Currently reading
The Rising
The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There
The Mark of Athena
Princess of the Silver Woods
The Serpent's Shadow
The Demigod Diaries
Scarlet
Curse of the Thirteenth Fey: The True Tale of Sleeping Beauty
The Sandman: The Story of Sanderson Mansnoozie
Perfect Scoundrels
A Retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses.2.5 stars
This retelling works because it fleshes out the bones of the original, giving us characters to root for and explanations for the things that make no sense. The addition of Zita as the thirteenth and unwanted daughter, relegated to life as a servant, was interesting but was a bit difficult to believe given that it was common knowledge. You would think that her sisters would have reached out to her. It makes their sudden embracement of her less powerful as it makes you wonder if they would have continued to ignore her if she had not approached them first. The idea of a royal demoting/disowning a child has plenty of precedent; I just found the way it was worked into this story less plausible.
Overall, a fun read and recommended for ages 10+.
Recommended reading:Jessica Day George's Princess of the Midnight Ball and Juliet Marillier's Wildwood Dancing are other retellings that I found more powerful and interesting than this one.