a retrospective on fairytale retellings🌹
use my code 20LEONIE to get €20 off at Lingoda: try.lingoda.com/20Leonie
today we discuss that time that every young adult fantasy book was a fairytale retelling!
🗝️ join my patreon for our book club + reader community: / thebookleo
sources:
New heroines in old skins: Fairy tale revisions in young adult dystopian literature, Jill Coste (2020)
Once Upon a Time, Again: Exploring the Function of Fairy Tale Retellings, Mackenzie A. Parsons (2023)
A gazillion different fairytales who's names I have shown on screen - I will spare you the long list here.
🌼 s o c i a l m e d i a
• goodreads: / leonie-dams
• twitter: @thebookleo
• instagram: @thebookleo
• business enquiries: thebookleo.business@gmail.com
🌺 a b o u t m e
Hi! My name is Leonie and I am a 25 year old girl from the Netherlands who loves talking about books! From YA to non-fiction to classics, I read it all (although fantasy will always be my fave).
🌹 m u s i c
Music, art, and video by Jokabi
▸ / @jokabibeats
▸ / jokabibeats
▸ / jokabi.beats
▸open.spotify.com/artist/7F93s...
Download / Stream Lost Woods
▸ smarturl.it/LostWoodsJokabi
Пікірлер: 546
“If he's trying to kiss her while she's asleep, that's weird; but if he's trying to actively kill her, now that's hot.”
@EmyN
2 ай бұрын
😂
@Amber_B
2 ай бұрын
20:57
your hair ate and left ✨zero ✨ crumbs
@madiwrites299
3 ай бұрын
The hair the top the earrings *chefs kiss* ❤
@alexandrahope8814
3 ай бұрын
#FACTS!
@omnoms
3 ай бұрын
and her dress too. i literally screamed when i saw her
@samsherwood8332
3 ай бұрын
truly, I kept getting distracted by how nice it looked!
@tiffy6v6
3 ай бұрын
I got the same cut yesterday, anyone know how to get those like waves at the bottom?
i miss how my life felt when Cinder first came out
@TheBookLeo
3 ай бұрын
it was such an innocent time
@mauratyson9580
3 ай бұрын
I tried to read cinder like 4 times as an early teen and it was totally a right book wrong time bc I was so obsessed with the concept but could never focus long enough to actually read it. I read it for real back in January and I just finished the second book. It's actually one of my favorite books I've ever read in my life. So good
@Mazygolucky
3 ай бұрын
I picked it up in 2014 for the first time and stayed up until 4 AM to finish reading it in one sitting. The Lunar Chronicles quickly became my favorite books and I reread them multiple times each and recently started reading it to my girlfriend so she can understand how important they were to me for so long.
@stella-G
3 ай бұрын
i started reading Cinder for an English assignment and i got so invested in it after a long time of not reading and it ended up becoming my favorite book serious.
@LilacLily17
3 ай бұрын
The lunar chronicles have to be in my top 10 series, it’s been forever since I’ve read them and I still think about them all the time!
When you said the most important and culturally iconic retelling --- I immediately went "SHREK."
@Thenoobestgirl
2 ай бұрын
What is that a retelling of? 😂
@ArteoftheMist
2 ай бұрын
@@Thenoobestgirl ...all of the stories they could think of? LOL
Thank you for Barbie Rapunzel shout out. Those movies were my jam as a kid and Rapunzel was one of my favourites! That horse Boticelli was my introduction to Italian renaissance painters lmao
@matildetome
3 ай бұрын
This!! I still have my VHS for nostalgia only 😭
@camille_la_chenille
3 ай бұрын
an improtant part of my childhood!
You asking to bring back the "normal person goes to fantasy world trope" is so funny to me because as an avid anime fan all I want is more traditional fantasy and less "normal person in fantasy world" because every show coming out lately is just an exact copy paste of that trope.
@panikiczcock2891
3 ай бұрын
I avoid isekai like the plague ngl 😅 Enough is enough
@Alisha_Seikh
3 ай бұрын
@@panikiczcock2891 fr like isekai is so overdone these days
@auspicious8438
3 ай бұрын
I'm more into web comics, and they're also really heavy in isekai right now. I enjoy a good isekai plot line, but I feel like most of the ones being churned out are really basic without any complex characters or compelling stories. They exist just to saturate the market with the trope which really sucks because then you get so many poorly done stories with no effort really put in when they could have been actually interesting stories and it turns so many people off enjoying the genre at all.
