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A slick, twisty YA page-turner about the daughter of a con artist who is taken hostage in a bank heist.
Nora OâMalleyâs been a lot of girls. As the daughter of a con-artist, she grew up as her motherâs protĂ©gĂ©. For five years Noraâs been playing at normal. But she needs to dust off the skills she ditched because she has three problems:
#1: Her ex walked in on her with her girlfriend.
#2: Now the three of them need to deposit fundraiser money they raised at the bank.
#3: Right after they enter the bank, two guys start robbing it.
Hey YA Readers!
I donât know about you, but I cannot get enough of books that take a familiar story and give it a twist. YA is especially abundant with retellings, and in 2021, there are so many fabulous-sounding remixed books hitting shelves. Some are tales which are familiar â weâve got some nice Little Women twists â and some which are maybe less familiar.
Obviously, this isnât a comprehensive roundup, but instead, it highlights a handful of the compelling retellings/revisionings/remixes of beloved and classic stories for the modern reader. Not all of the titles here are strict retellings, as some take a piece of a classic and use it as a jumping off point for a new story (thus the twist/revisioning aspect!).
Though I am working my hardest to get on top of 2021 reading, Iâve not yet been able to get my hands on any of these (not for lack of trying!). Iâm pulling publisher descriptions.
Grab that TBR and prepare for some outstanding reading.
A Clash of Steel by CB Lee (September 7) â A twist on Treasure Island
1826. The sun is setting on the golden age of piracy, and the legendary Dragon Fleet, the scourge of the South China Sea, is no more. Its ruthless leader, a woman known only as the Head of the Dragon, is now only a story, like the ones Xiang has grown up with all her life. She desperately wants to prove her worth, especially to her mother, a shrewd businesswoman who never seems to have enough time for Xiang. Her father is also only a story, dead at sea before Xiang was born. Her single memento of him is a pendant she always wears, a simple but plain piece of gold jewelry.
But the pendantâs true nature is revealed when a mysterious girl named Anh steals it, only to return it to Xiang in exchange for her help in decoding the tiny map scroll hidden inside. The revelation that Xiangâs father sailed with the Dragon Fleet and tucked away this secret changes everything. Rumor has it that the legendary Head of the Dragon had one last treasureâthe plunder of a thousand portsâthat for decades has only been a myth, a foolâs journey.
Xiang is convinced this map could lead to the fabled treasure. Captivated with the thrill of adventure, she joins Anh and her motley crew off in pursuit of the island. But the girls soon find that the seaâand especially those who sail itâare far more dangerous than the legends led them to believe.
Darling by K. Ancrum (June 22) â A take on Peter Pan
On Wendy Darlingâs first night in Chicago, a boy called Peter appears at her window. Heâs dizzying, captivating, beautifulâso she agrees to join him for a night on the town.
Wendy thinks theyâre heading to a party, but instead theyâre soon running in the cityâs underground. She makes friendsâa punk girl named Tinkerbelle and the lost boys Peter watches over. And she makes enemiesâthe terrifying Detective Hook, and maybe Peter himself, as his sinister secrets start coming to light. Can Wendy find the courage to survive this nightâand make sure everyone else does, too?
Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas (March 23) â A take on Peter Pan
Itâs been five years since Wendy and her two brothers went missing in the woods, but when the townâs children start to disappear, the questions surrounding her brothersâ mysterious circumstances are brought back into the light. Attempting to flee her past, Wendy almost runs over an unconscious boy lying in the middle of the roadâŠ
Peter, a boy she thought lived only in her stories, asks for Wendyâs help to rescue the missing kids. But, in order to find them, Wendy must confront whatâs waiting for her in the woods.
The Mirror Season by Anna-Marie McLemore (March 16) â A take on The Snow Queen
Graciela Cristalesâ whole world changes after she and a boy she barely knows are assaulted at the same party. She loses her gift for making enchanted pan dulce. Neighborhood trees vanish overnight, while mirrored glass appears, bringing reckless magic with it. And Ciela is haunted by what happened to her, and what happened to the boy whose name she never learned.
But when the boy, Lock, shows up at Cielaâs school, he has no memory of that night, and no clue that a single piece of mirrored glass is taking his life apart. Ciela decides to help him, which means hiding the truth about that night. Because Ciela knows who assaulted her, and him. And she knows that her survival, and his, depend on no one finding out what really happened.
Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price (April 6) â A twist on Pride and Prejudice and first in a series
When a scandalous murder shocks London high society, seventeen-year-old aspiring lawyer Lizzie Bennet seizes the opportunity to prove herself, despite the interference of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, the stern young heir to the prestigious firm Pemberley Associates.
Convinced the authorities have imprisoned the wrong person, Lizzie vows to solve the murder on her own. But as the caseâand her feelings for Darcyâbecome more complicated, Lizzie discovers that her dream job could make her happy, but it might also get her killed.
Roman and Jewel by Dana L. Davis (Available now) â A take on Romeo and Juliet
Jerzie Jhames will do anything to land the lead role in Broadwayâs hottest new show, Roman and Jewel, a Romeo and Juliet inspired hip-hopera featuring a diverse cast and modern twists on the play. But her hopes are crushed when she learns mega-star Cinny won the leadâŠand Jerzie is her understudy.
