A.G. Howard
Synopsis: In this modern day spin on Leroux’s gothic tale of unrequited love turned to madness, seventeen-year-old Rune Germain has a mysterious affliction linked to her operatic talent and a horrifying mistake she’s trying to hide. Hoping creative direction will help her, Rune’s mother sends her to a French arts conservatory for her senior year, located in an opera house rumored to have ties to The Phantom of the Opera. At RoseBlood, Rune secretly befriends the masked Thorn, an elusive violinist who not only guides her musical transformation through dreams that seem more real than reality itself, but somehow knows who she is behind her own masks. As the two discover an otherworldly connection and a soul deep romance blossoms, Thorn’s dark agenda comes to light and he’s forced to make a deadly choice. Lead Rune to her destruction, or face the wrath of the phantom who has haunted the opera house for a century and is the only father he’s ever known.
Book: Beast, by Brie Spangler
Synopsis: Tall, meaty, muscle-bound and hairier than most throw rugs, Dylan doesn’t look like your average fifteen-year-old, so, naturally, high school has not been kind to him. To make matters worse, on the day his school bans hats, Dylan goes up on his roof only to fall and wake up in the hospital with a broken leg and a mandate to attend group therapy for self-harmers. Dylan vows to say nothing and zones out at therapy until he meets Jamie. She’s funny, smart, and so stunning, even his womanizing best friend, JP, would be jealous. She’s also the first person to ever call Dylan out on his self-pitying and superficiality. As Jamie’s humanity and wisdom begin to rub off on Dylan, they become more than just friends. But there is something Dylan doesn’t know about Jamie, something she shared with the group the day he wasn’t listening. Something that shouldn’t change a thing. She is who she’s always been; an amazing photographer and devoted friend, who also happens to be transgender. But will Dylan see it that way?
Book: Princess of Thorns, by StaceyJay
Synopsis: Game of Thrones meets the Grimm’s fairy tales in this twisted, fast-paced romantic fantasy adventure about Sleeping Beauty’s daughter, a warrior princess who must fight to reclaim her throne. 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. Will Aurora triumph over evil and reach her brother before it’s too late? Can Aurora and Niklaas break the curses that will otherwise forever keep them from finding their one true love?
ADULT BOOKS:
Book: Spindle’s End, by Robin McKinley
Synopsis: All the creatures of the forest and riverbank knew the infant was special. She was the princess, spirited away from the evil fairy Pernicia on her name-day. But the curse was cast: Rosie was fated to prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fall into a poisoned sleep; a slumber from which no one would be able to rouse her.
Book: Boy, Snow, Bird, by Helen Oyeyemi
Synopsis: Boy Novak turns twenty and decides to try for a brand-new life. Flax Hill, Massachusetts, isn’t exactly a welcoming town, but it does have the virtue of being the last stop on the bus route she took from New York. Flax Hill is also the hometown of Arturo Whitman; craftsman, widower, and father of Snow. Snow is mild mannered, radiant and deeply cherished. If Snow displays a certain inscrutability at times, that’s simply a characteristic she shares with her father, harmless until Boy gives birth to Snow’s sister, Bird. Sparkling with wit and vibrancy, Boy, Snow, Bird is a deeply moving novel about three women and the strange connection between them.