I love the idea of taking a familiar story and making it fresh for a modern audience, which is probably why I’ve written two YA retellings. My first book (Match Me If You Can) is a retelling of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and my sophomore novel (How To Speak Boy) is an adaptation of You’ve Got Mail. When I’m reading, I give bonus points to any adaptation that includes a love story, because I am all about the happily ever afters. So, if you’re like me and you enjoy the comforting familiarity of classics but want to be able to put yourself in the story, this list is for you.
Maybe This Time takes place over a year but only focuses on different events that happen throughout that time (like weddings, funerals, New Year's Eve), which makes it super fast-paced. I couldn’t put it down! There are so few books structured this way that it really makes this one stand out. I read somewhere that Kasie West structured it that way after the movie Four Weddings and a Funeral, but because it has all her signature contemporary charm and flirty dialogue, it feels refreshingly new. I love her banter and I know whenever I pick up one of her books, I’ll leave it with a giddy smile on my face. This one is no exception!
Beloved author Kasie West brings her signature witty banter and rom-com fun to a bold, fresh format. Think Four Weddings and a Funeral for YA.
One year. Nine events. Nine chances to . . . fall in love?Weddings. Funerals. Barbecues. New Year's Eve parties. Name the occasion, and Sophie Evans will be there. Well, she has to be there. Sophie works for the local florist, so she can be found at every big event in her small hometown, arranging bouquets and managing family dramas.Enter Andrew Hart. The son of the fancy new chef in town, Andrew is suddenly required to…
I’ll admit, when my friends kept telling me I had to read this book about a cyborg Cinderella, I was skeptical, as that isn’t my typical reading. But Marissa Meyer weaves such a rich world and such a loveable couple with Kai and Cinder that I couldn’t help but get sucked in. Each book in this series is a different fairytale retelling, but they’re so unique you almost wouldn’t know it. Even my spouse liked this series, and he’s not a very big reader, so that’s saying something. I especially loved the world building in this series—space, a reimagined Earth, and moon people—you wouldn’t think it’d all work in a fairytale retelling, but somehow it does.
A forbidden romance. A deadly plague. Earth's fate hinges on one girl . . .
CINDER, a gifted mechanic in New Beijing, is also a cyborg. She's reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's sudden illness. But when her life becomes entwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she finds herself at the centre of a violent struggle between the desires of an evil queen - and a dangerous temptation.
Cinder is caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal. Now she must uncover secrets about her mysterious past in order to protect Earth's future.
The moment I heard this was an adaptation of Sabrina, I was in! The main character Amelia has unreciprocated feelings for Ethan, but of course, it’s his brother Liam who’s her best match. The falling-for-the-brother trope is one of my favorites, and this one did not disappoint. The nerdy references in this book are also top-notch—as Liam is a slightly nerdy, cinnamon roll character you can’t help but root for. Short and sweet, this book was a super fun read.
In this YA retelling of Sabrina set in the glam fashion world, Amelia is whisked off to an amazing New York City fashion internship that changes her life--and quickly finds herself caught between two brothers.
A RITA finalist for Best First Book
If anyone saw the prom boards Amelia Blanco makes on her favorite fashion app, they'd think Ethan Laurenti was her boyfriend. They wouldn't know that all the plans she's made for them are just dreams, and that she's the girl who watches him from the kitchen while her parents cook for his famous family.
Janette Rallison is one of my favorite authors, and this is one of my all-time favorite series! A bumbling “fair” godmother (she’s in training, but her grades are only “fair”) is assigned to help modern-day Savannah achieve her happily ever after. But of course, everything goes wrong, and Savannah ends up in several different fairytales when all she wanted was to find a good guy to take her to the prom. The flirty banter between Savannah and Tristan is laugh-out-loud funny and watching them come together is the icing on top. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve reread this series.
After her boyfriend dumps her for her older sister, sophomore Savannah wishes she could find a true prince to take her to the prom. Enter Chrysanthemum Everstar: Savannah's gum-chewing, cell phone-carrying, high heel-wearing Fair Godmother. Despite a few wish-granting mishaps, Savannah's fairy-tale ending might not be as far off as she imagined.
I love a good Taming of the Shrew retelling. Ten Things I Hate About You is one of my favorite movies, and this book elicits all the same feelings. Watching an unlikeable main character redeem herself is so satisfying, and of course, the lead guy is a loveable nerd, which I always appreciate. I loved how the main character Cameron learns that it’s ok to be different and that maybe it’s better to be yourself than a queen bee everyone respects but doesn’t like. The snarky dialogue kept me turning pages and I couldn’t wait to see how this book ended.
To win him over, Cameron resolves to "tame" herself, like Shakespeare's shrew, Katherine. If she can make amends to those she's wronged, Andrew will have to take notice. Cameron's apology tour begins with Brendan, the guy whose social life she single-handedly destroyed. At first, Brendan isn't so quick to forgive, but slowly he warms to her when they connect over a computer game he's developing. To Cameron's amazement, she enjoys hanging out with Brendan, who views her honesty as an asset, and she wonders: maybe you don't have to compromise who you are for the kind of love you deserve.
Quinn and Grayson have been fierce speech and debate rivals for years. They can't stand one another, either in competition or in real life. But when their AP Government teacher returns their school assignments to the wrong cubbies, they begin exchanging anonymous notes without knowing who the other is. Despite their differences, the two come together through their letters and find themselves unknowingly falling for the competition in this fun and charming novel by Tiana Smith.
“Fans of You’ve Got Mail will be delighted by how this book unfolds. The enemies-to-lovers story is a classic, and How To Speak Boy honors that tradition with charm and humor.” - NPR
Americans love their Constitution. In seventeen-year-old Liberty Bell’s era it has become a myth. Centuries after the Great Blackout obliterates the world's digitized information, America's history is forgotten. Only confused legends remain, written in "The Americana," a book depicting a golden age where famous Americans from different eras existed together.
Raised on stories from The Americana, Liberty Bell joins secret agent Antonio Ice on a quest for her country. But in the Old Forest, forgotten technologies are reawakening. Figures such as Albert Einstein, Harriet Tubman, and Thomas Jefferson are coming to life. Will the American continent return to the freedom…