@mer6264
3 ай бұрын
I think there can be some cool Isekai but as of right now all of the main characters have been average gamers with a harem or at least some type of girl fawning over the average main character. I'm sick and tired of the perverted ones and the ones who buy slaves for the "better" 💆🏽♂️💆🏽♂️
@msmorbid2903
3 ай бұрын
So true!!! I open Crunchyroll and there's like 10 new isekai every time 😭😭 I've developed a severe hatred for the titles too. It's "House of x and y" all over again except this one goes "I woke up in x world as y creature and I'm the strongest one here!!" Please release me from this hell
I see Cinder on the cover, I click. I SEE LEONIE UPLOAD AND I CLICKKK
@madelinedupon
3 ай бұрын
ALSO OMG girl where did you get the flowery corset shirt thingy I NEED JT.
@TheBookLeo
3 ай бұрын
i got it at the london vintage market at brick lane! they have a lot there!
@madelinedupon
3 ай бұрын
@@TheBookLeo AHH TYSM
@bib4eto656
2 ай бұрын
Literally clicked on the video because of the Cinder cover 🤩
ABSOLUTELY, THE BARBIE MOVIES ARE SO IMPORTANT. Princess and the Pauper and Barbie and the Nutcracker were my first Barbie movies as a kid and it's shaped me as the hopeless romantic creature that I am.
There's a 2021 Little Mermaid retelling called Skin of the Sea, which is a duology, and integrates West African folklore, making the mermaid a Mami Wata, if anyone's interested.
@yellowzora
3 ай бұрын
Yes I read that one! Absolutely loved it, so immersive and has taught me a lot about the culture. I haven't read the second book yet, but can highly recommend the first 😁
@dearreaderrr
3 ай бұрын
Theres also another mermaid novel similar to that called The Deep by Rivers Solomon which I loved!
@pauieeepau
3 ай бұрын
@@dearreaderrr i think i recently added that to my GR TBR! Can't find a physical copy of it yet, but I might try ebooks this year.
@CoquetteCygnet
3 ай бұрын
I read that one!! Can’t wait to read the sequel next. I love anything with mermaid folklore
@TheBookishB
3 ай бұрын
❤❤❤❤
Librarian here. The fairy tale retellings are still going strong. Seems like a quarter or third of all juvenile or young adult books we get in are fairy tale/legend/myth retellings. And the adults get plenty of retellings of their own.
I took a fairytale class in college and let me say that the history of Fairytales is quite interesting and fun to delve into. I’m now a bigger fan of the brother Grimms fairytales vs Charles Perraults. I also found it interesting that one of the brothers (Jacob) was a linguist who created the “Grimms law” which helped linguist to pin point when consonants shift between Proto-Indo-European and Proto-Germanic. One more interesting thing is the brothers took out all the sex and the moral meanings that Charles had and made it more gruesome (which I appreciate) and apparently they did this because it wasn’t for the children but for anthropological study (Wilhelm was the Anthropologist). Fairytales do have a cultural and linguistical importance in society and I love the fact that they get retold multiple times in different lights because it’s a reflection of not what only the author thinks but what society also values as well.
@isabelluna4086
2 ай бұрын
there’s fairytale class in college? cool
@elecrom_9757
2 ай бұрын
The fairytales also were for children. They even edited some of them for later editions of "Kinder- und Hausmärchen" (the book they released the fairytales in) to make them more into what they thought was appropiate for children. They studied them too, but the book they released was meant as a book that children either read themselves or get read to.
@lilyguriel7151
29 күн бұрын
I’m a huge fan of fairytales and have taken classes as well and I totally agree
20:47 "where the prince just falls in love with the prince", I want to read that!!
