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A review by shelleyanderson4127
At Midnight: 15 Beloved Fairy Tales Reimagined by Dahlia Adler
adventurous
dark
funny
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
The 15 reimagined fairy tales of this anthology are creative, excellent and very enjoyable. Many of them, but not all, are queer riffs on stories from the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen and Charles Perrault. H.E. Edgmon's 'Mother's Mirror' pits a trans child against their narcissistic mother, in a wonderful twist on Snow White. Darcie Little Badger bases her 'Coyote in High-Top Sneakers', in which the trickster Coyote and a resourceful brown boy save their neighborhood from gentrification, on Puss in Boots. In Malinda Lo's 'A Flame So Bright' (based on the Grimm's witch tale, Frau Trude), a repressed Puritan girl falls in love with a mysterious widow.
Like many fairy tales before Disney, some of these stories lean into the dark. Rebecca Podos's 'A Story About a Girl', inspired by the Robber Bridegroom, uses East European shtetl life and Jewish folklore to send shivers down your back. And I defy anyone not to be chilled by Roselle Lim's riff on Hansel and Gretel, wherein two abandoned siblings get their own back.
There are spins on all the classics, from a wise cracking Cinderella to an Indian version of Fitcher's Bird, from the Little Mermaid to Rumpelstiltskin. This is a fun, high energy collection of short stories which portray a loving, modern homage to fairy tales. All with the added bonus of the original tales at the end of the book. If you like retellings of fairy tales, you will love this book.
Like many fairy tales before Disney, some of these stories lean into the dark. Rebecca Podos's 'A Story About a Girl', inspired by the Robber Bridegroom, uses East European shtetl life and Jewish folklore to send shivers down your back. And I defy anyone not to be chilled by Roselle Lim's riff on Hansel and Gretel, wherein two abandoned siblings get their own back.
There are spins on all the classics, from a wise cracking Cinderella to an Indian version of Fitcher's Bird, from the Little Mermaid to Rumpelstiltskin. This is a fun, high energy collection of short stories which portray a loving, modern homage to fairy tales. All with the added bonus of the original tales at the end of the book. If you like retellings of fairy tales, you will love this book.