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 Princess Curse by Merrie Haskell

The Princess Curse by Merrie Haskell
322 pages

    Reveka is apprenticed to an herbalist. She like her job well enough, but she would rather live in a convent and open her own herbery. The only problem is that she doesn't have the money. Then she learns of the curse on the twelve princesses. The king offers one of his daughters in marriage to whoever breaks the curse and if a girl breaks it, he will provide her dowry-or money for the convent, in Revka's case. So Revka sets out to break the curse.
    But things are much more complicated. Anyone who has stayed in the princesses room to find where they go to dance is either found in an endless sleep or they disappear. Reveka is frightened by the terrible fates of the many who have gone before her, but she knows she must continue. With the help of unexpected friends of all kinds, she continues her quest. But will she succeed? Or will the curse get her as well?

Jessica Day George's new princess book!

'My next book will come out next fall (roughly) and is the third and FINAL book about the Twelve Dancing Princesses. It is entitled PRINCESS OF THE SILVER WOOD. It is Princess Petunia's story, and is based on Little Red Riding Hood.'
 Jessica Day George has finally announced the third princess book! I cannot wait. Princess of the Midnight Ball is my favourite book, so naturally, I am excited about book three.

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Violet Eyes by Debbie Viguie

Violet Eyes by Debbie Viguie
                 A Retelling of "The Princess and the Pea"
195 pages

    During a storm, the prince falls off his horse in Violet's family's field. While Violet helps heal the prince, they become friends. Prince Richard tells Violet that his parents are holding a contest for all the princesses in the world to find out which one is a true princess so he can marry her. Violet wishes to compete in the contest, but she is only a peasant.
     Violet decides to enter the contest anyway. Will Violet be able to win, or will Prince Richard be forced to marry one of the proud, arrogant, and terrible princesses that have come for the contest as well?


     Violet realized that the room had grown quiet as everyone stopped talking. She could feel that all eyes were on her.
    The king cleared his throat. "So, we have you to thank for the safe return of our son?" he asked.
    Violet glanced at Richard, who was nodding his head. She hadn't been the only one to care for the prince. Her parents and Father Paul had aided him as well. Still, from the look in Richard's eyes she could tell this was no time for her to be humble. "Yes," Violet said.
    "My dear, we owe a debt of gratitude to your family for caring for our son while he was ill. We would like to reward you. However, only a princess can enter the competition," the king said, his voice still gentle.
    "And a princess before you," Violet said, raising her chin."

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.

Midnight Pearls by Debbie Viguie

Midnight Pearls by Debbie Viguie
                       A Retelling of "The Little Mermaid"
198 pages

     Pearl was rescued from the ocean by a fisherman when she was a baby. The fisherman and his wife have raised her for seventeen years. A plot is revealed against the royal family and Pearl's secret friend, the prince.
     When Pearl is on the beach one night, a strange young man comes up to her and claims to know her. He tells her that she went missing from the sea a long time ago. Can this boy be telling the truth?


    "You've traveled far?" she asked.
    He laughed shortly. "Farther than you know."
    She stared at her pale fingers wrapped in his. We must have come from the same place, she thought with growing excitement. "Are you my brother?"
    "No. I'm not. We are not related."
    "Good," she answered before she could stop herself. She felt a blush rising to her cheeks and was grateful that her couldn't see it.
    He was rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb, and her skin tingled where his touched hers. James did the same thing to my hand two days ago and it felt good, exciting, but nothing like this. . . . Something about him feels so right, even though I don't know him.
    She was suddenly nervous; the silence around them felt like the air did when a storm approached from across the sea. She spoke just to calm herself. "You've been searching how long?"
    "Thirteen years."
    "How did you know it was me if you haven't seen me in so long?"
    "How does the whale know when to swim to warmer waters for winter? How do the fish know when a predator is near? How do you know when love is real? You just know."

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."

The Diamond Secret by Suzanne Weyn

The Diamond Secret by Suzanne Weyn
                                 A Retelling of "Anastasia"
209 pages

      Nadya works in a tavern kitchen in Russia until one day, two men come and tell her that they think she is the Grand Duchess Anastasia, who was thought to have been killed. She goes with them to Paris to meet her grandmother, the Dowager Empress Marie.
    But along the way, she faces betayal from her friends, whom she thought she could trust, and wonders if she should turn back. If she does keep going, will the Empress even believe her?


    A srong rap came at the door.
    "Girls, we need you now!" their father commanded. His tone was uncharacteristically loud and demanding. It galvanized the girls, including Anastasia, into a flurry f activity. In minutes they were out the door, walking rapidly between two bayonet-toting guards, along with the rest of their family, down the dimly lit hallway.
    "I'm scared," Mashka whispered to Anastasia.
    "Don't be," Anastasia replied, reaching behind her to squeeze Mashka's hand. "Everything will be fine."

Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George

Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George
257 pages
            
    Princess Poppy is now free of the curse that forced her and her eleven sisters to dance each night. Now, she is visiting the country of Breton to make friends with the royalty there. But a mysterious girl keeps showing up at the balls and casting spells on the people there. Poppy suspects that she is the maid Ellen, but no one knows where she is getting her gorgeous gowns from. Poppy is just the one to undo the curse that is on the poor girl, but can she do it before its too late?

**Book 2**
Previous book: Princess of the Midnight Ball

Next book: Princess of the Silver Woods

Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George

Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George
272 pages
                       
         A Retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses. Princess Rose and her twelve sisters must dance every night for the evil King Understone. The only way to be free of their curse is to die. Galen, a young soldier, meets Rose and wants to help him. A mysterious elderly gardener at the palace gives him herbs to protect him from enchantments.When the king offers Rose's hand in marriage as the reward for solving this mystery, Galen gets competition. Will Galen succeed and free the princesses from their terrible curse, or will they be condemned to dance for the rest of their lives?
                    Visit http://www.jessicadaygeorge.com/ to learn more.

**Book 1**
Next book: Princess of Glass

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.