I love retellings if they do something actually unique that's more than "female character now gets a sword and drives the plot forward but still ends up as the prince's bride in the end". Give me the perspective of a character that was side-lined or villainised in the original. Make another person/the villain the love interest. Turn the original love interest into the new villain. Make it queer and feminist (actual feminism, not the girl now has sword kind). Take the original and put it into a whole new genre. One I loved more recently was Malice, which is a queer Sleeping Beauty retelling from the perspective of the villain, which is a perfect example of "villains are not born but made". Back in the day, I absolutely loved the Lunar Chronicles and while I do remember the retelling aspect getting progressively less good with every book (the wolf is just a streetfighter named Wolf - really? And what of Snow White was even still present in Winter at the end?), I imagine especially the first book still holds up in many ways (turning Cinderella into a cyborg who loses her entire artificial foot is a choice that I cannot help but stan to this day). I long for more creative and queer retellings that do not just repackage the original in a feminism light version or pretends to be a retelling but bears so little resemblance to the original it's barely recognisable as such, like many retellings end up being.
@starrynight2274
3 ай бұрын
The protagonist in Little thieves is the villain in the original Goose girl tale and the whole book does, besides all the fun, really really good non-preachy commentary on patriarchy, class devide etc
The best one of these is actually Till We Have Faces, CS Lewis' dark af retelling of the cupid-psyche myth from the girl boss sister's perspective.
I have been on a fairytale binge lately. Recently read The Bear and the Nightingale, Juniper and Thorn, The Lost Story, The Book of Gothel, and now an illustrated version of the Grimms fairytales
@dSkylarkC
3 ай бұрын
I loved the Book of Gothel! I think it is a bit underrated in the online bookish community
There’s a Cinderella retelling that came out in 1999 called “Just Ella” by Margaret Peterson Haddix that takes place after she is found and brought to the castle, and not everything is as good as expected. It’s in a similar vein of “Ella Enchanted” for reading level and stuff, and it’s so good. Those 2 books shaped my childhood.
I honestly love this sort of genre(?), I've always loved fairytales growing up so getting to enjoy newer yet similar versions of them as i get older gives me such a feeling I can't describe. It's nostalgic in a way. P.s: your hair looks GORGEOUS it brings your features out a lot more and especially your eyes,you - ironically enough - look like you came straight out of a fairytale book, in a snow white or a belle-esque kind of way. so pretty!
when i was younger i absolutely adored the ever after high book series which is more middle grade but felt so complex and interesting the lens of a fairy tale re-telling. i also really love how the stories not only explored the main characters but also the other kids in the school and how they are struggling with accepting their 'destined' role in the world :)
@thatponighoul
3 ай бұрын
Yess, Ever After High is so good!
Retellings in a fanfic component also reflects the commodification of our stories by big corporations. Like you said, our stories started as oral traditions - now they are owned by billion dollar companies. We push back by reclaiming these stories and tropes.
@aesinam
4 күн бұрын
The corporations don't own the original stories though. Only the versions they themselves have "created"
The Malice duology is a great retelling of Sleeping Beauty from the villain perspective, and it’s also sapphic! Highly recommend
Hello I am an old. Ella Enchanted was my fave book when I was a kid, it's so sweet. I'm shocked none of Robin McKinley's fairy tale retellings were above the threshold. I feel like fairy tale retellings have always been hugely popular, it just looks like a trend because the Internet came to be and Goodreads favors more recently published books.
The amount of Peter Pan retellings that exist is WILD. I went down a researching rabbit hole not too long ago and now I have a list of almost 50 books XD
@lunaf.4007
Ай бұрын
you should totally drop the list 😊
16:20 'isle of the lost' was originally a Disney original movie named Descendants which they later adapted into a book which gave them a opputunity to dive more into the characters lives before moving out of the island from where the movie takes place
Cinder and Once Upon A Time (plus Wicked) being my teen years is so accurate.
Something she said about changing trends in what women and girls want/ who they relate the most to in stories made me wonder if similar forces are what gave rise to the "villainess" genre in manga/ light novels.
