A Trip Into the Woods

One of my favorite musicals of all time has to be “Into the Woods.” This musical twists classic fairy tales as they brave the woods in order to make their respective journeys. The story follows Cinderella, Rapunzel, Jack, Red Riding Hood, the Witch, and the Baker and his wife. The music and lyrics were written by the brilliant Stephen Sondheim who wrote for several other musicals like “Sweeny Todd.” The musical also had a film adaptation in 2014 starring Meryl Streep, Anna Kendrick, Emily Blunt, Chris Pine, James Corden, and Johnny Depp.

The story for “Into the Woods” is inspired by the stories by the Brothers Grimm. Most of us, however, are more familiar with lighter versions of these stories like Disney’s animated film “Cinderella.” This musical takes a much darker and also much deeper look at these fairy tales.

Sondheim’s music is hands down the best part of this musical. With a prequel number that is roughly 15 minutes long and then songs like “On the Steps of the Palace” and “Last Midnight,” the audience is transported directly into the story. After seeing the movie adaptation last winter, I bought the soundtrack and blasted it every time I drove my car!

If you don’t have the chance to see a stage production of “Into the Woods” I would highly recommend checking out the movie. The music is also available to stream on websites like Spotify.

 

 

Cinderella Kills at the Ball

I am going to stick with my young adult fantasy theme for this entry as well. What can I say? I love YA fantasies!

Sarah J. Maas’s hit YA series, “Throne of Glass,” is a retelling of “Cinderella.” However, instead of Cinderella going to the ball to fall in love with the prince she is there as an assassin who is fighting to win her freedom.

This is hands down one of the best fantasy series I have ever read (and I have read a lot). The main character’s name is Celaena Sardothien. She is this fractured fairy tale’s version of Cinderella. Celaena was orphaned as a young child and taken in by Arobin, the cruel leader of a guild of assassins. He feeds her, clothes her, and then trains her to become Adarlan’s most deadly assassin. She is feared throughout her entire kingdom until she is eventually caught by the King and sentenced to live her life as a slave in a death camp. One night she is visited by the Captain of the King’s Guard and Adarlan’s prince who offer her the chance to fight in a competition to win her freedom.

Maas excels at world-building and creating very real characters with very real emotions despite this being set in a fantasy world. Many times fantasy writers can get caught up in building these fantastical worlds that they forget to add relatable, human elements to the characters.

Celaena is easily one of my favorite female characters in YA right now. I only qualify that she is my favorite female character as opposed to just my favorite character because I think that authors have a hard time rounding out their female protagonists. Many times they want them to be shallow so it is easy to insert the reader into the story or they want to create this emotionless “strong female character.” Maas did not fall into this trap when she wrote Celaena. She is a 17-year-old girl who is thrown into incredible and unbelievable situations but still comes across as relatable. She is stubborn and confident and courageous. She has a dark sense of humor and loves to wear dresses and read books. She is also lonely and has a difficult time letting others past her walls. She has known true suffering and is still able to show compassion. She is a well-rounded, complex, and interesting character. She is the meat and bones of the story not just because she is the main character, but because she seems so real. It is so easy for writers to fall back on the “strong female character” trope that they forget to add complexity and nuance. I would rather see a character like Celaena who shows both strength and weakness any day.

“Throne of Glass” is an extremely loose retelling of “Cinderella” and many of the hints that it is based on the classic fairy tale are hidden throughout the story. Maas has written five installments in the “Throne of Glass” series with at least two more to come as well as another series that is a retelling of “Beauty and the Beast.”

Favorite spoiler-free quotes:

“We all bear scars… Mine just happen to be more visible than most.”

“Libraries were full of ideas–perhaps the most dangerous and powerful of all weapons.”

You can buy it from Amazon – Barnes and Noble – Book Depository

A Darker Turn…

In “Cruel Beauty” and “Crimson Bound”, we see two classic tales take a dark turn and become wonderfully twisted stories. These two novels by Rosamund Hodge are among my favorite fractured fairy tales.

Hodge’s first novel, “Cruel Beauty”, retells the story of “Beauty and the Beast” with a mix of Greek mythology. Nyx is a young woman who has been forced by her father to marry Ignifex, the lands evil ruler and demon. She vows to use this opportunity to kill Ignifex and release the lands of his tyrannical rule. When she gets to Ignifex’s castle and starts to unravel the mysteries within, she learns there is more to the evils that plague her lands than meets the eye.

I loved the Disney version of “Beauty and the Beast”, but “Cruel Beauty” makes the story much more interesting and much darker. The story grabbed me from the beginning and I devoured it in one sitting. If you like dark stories and new takes on both fairy tales or Greek mythology, I would highly recommend this book to you.

Hodge’s second novel, “Crimson Bound”, is similar to “Cruel Beauty” except that it is a mixture of old French tales and the tale of Red Riding Hood. Rachelle is a young woman who was training to be the next person to protect her village from dark magic. However, she met a mysterious stranger in the forest who lured her from the path and marked her to become a forestborn. The forestborn are dark creatures that take human life and seek to bring darkness to the lands. Rachelle has two choices. She can kill and slowly turn into a forestborn or she can die. She leaves her small village and trains to join the king’s army while she makes her choice. She is ordered to protect the king’s illegitimate son who has lost his hands to a forestborn.

While this story has a romantic element to it, unlike “Cruel Beauty”, it is not central to the plot. If you are looking for a heavy romance, this book may not be for you. While I think the story of Red Riding Hood has always seemed scary, this book was bone-chilling at times. If you like books that are scary and character-driven, this is definitely a book for you.

Once Upon a Time…

Stories have always had a monumental role in my life. They have shaped me into the person I am today. I remember being a child watching Disney movies and feeling like I could be a princess at the ball or a warrior who saves the world. When I grew up, that feeling never changed. I still love those stories and I always will.

Now that I am an adult, there is a lot of pressure to enjoy “adult” stories. For me, “adult” stories meant reading books about middle-aged adults who are going through a divorce or watching political thrillers. While those are not necessarily bad stories, they have never appealed to me. I like for my stories to sweep me up and take me away. I still want to feel like the princess and the warrior.

My first adventure into retellings came when I listened to the music for “Wicked.” This Broadway musical was a retelling of “The Wizard of Oz” and had the audience experience the story from the point of view of the Wicked Witch of the West. We discover that the Wicked Witch’s name was Elphaba and that her journey to wickedness did not happen exactly as we thought. I watched “The Wizard of Oz” with my brother and sister until we wore the VHS out when we were kids. It never occurred to me to think about why the witch was so wicked. This is why I love retellings. It forces you to look at a story with new eyes and a new attitude. It asks you to question everything you thought you knew.

I want to use this blog to explore these wickedly twisted tales. I invite you to join me on this journey and maybe we can learn a thing or two about some classic characters.