Parenthetical

Happy second round of Nerds Heart YA! After much deliberation, Allegra of My Library Card Wore Out and I chose Toads and Diamonds by Heather Tomlinson as our winner. It was a tough call, of course, as I loved many things about Tall Story. But ultimately we decided Toads and Diamonds had more “kid appeal.” [...]

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A lesbian retelling of Cinderella. The Cinderella components are all pretty straightforward at first: dead mother, wicked stepmother and stepsisters, dead father, drastic change in circumstances. The fairies, in this case, are British-style — otherworldly long-lived beings who trap humans when they wander to the wrong part of the forest — which added an enjoyably [...]

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Ever since the Cybils ended, I kept thinking I’d go back and review all the books I read for the Science Fiction & Fantasy panel. But it’s been like a month now, and I’m clearly not going to do that. (Note to self: next year, review as I go, even though I can’t post them [...]

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When Lucinda was small, her parents died in a terrible accident on their way to a royal ball. Now she lives a Cinderella existence in her grasping, abusive Aunt’s jewelry shop — until an urchin thief named Peter and the mysterious Amaranth Witch change Lucinda’s life forever. The broad strokes of this book are your [...]

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My friend Jessica Wilson has published a delightful fairy tale in the latest issue of New Fairy Tales, a British online magazine. Her story is here, illustrated and everything. Go read!

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I’m not even going to try to summarize this one, except to say: interweaving of Snow White & Rose Red, Rumpelstiltskin, and probably some other tales into a lyrical novel with the most sexual creepiness I have had the misfortune to encounter in awhile. This is an excellent example of a book marketed to young [...]

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How did I escape my nerdy fantasy-loving adolescence without ever reading this book? I’m not sure, but I intend to correct the oversight in my Twilight-loving students. Beauty has all the creature-of-the-night broody romance of Edward and Bella, with a little more self-actualization. You know the story: Beauty’s dad gets lost in the woods and [...]

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