The World Above by Cameron Dokey

The World Above by Cameron Dokey
                            A Retelling of "Jack and the Beanstalk"
175 pages

    Gen lives in the World Below. When her twin brother, Jack, trades the family cow for magic beans, Gen is furious, but, to her surprise, their mother is not-she's happy. She tells the twins that the stories she told them about the World Above are real, and the beans will grow magic beanstalks so they can climb there.
    In the stories, Gen's mother was the duke's wife, but she had to escape when her husband was murdered. Now, she knows she can go back with her children and claim what is rightfully theirs.
    But when Jack doesn't come back from the World Above and Gen goes after him, they realize that things are much more complicated.


    "I'm sorry I never really believed," I said. "Not the way Jack did."
    "It doesn't make any difference," my mother replied. Her eyes focused on the beanstalk for a moment, then returned to mine. "You believe now. Be safe and smart up there, my Gen. Be yourself.
    Before I could answer, my mother turned away and walked quickly toward the house. I turned to face the beanstalk.
    There is no going back, now, I thought.
    For better or worse, there was only going forward. There was only going up. Seizing the trunk of the beanstalk with both hands, I pushed of from the World Below and began to climb

The Storyteller's Daughter by Cameron Dokey

The Storyteller's Daughter by Cameron Dokey
                                       A Retelling of "The Arabian Nights"
218 pages

     Shahrazad is the blind daughter of the storyteller. She "reads" the pieces of cloth from her trunk with her hands and tells beautiful stories from them. When the king of the land is betrayed, his plan endangers all the women in the area. The only way to save the young women is that one must agree to marry the king and give up her life.
      When Shahrazad is the one to volunteer, everyone is horrified. In order to stay alive, Shahrazad begins to weave an elaborate tale for the king on her wedding night. When morning comes and the story is not finished, the king spares Shahrazad's life for one more night so she can finish the story.
      This continues for many nights and Shahrazad starts to gain the king's trust. Will their new love and loyalty for each other be enough to save themselves and the kingdom from an attack?


    Can you see me now? Not as I am, but as I was?
    A young woman of seventeen years. Straight and slim, my hair and eyes as black as the ebony wood chest that was the only possession my mother brought with her when she married my father. My skin, the color of rich, sweet honey.
    Are you ready to hear my greatest secret? The one that I have never spoken? You know only a small part of my story. What I am about to relate has never before been told.
    "How can this be?" you ask. All have heard of the storyteller so gifted with words that she told tales for one thousand and one nights running. With her gift, her voice alone, she saved her own life and countless others. Through the years, this story has been handed down, with never a hint at anything left out. How, then, can what I claim be true?

    Listen now. Listen truly. Fall under my storyteller's spell.

Golden by Cameron Dokey

Golden by Cameron Dokey A Retelling of 'Rapunzel'
179 pages

     When Rapunzel is born, she is bald! When her mother, who is obsessive over her own hair, sees that her daughter will never grow hair, she agrees to give her to the sorceress Melisande. Melisande names Rapunzel and cares for her as if she were her own child.
    When Rapunzel discovers that Melisande has a daughter named Rue, Rapunzel is not sure if she can trust Melisande any more. But when Melisande tells Rapunzel that Rue has been trapped in a tower by an evil wizard, Rapunzel chooses to be the one to save her. When the two girls meet they do not get along. Will Rapunzel and Rue figure out a way to work together before they are trapped there forever?


    "Your mother was a very beautiful woman, but her heart was less lovely than her face, for it had room for only one."
    "My father," I guessed at once.
    "No," Melisande answered in a quiet voice. "Your mother's heart had room for in it herself alone. When I saw this, I did the only thing I could. I made room for you inside my own heart. There you have stayed from that day to this. That is why you live in my house: because you lived first within my heart."
    I felt my own heart start to thump at this. Her words brougth me pain and joy. In all fairness, I had asked for both.
    "It's because I'm bald, isn't it?" I asked. "That's the reason she didn't want me."

Beauty Sleep by Cameron Dokey

Beauty Sleep by Cameron Dokey
                     A Retelling of "Sleeping Beauty"
186 pages

    Princess Aurore is cursed to prick her finger and die when she is born. Her parents won't let her sew or go outside. When she turns sixteen, she goes off to meet her fate so her people will not suffer. On the way, she meets a prince who says he is searching for the legendary sleeping princess. Is he really looking for her, or is there some other girl under the same curse?


    "There is another course of action we might pursue. Though I fear, Majesties, it will be even less to you liking. . . ."
    At these words, a silence fell upon us. A terrible silence, like a blight.
    I knew what the soothsayer meant. We all did. If the spells spoken over me in my cradle were fulfilled, the calamities which threatened to destroy us all would stop. All it would take was the prick of a finger. Followed by one bright drop of my life's blood.
    I heard a rustle of garments as my father moved to stand beside my mother. "I want you to go back to your room and get a good night's sleep, Aurore. Don't let the ramlings of frightened fools keep you awake. In the morning, we will decide what must be done."
    And though he turned away swiftly, he was not swift enough, for I saw the thing that was in his heart.
    Grief.
    For his own fate. But even more, for mine.