Falling for male lead Zeppelin Reid is a terrible ideaâespecially once Jerzie learns Cinny wants him for herself. Star-crossed love always ends badly. But when a video of Jerzie and Zepp practicing goes viral and the entire world weighs in on who should play Jewel, Jerzie learns that while the price of fame is high, friendship, family, and love are priceless.
Sheâs Too Pretty To Burn by Wendy Heard (March 30) â A take on The Picture of Dorian Gray
The summer is winding down in San Diego. Veronica is bored, caustically charismatic, and uninspired in her photography. Nico is insatiable, subversive, and obsessed with chaotic performance art. Theyâre artists first, best friends second. But that was before Mick. Delicate, lonely, magnetic Mick: the perfect subject, and Veronicaâs dream girl. The days are long and hotâfull of adventureâand soon they are falling in love. Falling so hard, they never imagine what comes next. One fire. Two murders. Three drowning bodies. One suspect . . . one stalker. This is a summer they wonât survive.
Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim (July 6) â A take on The Six Swans and first in a series
Shioriâanma, the only princess of Kiata, has a secret. Forbidden magic runs through her veins. Normally she conceals it well, but on the morning of her betrothal ceremony, Shiori loses control. At first, her mistake seems like a stroke of luck, forestalling the wedding she never wanted. But it also catches the attention of Raikama, her stepmother.
A sorceress in her own right, Raikama banishes the young princess, turning her brothers into cranes. She warns Shiori that she must speak of it to no one: for with every word that escapes her lips, one of her brothers will die.
Penniless, voiceless, and alone, Shiori searches for her brothers, and uncovers a dark conspiracy to seize the throne. Only Shiori can set the kingdom to rights, but to do so she must place her trust in a paper bird, a mercurial dragon, and the very boy she fought so hard not to marry. And she must embrace the magic sheâs been taught all her life to forswearâno matter what the cost.
So Many Beginnings by Bethany C. Marrow (September 7) â A Little Women remix
North Carolina, 1863. As the American Civil War rages on, the Freedmenâs Colony of Roanoke Island is blossoming, a haven for the recently emancipated. Black people have begun building a community of their own, a refuge from the shadow of the âold life.â It is where the March family has finally been able to safely put down roots with four young daughters:
Meg, a teacher who longs to find love and start a family of her own.
Jo, a writer whose words are too powerful to be contained.
Beth, a talented seamstress searching for a higher purpose.
Amy, a dancer eager to explore life outside her familyâs home.
As the four March sisters come into their own as independent young women, they will face first love, health struggles, heartbreak, and new horizons. But they will face it all together.
That Way Madness Lies edited by Dahlia Adler (March 16) â 15 takes on William Shakespeare
West Side Story. 10 Things I Hate About You. Kiss Me, Kate. Contemporary audiences have always craved reimaginings of Shakespeareâs most beloved works. Now, some of todayâs best writers for teens take on the Bard in these 15 whip-smart and original retellings!
Contributors include Dahlia Adler (reimagining The Merchant of Venice), Kayla Ancrum (The Taming of the Shrew), Lily Anderson (As You Like It), Melissa Bashardoust (A Winterâs Tale), Patrice Caldwell (Hamlet), A. R. Capetta and Cori McCarthy (Much Ado About Nothing), Brittany Cavallaro (Sonnet 147), Joy McCullough (King Lear), Anna-Marie McLemore (Midsummer Nightâs Dream), Samantha Mabry (Macbeth), Tochi Onyebuchi (Coriolanus), Mark Oshiro (Twelfth Night), Lindsay Smith (Julius Caesar), Kiersten White (Romeo and Juliet), and Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka (The Tempest).
Trouble Girls by Julia Lynn Rubin (June 1) â A take on Thelma and Louise
Love on the dark side of freedom
When Trixie picks up her best friend Lux for their weekend getaway, theyâre looking to forget the despair of being trapped in their dead-end rustbelt town. The girls are packing light: a supply of Diet Coke and an â89 Canon to help Lux frame the world in a sunnier light; half a pack of cigarettes that Trixie doesnât really smoke, and a knife sheâs hanging on to for a friend that sheâs never used before.
But a single night of violence derails their trip, and the girls go from ordinary high schoolers to wanted fugitives. Trying to stay ahead of the cops and a hellscape of media attention, Trixie and Lux grapple with an unforgiving landscape, rapidly diminishing supplies, and disastrous decisions at every turn. As they are transformed by the media into the face of a #MeToo movement they didnât ask to lead, Trixie and Lux realize that they can only rely on each other, and that the love they find together is the one thing that truly makes them free.
I think all of these sound SO GOOD. Iâm here for the micro-trend of Peter Pan retellings.
Thanks for hanging out, and weâll see you on Thursday!
â Kelly Jensen, @heykellyjensen on Instagram and editor of Body Talk, (Donât) Call Me Crazy, and Here We Are.