As I’m browsing the internet and books for certain literary agents to send a query letter to, I’ve come to notice, fairy tales are still popular, though only those with a new spin to them. Some literary agents are looking for newer versions of fairy tales, called fairy tale re-tellings. Imagine telling the story of Cinderella, though in a different way. The book I’m currently reading is called Cinder, by Marissa Meyer. It’s a Cinderella story, but it is so completely different that it actually captivates you into reading it. It has even made the New York Times Bestseller list.

Cinder is a sixteen year old mechanic and a cyborg. Yes, a cyborg Cinderella. At first, I thought, nah, I highly doubt I’ll be interested in reading it, but I was wrong. I decided to buy it the other day and am glad I did, it’s a great page turner. The first line even caught my attention: “The screw through Cinder’s ankle had rusted, the engraved cross marks worn to a mangled circle.” It’s hard to find books with an awesome opening line like that. It makes you want to keep reading. I’m sure it’s a book of what our near future may look like – androids and humans living together.

I have read, Mr. Darcy, Vampire. Though it isn’t a fairy tale, it is a re-telling of the Mr. Darcy from Jane Austen’s novel, Pride and Prejudice. I’m not too big on vampire books. They have to be different than everyone’s stereotypical image and I’ve only found very few that break that image so far. Mr. Darcy, Vampire is actually very different than some of the stereotypes some often have of vampires. It was a good read, if you haven’t read it. I think I’ve even heard of Alice in Zombieland, a re-telling of Alice in Wonderland. A different perspective for all of those who are familiar with the original version of Alice in Wonderland. I haven’t read it, but if you have, indulge me. Is it a good read? Or not worth buying? What other fairy tale re-tellings have you found or heard of? Click here for a list of what other fairy tale re-telling books are out already.