From mythology and folklore to re-imaginings of classic literature, immerse yourself in these 16 enchanting and unforgettable retellings.
James: A Novel by Percival Everett
*A LibraryReads Pick*
A brilliant, action-packed reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, both harrowing and ferociously funny, told from the enslaved Jim’s point of view • From the “literary icon” (Oprah Daily) and Pulitzer Prize Finalist whose novel Erasure is the basis for Cord Jefferson’s critically acclaimed film American Fiction.
“James is funny and horrifying, brilliant and riveting. In telling the story of Jim instead of Huckleberry Finn, Percival Everett delivers a powerful, necessary corrective to both literature and history. I found myself cheering both the writer and his hero. Who should read this book? Every single person in the country.”—Ann Patchett
“This is a brilliant, accessible, and very necessary companion to Huckleberry Finn.”—Dave Eggers, author of The Eyes and the Impossible
Available March 19th in Hardcover, eBook, Audio, and Large Print Editions.
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All Our Yesterdays: A Novel by Joel H. Morris
A propulsive and piercing debut, set ten years before the events of Shakespeare’s historic play, about the ambition, power, and fate that define one of literature’s most notorious figures: Lady Macbeth.
“Lady Macbeth is surely one of our most instantly recognizable characters, a shorthand now for heartless and overweening ambition. In All Our Yesterdays, Morris has given her the deep, nuanced, and complicated backstory she deserves. With witches! Thoroughly engrossing, highly recommended.”—Karen Joy Fowler, author of Booth and We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves
“Hail, Macbeth! A stunning meditation on the auspiciousness of silence, and intergenerational anguish. The evolution of Shakespeare’s Medea is a marvel to behold by Morris’s pen. I could not put this book down.”—Isa Arsén, author of Shoot the Moon
Available March 12th in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Thief Liar Lady: A Novel by D. L. Soria
*A LibraryReads Pick*
“Happily Ever After” is a total scam, but at least this time the princess is the one controlling the grift—until her true love arrives and threatens to ruin the whole scheme. Intrigue, magic, and wit abound in this Cinderella fairytale reimagining, perfect for fans of Heather Walter and Naomi Novik.
“A dazzlingly magical, thrilling, and inventive take on a beloved classic.”—Lana Harper, New York Times bestselling author of Payback’s a Witch
“A fairy tale with a delightful con-artist twist, Thief Liar Lady is Cinderella as you’ve never seen her before—sly, subversive, and not at all demure.”—Evelyn Skye, New York Times bestselling author of Damsel
Available in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Watch Our ‘Explore Other Worlds’ Author Panel Featuring D. L. Soria
The Gardins of Edin: A Novel by Rosey Lee
When the bonds in their family begin to fray, four Black women fight to preserve their legacy, heal their wounds, and move forward together in this heartwarming contemporary debut novel with loose parallels to beloved women from the Bible.
“The surprises and heart in this fast-paced family drama kept me turning pages late into the night.”—KJ Dell’Antonia, New York Times bestselling author of The Chicken Sisters
“Rosey Lee’s The Gardins of Edin testifies to all what it means to be family . . . Readers will wish they owned a cottage on the Gardin estate or lived close enough to witness firsthand all the goings-on in Lee’s fascinating saga.”—Robin W. Pearson, Christy Award–winning author
Available in Trade Paperback, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Mrs. Gulliver: A Novel by Valerie Martin
From the prize-winning and beloved author Valerie Martin (Mary Reilly, Property, Italian Fever) comes a surprisingly inventive tale of female subversion and agency in a patriarchal world, with two brilliantly crafted protagonists to root for.
“Irresistible—a funny, sexy romp that’s also smart, even wise.”—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
“This is an excellent character-written novel. You get invested in their lives, and want to read along and see what happens to them. You will not want to put this one down.”—Red Carpet Crash
Available in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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A Sweet Sting of Salt: A Novel by Rose Sutherland
Once a young woman uncovers a dark secret about her neighbor and his mysterious new wife, she’ll have to fight to keep herself—and the woman she loves—safe in this stunning queer reimagining of the classic folktale “The Selkie Wife.”