Not me thinking the retelling of Aladdin, where Aladdin falls in love with the (male) genie sounds really interesting and progressive for its time and it then turns out the genie is changed to be female :(
@Eriazara
3 ай бұрын
there's actually a retelling were Aladdin falls for a male genie tho his name isn't Aladdin. He lives in a cruel kingdom and find a golden lap were his find a genie; its called 'wish of the white tiger' by joseph Harkreader on kindle for kindleunlimted
a queer fairy tale re-telling that i enjoyed at the time was cinderalla is dead which actually went viral for some time during quarantine. it was a very refreshing take on the original tale and the plot was pretty good as well. also at this point marissa meyer is just the queen of re-tellings because her recent duology 'gilded' which is a Rumpelstiltskin re-telling was also well recieved. it wasn't really my cup of tea but i can definitely see why people would like it
My off the wall retelling of Beauty and the Beast is where, after the beast turns back into a man, Belle decides she liked him better (aestheticly) when he was a beast, so they try to find the witch to turn him back. You also said you wonder where the genre of people going to fantasy worlds went. The answer is Japan. It's goes by the name Isekai. (Although, Isekai can be anything where a person travels from their world to another, be it a normal person to wonderland, or Tolkien dwarf to modern Japan).
@ashley9639
Ай бұрын
what book was that beauty and the beast one?
Girl you know your color palette very well! Sll the colours you choose from the clothes, the decor and everything suits you very well.
@somatoes4667
3 ай бұрын
she’s a soft autumn girlie 🥰
bruh you hair.... IM OBSESSED 😭😭😭
i'm at the tail end of writing my masters dissertation on classical myth retellings with a special focus on Medusa, and this video was so cool to watch. you touched on some of the things I mentioned in my dissertation as well which was really cool. if anyone sees this video in my references, MIND YA BUSINESS!
14:00 thats is the entire genre called Isekai and its mostly popular in japanese light novels but also its in western books too
The corset you're wearing is divine, such a nice touch to the fairytale theme haha
This all just gets me thinking about how storytelling in general is just such a core part of humanity and human history and they're like windows of truth to who we are as beings on this earth. Like even archetypes and tropes that aren't fairy tale inspired are all just passed down ideas from one thing to another and can probably be traced back to who knows how many thousands of years. It's just so cool, I love thinking about what it means to be human and stories is one of my favourite things to connect to it.
There's already a secret history retelling, when we were villains has basically the same trope and vibes of the original
@veronicatsibulskaya1659
3 ай бұрын
Imo Secret History is already a Dead Poets Society retelling
The 10th Kingdom is the OG retelling show. It deserves more love.
I disagree that in grimm cinderella that the prince pushed the story forward. Cinderella pushed the story by refusing to give up and going to the ball, which by then pushed the chain of events that followed. Without her going, the story wouldn't have progressed
@aesinam
4 күн бұрын
And if the ball hadn't been organised, her assertion etc wouldn't have happened either (she was basically resigned to her fate until this point) so I say they both played their parts. One picked up where the other left of
DUDE IM SO GLAD YOU TALKED ABOUT THE GOOSE GIRL THAT SERIES DEFINED MEEE
if you are interested, I highly recommend Disfigured by Amanda Leduc, which goes through the ways in which disability is shown in traditional fairy tales but is used to signpost villainy/punishment for misbehaviour. As a disabled person, I very much related to the memoir aspects of it, and the fresh perspective on how the signposting harms disabled people.
Loved this video!! I feel like people often forget Gilded by Marissa Meyer, even though it has the perfect dark forest fairytale retelling, mist and folklore vibes. (It’s a rumplestilskin retelling). Just throwing that recommendation out there ;)
Tiger Lily is one of my favourite books ever!! Although it follows Tiger Lily it’s told from the perspective of Tink, it’s fantastic 🥰 thank you for talking about it, it’s such an underrated gem!!
22:30 that story reminds me of the legend of Psyche and Cupid
The book "East of the Sun & West of the moon" sounds very much like a Greek mythology retelling of the story between Eros and Psyche. (Suggestion: you could watch the video "Miscellaneous Myths: Eros and Psyche" by Overly Sarcastic Productions, it's only 6 min. and 28 sec.)
@MistbornPrincess
3 ай бұрын
It really is basically a retelling. And Beauty and the Beast is in the same vein.
@jerneymantel7826
3 ай бұрын
@@MistbornPrincess that is true.
