They say everyone loves a Cinderella story. While I don’t know about that, I do know that a good retelling of Cinderella is a gem, especially when it’s queer. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of five queer young adult novels that draw from the classic fairy tale to weave their stories.
Ash
Ash by Malindo Lo is the first queer YA retelling of Cinderella on our list. Lo’s heroine, Ash, shares much with the original fairy tale heroine (dead parents, evil-ish stepmom). But Ash is no Disney Princess (unless you subscribe to the “Elsa is gay” theory). Given the choice between a fairy prince and a huntress, let’s just say Ash takes the sapphic road. Content warnings
RELATED: Book Review: A Scatter of Light
Cinderella Is Dead
Kalynn Bayron‘s Cinderella Is Dead exists in a post-Cinderella world, in a society that has lionized the idea of the ball where the young girl met her prince. Every year, the eligible teen bachelorettes must go to said ball to present themselves to the town’s bachelors. It’s a dangerous game. And the town’s women are over it. Content warnings
Sometime After Midnight
If you love books about Los Angeles and the semi-famous, L. Philips’ Sometime After Midnight is definitely for you. Record labels, ruined careers, Polaroids of shoes and a touch of mental illness, this queer YA retelling of Cinderella is all Hollywood. Content warnings
RELATED: 17 New LGBTQIA+ Books You Should Read for Pride
The Grimrose Girls
Laura Pohl’s The Grimrose Girls isn’t exclusively a Cinderella story, but its Cinderella stand-in features prominently enough to put on this list. Set in a fancy private boarding school, after their friend dies, a group of girls learn they are all living lives similar to fairy tale characters. Are they doomed to live out those Grim(m) stories, or can they make up their own endings? Content warnings
The Magic Fish
The last queer YA retelling of Cinderella on our list is The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen. This graphic novel tells the story of Tiến, the child of Vietnamese immigrants. His mom and dad practice English by reading fairy tales with him; some of these are versions of Cinderella from Vietnam and Germany. Content warnings
RELATED: Queer Tested, Teacher Approved: 23 Queer YA Genre Books You Need To Read
There you have it: five queer YA retellings of Cinderella. Do note that, like the OG, not-Disney version of the tale, some of them get pretty dark, so check out the content warnings. Are there any other fairy tale retellings you’re curious about? Let us know in the comments below!
https://www.geekgirlauthority.com/5-retellings-of-classic-stories/
- The Origin of Tropes: Holiday Movies - December 6, 2024
- Millennial Misremembers: THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS - December 2, 2024
- Millennial Misremembers: THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL - November 20, 2024