“A gorgeous tale of sapphic yearning laced with a slow-building sense of Gothic dread, Sutherland’s captivating debut is an intensely beautiful experience you won’t soon forget.”—Paulette Kennedy, bestselling author of The Witch of Tin Mountain
“A Sweet Sting of Salt masterfully combines rich historical detail with an atmospheric, poignant romance between two unforgettable women that will sweep readers off their feet. For fans of feminist retellings and queer fairy tales, Sutherland’s debut is a must-read.”—Allison Epstein, author of Let the Dead Bury the Dead
Available April 9th in Trade Paperback, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Island Witch: A Novel by Amanda Jayatissa
Set in 19th century Sri Lanka and inspired by local folklore, the daughter of a traditional demon-priest—relentlessly bullied by peers and accused of witchcraft herself—tries to solve the mysterious attacks that have been terrorizing her coastal village.
“Every once in a while, a book comes along that drops you into another world and takes you places you never could imagine. This is that book. An astounding accomplishment!”—R. L. Stine, author of Goosebumps
“Tense and twisty . . . This is razor-sharp anticolonial historical horror with the heart of a thriller, and it kept me feverishly turning the pages long into the night.”—Isabel Cañas, USA Today bestselling author of Vampires of El Norte
Available in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Bunyan and Henry; Or, the Beautiful Destiny: A Novel by Mark Cecil
A large-hearted reimagining of beloved all-American legends, this epic debut novel brings men of myth Paul Bunyan and John Henry alive like never before, teaming up for an adventure quest with deeper interrogations of race, class, and industrialization.
“Mark Cecil has just written the next American classic.”—Brendan Slocumb, author of The Violin Conspiracy and Symphony of Secrets
“Cecil’s debut is an undeniably bright light to behold in a world sometimes full of so much dark, inspiring all of us to follow our own beautiful destinies. What a marvel.”—Mateo Askaripour, New York Times bestselling author of Black Buck
Available March 26th in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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The Fairytale Life of Dorothy Gale: A Novel by Virginia Kantra
A woman learns to follow her own road in this heartwarming novel inspired by The Wizard of Oz by New York Times bestselling author Virginia Kantra.
“This might be my favorite Virginia Kantra book! Perfectly emotionally pitched and delicately fierce, I don’t know how Kantra manages to capture the ‘looking for home inside yourself’ spirit of Wizard of Oz in such a contemporary way, but she does. I loved it!”—Sonali Dev, USA Today bestselling author of The Vibrant Years
“Virginia Kantra excels at bringing fresh life to American classic heroines. Fans of Dorothy and her journey will adore the new Dee!”—New York Times bestselling author KJ Dell’Antonia
Available in Trade Paperback, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Jezebel: A Novel by Megan Barnard
Jezebel. You’ve heard the name. But you’ve never heard her story. “Historical fiction at its finest,” (Louisa Morgan) this propulsive novel is a stunning reimagining of the story of a fierce princess from Tyre and her infamous legacy.
“In Megan Barnard’s debut novel, “Jezebel,” the titular wicked queen of biblical lore gets a spirited makeover . . . Redeeming the novel from well-worn tropes of female disempowerment is Barnard’s subversive counternarrative . . . This audiobook is a homage to the innate right to be heard.”—TheNew York Times Book Review
Available in Trade Paperback, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Horses of Fire: A Novel of Troy by A. D. Rhine
The epic retelling of Troy, the most famous war in myth or history, in which four strong yet misunderstood women take center stage, their stories so intricately and beautifully woven together that the result is an utterly spellbinding and immersive historical novel.
“One of those singular books that pulls readers into a completely immersive world with a dazzling story and characters so deftly drawn that you can’t help but ache for them.”—New York Times bestselling author Lisa Maxwell
“Feminist re-tellings of Greek myth are having a moment, but Horses of Fire is destined to stand out, spinning a fresh take on classic themes with mesmerizing energy . . . Lovers of the classics and lovers of fierce female characters alike will rejoice!”—Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Diamond Eye
Available in Trade Paperback, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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The Shadow of Perseus: A Novel by Claire Heywood
National bestselling author of Daughters of Sparta Claire Heywood returns with an imaginative and female-centered reinterpretation of the myth of Perseus.