The 2010s were fairy tale reimaginings and adaptations galore. Not only in books, but other media as well: Ever After High in dolls with an animated web series and books, RWBY as an anime-inspired web series where fairy & folk tale characters are badass hunters, Grimm, Once Upon A Time, and other television shows that were centered around fairy tales and/or monsters & myth, Tangled, Frozen, and Disney’s live-action remakes as silver screen adaptations, and one of my favorite book series, The School For Good and Evil, in which young people attend a magical school to become the next heroes and villains in fairy tale storuws (it got an awful Netflix movie adaptation). I don’t know why the fairy tale reimagining craze was EVERYWHERE during that decade, but I got a lot of my favorite media out of it! I wonder if the next reimagining & retelling trend will be classic novels and stories that are in the public domain, like how we’re seeing bad horror media retelling of classic children’s tales like Winnie The Pooh or Steamboat Willie. I think this trend will continue this decade as more and more old IPs enter the public domain and people seek to make money off of them.
The lunar chronicles is one of my all time fav series to this day
Regarding Scheherazade, I cannot more highly recommend John Barth's _Chimera._ The first part of the book is about Scheherazade and her sister. It is largely an exploration of the nature os stories and storytelling. I won't say more for fear of spoiling it. Don't forget to put Rimsky-Korsakov on the stereo while reading.
the look, the background, the dressss, just chef's kiss!!
I just finished „a court of thorns and roses“ an hour ago. This comes at a perfect time. So excited😍😍
This was a perrrrrfect opportunity to talk about east by edith pattou !! Its a really good retelling of east of the sun west of the moon
@countryrose93
3 ай бұрын
I ADORED that book. There is apparently a sequel called “West” that I have been meaning to borrow from the library
I was living for the fairytale retelling era back in like 2015. It was my whole personality. Now, I’m all about cozy fantasy which feels right ha
Big fan of the idea of just printing out a cover image of a book you're talking about on cheap paper and sticking it to the wall!! MUCH cheaper than buying each one and/or tryna get them from the library, depending on where you live.
oh my god you unlocked a serious wave of memories with Goose Girl! I reread that book so many times as a young teen
I loved this so much!! You are so good at creating a through-line in these videos and summarising your thoughts at the end. It’s so satisfying!! The only thing that’s not satisfying is the blank 2013 space 😭 I need to know what was meant to be there!!! Please!!
Once Upon A Time! Also loved the Wonderland spin off and the TV show Grimm!
You had me at Cinder AND Little Thieves in the thumbnail 🤭 [Little Thieves, my beloved 💛 I will never stop recommending it to literally everyone!!!]
I was obsessed with Gail Carson Levene’s books when I was younger. I read fairest so many times
The dried flowers hanging above the burning candle stressing me out 😅 (also I love how you said it was 2014 towards the end. So many people I know keep saying 2014 instead of 2024, it's impressive) aaand as someone who isn't quite old enough to remember the "golden years" of YA fiction, it's endlessly fascinating to see the timelines you've made and what books influenced what trends (thinking of your YA fantasy timeline video).
@MsKatze
3 ай бұрын
Now it's stressing me out 😂
I love you a bit more every time you mention Once Upon A Time, this TV show has a grip on me 🤧💜 I looved the video, awesome job 😍🥰
This was such a good overview of the trends and importance of fairytale retellings! Love your way of explaining such an intricate topic. I watched it once for the context, and twice to note down all the new books I discovered!
Totally in love with your hair and outfit 🤎
I'm surprised Frank Beddor's Looking Glass Wars trilogy didn't make the Goodreads threshold! It's early 2000s, Alice in Wonderland, parallel worlds with characters crossing (like you mentioned wanting more of)
Honestly the amount of effort and work that went into this video… I respect it so much.
YES ONCE UPON A TIME!!!
I'm currently reading through the twisted tales of Disney stories and some are great some are bad but I'm enjoying it!
YOUR HAIR OMG IM IN LOVE YOU LOOK SO GOOD
I am yet to finish this video but I am currently re reading the lunar chronicles. I read them originally when they came out and I'm amazed to say they still hold up like I am enjoying them just as much like 10 years later
I read “Rose Daughter” at a formative age and I still have such a special place in my heart for it.
Ella Enchanted was my favorite book as a kid. I read it an absurd amount of times.
On the other hand, some may love retellings but the market is probably pushing them (just like the film industry does with remakes and sequences) because it's an easy way to profit
Exellent analysis! Thanks for sharing Also: I'm half asleep and completely fascinated by how the blouse you're wearing under that corset style bodice straight up looks like a fishu. Very 18th-century vibes.
