I love fairy tale re-tellings. They are some of my favorite stories... even over the originals sometimes.
Unfortunately, I didn't really love these. The covers are lovely though!
Genre: Young Adult (Fairy Tale Retelling)
Date Published: December 15, 2020
Publisher: Amazon Publishing
A charming everyman and a mysterious something-under-the-bridge cross paths in a short fairy tale by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Eleanor & Park and the Simon Snow series.
It’s fate when a man accidentally drops his phone off the bridge. It’s fortune when it’s retrieved by a friendly shape sloshing in the muck underneath. From that day forward, as they share a coffee every morning, an unlikely friendship blooms. Considering the reality for the man above, where life seems perfect, and that of the sharp-witted creature below, how forever after can a happy ending be?
The Prince and the Troll is the first book in the Faraway series by several different authors. This particular book was written by Rainbow Rowell. It’s a short story about a man who lives life on a road and the troll under the bridge. I thought it was a rat race type symbolism on our society and government, what with the road and people on it pushing other people to their deaths if they fall...and the always being watched. And the troll, maybe symbolic of homelessness. I think that all makes sense to the story. But then after I finished reading, I read several reviews where people thought it had to do with climate change. I don’t see that at all. Aside from the flood that seemed out of nowhere. I can’t really tell what kind of ending that was. Happy? Sad? It mostly read like on big Starbucks commercial
Genre: Young Adult (Fairy Tale Retelling)
Date Published: December 15, 2020
Publisher: Amazon Publishing
Hazel and Gray is the second book in the Faraway series. This story was written by Nic Stone. This was a modern Hansel and Gretel retelling that revolved around a human trafficking and pedophilia "business". Hansel and Gretel sets up the perfect backdrop for this kind of story. However, this was too short, too rushed, and didn't always make sense. I know this series is supposed to be short stories, but I've read many short stories that have packed a whole lot of punch in just a few pages. This fell way short of any kind of impact for me. So far, I'm not impressed with Amazon's Faraway series.
Hazel and Gray is the second book in the Faraway series. This story was written by Nic Stone. This was a modern Hansel and Gretel retelling that revolved around a human trafficking and pedophilia "business". Hansel and Gretel sets up the perfect backdrop for this kind of story. However, this was too short, too rushed, and didn't always make sense. I know this series is supposed to be short stories, but I've read many short stories that have packed a whole lot of punch in just a few pages. This fell way short of any kind of impact for me. So far, I'm not impressed with Amazon's Faraway series.
Genre: Young Adult (Fairy Tale Retelling)
Date Published: December 15, 2020
Publisher: Amazon Publishing
A charming everyman and a mysterious something-under-the-bridge cross paths in a short fairy tale by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Eleanor & Park and the Simon Snow series.
It’s fate when a man accidentally drops his phone off the bridge. It’s fortune when it’s retrieved by a friendly shape sloshing in the muck underneath. From that day forward, as they share a coffee every morning, an unlikely friendship blooms. Considering the reality for the man above, where life seems perfect, and that of the sharp-witted creature below, how forever after can a happy ending be?
The Princess Game is the third book in the Faraway series. This story was written by Soman Chainani. There were a lot of characters to get to know in a short amount of time, but I saw the direction it was going pretty early on. I listened to the audio version, and each character has their own actor voicing them. That was a great way to tell this story and helped me keep each character in their own category in my head. This was by far the best one in the series so far.
Genre: Young Adult (Fairy Tale Retelling)
Date Published: December 15, 2020
Publisher: Amazon Publishing
Touch the past or wash it away? Two sisters have a choice in this unforgettable short story of everyday magic and the power of memory by the Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author Ken Liu.
Gui is a professional cleaner at A Fresh Start, scrubbing away the unpleasant layers of memory that build up on the personal objects of his customers. Memory-blind himself, he can’t feel those wounds. Clara can, and she prefers them irretrievable. Until her sister, Beatrice, ultrasensitive to memory, raises one that could change Clara’s mind. For Gui, the past is gone. For Clara and Beatrice, deciding what to remember reaches to the heart of their shared history.
The Cleaners by Ken Liu is the fourth book in the Faraway series. I think I get the point this book was trying to make, but there wasn't enough of it to make sense or have any impact. Also, I found myself trying not to zone out in bits, which is really unfortunate when the story is so short already.
Genre: Young Adult (Fairy Tale Retelling)
Date Published: December 15, 2020
Publisher: Amazon Publishing
The reviled villainesses of Snow White, Cinderella, and Rapunzel team up to set the record straight in a subversively funny short story by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of If I Stay.
Envious queen? Evil stepmother? Kidnapping hag? Elsinora, Gwendolyn, and Marguerite are through with warts-and-all tabloids, ugly lies, and the three ungrateful brats who pitted them against each other and the world. But maybe there’s more to the stories than even the Wickeds know. Is it time to finally get revenge? After all, they’re due for a happily-enough-ever-after. Even if they have to write it themselves.
The Wickeds is the final short story in Amazon's Faraway series. This one was written by Gayle Foreman. The Wickeds give the chance for the evil stepmothers to tell their side of things. There's goodness and badness in everyone, and everyone feels misunderstood. It's how we move through life despite these things that matters. Plus, the mother/daughter interactions and how history has a way of repeating itself until we break the cycle. This would have made a pretty darn good full length novel. This was my favorite in the series. It was close to four stars for me, but the ending was way too fast. I needed a little bit more from it.
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