Elle's life is controlled by her wicked step-mother. One of the only bright spots is Starfield, a show her parents loved when they were alive. When it's announced that the latest teen heart-throb is cast as the lead in the new reboot, she's crushed. But when a costume contest for the show at the local comic con is announced, she sees its cash prize as her ticket to freedom. In her quest to alter her dad's costume and make it to the masquerade ball she'll find an unexpected fairy godmother and an even more surprising prince charming.

This is a great retelling of the Cinderella story. The magic pumpkin is replaced with a vegan food truck, the fairy godmother is a surly coworker, and the evil step-mother is...well...an evil step-mother. Some things don't change. I like that the story alternates between Elle's perspective and the actor playing the lead. Even better it turns out that he's more than some brainless heart-throb and is actually a huge fan of the show.

​Geekerella by Ashley Poston

Erica's Picks
6th - 8th Grade
Tags: ​contemporary fiction, fairy tales, people of color, retellings, romance

Fighting vampires is in Micheline's blood. It's been the family business ever since Van Helsing fought Dracula, and her bloodline gives her a distinct advantage: the ability to see the aura of the undead. For her, exorcising ghosts and shooting vampires is just another day in the office. Micheline and her crew respond to emergency calls armed to the teeth with weapons both mundane and specialized, including a modified camera that can capture the spiritual energy of ghosts. But for Micheline a bad day at the office doesn't mean a paper jam. It results in her and her crew getting infected with a soulchain that will kill them in a week or less, unless they can exorcise the ghost that cursed them. With new purpose and higher stakes than ever before, Micheline does what her family has been doing for centuries: she hunts.

This is a fantastic horror story. It pays homage to Dracula while creating its own world. The explanations of the science behind the supernatural elements is satisfyingly detailed.  The horror elements are truly terrifying and the plot fast-paced, except for a few passages of backstory. I particularly enjoyed that it's set in the SF Bay Area.

Shutter by Courtney Alameda

Erica's Picks
8th grade
Tags: fast-paced, horror, retellings, supernatural

You may think you know the stories of Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Rapunzel but don't believe everything a bard tells you. And what about those nameless Princes Charming? Read this book to get the low-down: the pampered, sheltered life was not enough for Cinderella. Rapunzel saved herself and her prince never lived it down. Sleeping Beauty is a spoiled brat. Snow White's prince can't be left unsupervised. Somehow this unlikely band finds themselves thrown together on a quest to save each other, defeat an evil witch, and show the world that they're more than their stories.

This book is a hilarious take on classic fairy tales. Having the various Princes Charming meet and lament over their plight at being looked over for their princesses adds a fun twist. Each have very distinct personalities and watching them interact and learn to get along is both entertaining and touching. It contains a lot of great lessons ranging from how to be a good friend to how to be true to your self. I particularly appreciate that there's male characters who are hopeless with swords and fierce female fighters and vice versa. The illustrations throughout only add to the already ample humor.

The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy
Erica's Picks
​Tags: Adventure, Fairy Tales, Fantasy, Friendship, Humor, People of Color, Retellings

The king has been missing for three months.  Trouble is brewing and the king's trusted advisers are scheming villains.  When Princess Scarlett discovers their evil plot, she decides to lead a rescue party to find her father.  But the only men she can find to help are the infamous tricksters the Walrus and the Carpenter.  Will the young queen, two con artists, and her baby brother Rusty be able to survive mad pirates, evil assassins, and a dreaded snark to save the king?

These comics are just plain fun.  The nonsense world of Lewis Carroll is expanded in a most delightful way by Langridge.   He clearly had as much fun writing and illustrating the comics as I did reading them and it shows in the humorous details and creative panel layouts.  You'll get more of the jokes if you have a knowledge of Lewis Carroll, but even if you don't there's still plenty to entertain here. I'd give it to fans of nonsense and humor.

Snarked by Roger Langridge


Erica's Picks
2nd - 8th Grade
Tags: Animals, Comics, Fantasy, Humor, Retellings

Life on the railsea is not easy: bad tracks, traps laid by pirates, and attacks from below claim many lives.  But Sham is grateful for his job aboard the Medes.  He is finally seeing the world outside his home town.  Hunting giant moles can be exciting and people say that he should be proud to serve under a captain with her own Philosophy--an ivory colored creature she pursues with a passion and who has already taken her arm.  But while the captain's nemesis is certainly deadly, Sham soon discovers that secrets are the most dangerous quarry of all.

The world-building in this novel is wonderfully creative. Industries have cropped up around salvaging technology from the more prosperous past and pollution has seeped into the ground and created mutant creatures that thrive in the empty wastelands between cities.  In this world there are many captains like Ahab from Moby Dick and it's become a trend to have a 'philosophy,' a specific creature that has wronged a captain and which the captain has sworn to hunt until one or both of them dies. Mieville uses slang and dialect to help set the atmosphere and it’s fun to puzzle it out and unravel how it relates to the world.  I'd give this to science fiction fans looking for something with intricate world-building or those looking for a new take on Moby Dick.

Railsea by China Mieville

Erica's Picks
7th - 8th grade
Tags: Adventure, Dystopian, Retellings, Science Fiction