I recommend Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim. Thanks for the video. I could be happy reading nothing but fairy tale retellings and cozy fantasy for years.
Your channel is a beautiful side of youtube. Truly another level❤
The on,y fairytale retelling I read was hunted and it actually also has Slavic folklore in it too with like the firebird
It's perfect timing. I'm currently listening to the audiobook For The Wolf by Hannah Whitten, which seems to be a retelling of Red Riding Hood but in fact it's so much more like Beauty and the Beast
i love your deep dives, they’re always so interesting and unique!!!
Hi Leo! When you mentioned the fairytale the Bear, it is maybe retelling from Eros and Psyche. Other than that this is wondefull video. Have a nice day. 😊
Anyone feel like typing out all these novels & their authors - for us who are reliving their YA fairytale retelling reading journey as adults? :D
Hoi Leonie, super leuk onderwerp, heel veel nostalgie 😊 ik wil je een boek aanraden binnen het genre "retelling" en omdat je van wat duistere verhalen houdt: The Child Thief geschreven door Brom Het is een herschreven Peter Pan verhaal maar, zoals de titel doet vermoeden, steelt hij de kinderen ipv dat ze geheel vrijwillig met hem mee gaan. Vervolgens zet hij ze in zijn leger in met de hoop de fae wereld te kunnen redden. Peter is hier een heel duister karakter en ik vond het ontzettend tof om zo'n populair verhaal met een duistere twist te lezen!
Your videos are so well researched and always so nice to watch! We can tell a lot of work goes into them, great job!
Your video just let me wind down for the evening perfectly, thank you. Your videos have such a cozy vibe, being entertaining yet not overwhelming :)
I’m super into fairytales/folklore and The Lunar Chronicles has always been my favorite book series. I started to actually really study fairy tales after I read it the first time but truthfully doing that makes those books better each time I come back to them and one of reasons it’s still my favorite to this day
Your whole style (outfit, hair, earrings) is amazing and so perfect for the topic.
you with your new hair cut radiate Howl vibes (Howls moving Castle of course), i love it
there's a really cool webtoon called "forever after" about a girl named robin who is obsessed with fairytales and ends up going to a place where she become prince charming and has to go to all these fairytales and give them a happy ending. besides featuring a lot of fairytales from different cultures, we see twists to these stories, like queer plotlines and really complex characters. highly recommend!
Loved this video! I took an oral exam about fairytale retellings in uni with a focus on Angela Carter. That was a fun exam to study for.
your hair is absolutely giving in this video!! ur whole outfit fits the topic sooo well (also very slay video!!!)
I love these deep dive videos! I hope you continue them with whatever bookish topic you’re feeling next :)
So interesting :) The path from ya dystopian with a fmc to fairytale retelling just makes sense. btw your top is beautiful!
Ella Enchanted 🤩 My childhood memories of reading this book still warm my heart. ❤
Watching your videos is like listening to a best friend talk about her hyperfixation and I love it
Every time you post a video I stop all I’m doing to watch it!! Love your videos and your new haircut btw❤
LOVE your YA retrospectives!
Loved the video. Didn't know that some of those books were retelling buts also upon a frosted star by M.A. Kuzniar is a retelling of the Swan Lake which has been retold many times (by barbie aswell) and midnight Evenwood by same author I'd a retelling of a nutcracker whisky also is obvious retold multiple times aswell
I really love the vibes and music and your outfit that fits every video subject sm I really enjoy your videos and it makes my day to see new ones. also there's Cinderella is dead which is also a queer retelling it held a really good message for queers
loving this YA eras tour videos by Leonie!! i always feel nostalgic watching these type of videos, brings me back to my golden age of reading (when university hasnt ruined my reading life yet lmao)
I love the corset! 😍 Such a nice touch to a brilliant video!
Obsessed with your new hair!! It’s giving modern snow white
I love retellings, you explored this so well, I love these essay type videos 😊
You know it's gonna be a good day when Leonie uploads a video 😂
Last year I read and loved Grimrose girls. It's dark academia where all the students get pulled into fairy tale roles and get the bad endings. Starts with a girl drowned in the lake after breaking up with her boyfriend (Little Mermaid) and escalates from there. Also super queer.