“A tale of bravery, heartbreak, and perseverance, The Shadow of Pereseus has breathed new life into these very old stories, and finally given these women their voice.”—Stephanie Marie Thornton, USA Today bestselling author of The Conqueror’s Wife
“Reenergizes the Perseus myth by asking “What if?” . . . By re-interpreting the familiar characters in human terms, Claire Heywood gives new life and a startling new perspective to an old tale. Original and engrossing!”—Margaret George, New York Times bestselling author of Helen of Troy
Available in Hardcover, Trade Paperback, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Ninetails: Nine Tales by Sally Wen Mao
A fabulist debut collection of stories re-imagining the nine-tailed fox spirit of Asian folklore.
With the fabulist vibrancy of Carmen Maria Machado, the sinuous world-building of Helen Oyeyemi, and the sensuous feminist rage of Han Kang, Ninetails is both timeless—unearthing a cultural icon whose origins date back over a thousand years—and timely in its contemporary political urgency.
“A sumptuous and lively collection, leaping from story to story in much the same way a fox does — surprisingly, gracefully, and with impressive aim. I loved this book.”—Kelly Link, Pulitzer Prize finalist and bestselling author of Get in Trouble and The Book of Love
“What I love most about Ninetails is its fierce allegiance to underdogs of all kinds, its careful and myriad empathy for its characters, but also its pure and artisanal delight in language and fictive possibilities. It marks, to my mind, the beginning of a poet’s long and potent exploration in literature’s most capacious genre. And it’s a welcomed sight to see.”—Ocean Vuong, New York Times bestselling author of On Earth, We’re Briefly Gorgeous and Time is a Mother
Available May 28th in Trade Paperback, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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The Kingdom of Sweets: A Novel of the Nutcracker by Erika Johansen
This gloriously transportive reimagining of The Nutcracker tells the tale of twin sisters, divided by envy and magic, set against each another one fateful Christmas Eve.
“Erika Johansen’s The Kingdom of Sweets puts a disturbing twist on the classic Nutcracker, transporting readers into a world where dark bargains lurk beneath ornate facades . . . Lyrical and terrifying, it is just as likely to disturb as it is to enchant.”—BookPage
“The famous Christmas ballet takes a sinister turn in Johansen’s spooky retelling . . . An eerie and sophisticated dark fantasy.”—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
Available in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Retellings for Teens and Young Adults:
Kiss the Girl: A Novel by Zoraida Córdova
A modern tale of unexpectedly falling in love and finding your voice, Kiss the Girl is the highly anticipated third installment in the acclaimed and bestselling Meant to Be collection.
“Kiss the Girl is sheer delight. It’s full of joy and love and self discovery, and I smiled the whole time I read it. Zoraida Córdova wrote the rock star/pop princess romance of my dreams!”—Jasmine Guillory, New York Times bestselling author
Available in Hardcover and Trade Paperback Editions.
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Fate Be Changed: A Twisted Tale by Farrah Rochon
What if the witch gave Merida a different spell?
This New York Times bestselling series twists Disney Pixar’s Brave into a fast-paced story in which Merida is sent back in time.
If you could change your fate, would you? Merida understands that as princess of Clan DunBroch, she has certain obligations—but that doesn’t mean she has to like it. But her mother Queen Elinor insists that Merida must do these things to embrace her role as future queen. Determined to chart her own path, Merida follows magical wisps to a witch’s cottage, where she is given a magic pastry and promised it will incite “a great transformation” in her mother. But instead of feeding Elinor the pastry, Merida eats it herself.
Merida awakens in the past, a now-teenage Elinor holding a knife to her throat and accusing her of espionage. She’s been transported to a time when the Clans MacCameron and DunBroch are bitter enemies. And it just so happens that the timing of Merida’s arrival has kept Elinor and Fergus from meeting. Will Merida be able to bridge the rival clans, help her parents fall in love, and change her own fate?
Available April 2nd in Hardcover.
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