Book List
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5 Heartwrenching Tales of Family Upheaval
One of the many great things about contemporary YA is that it focuses on real issues that many teens are facing. These can range from romantic troubles and firsts, to the tumultuous social scenes of high school, to the often dramatic and strange ways our relationships to our families change as we get older. But sometimes […] -
Tale as Old as Time: 8 Beauty and the Beast Retellings
After seeing Beauty and the Beast, I knew I wanted Belle’s life—secret castle far away from everyone, talking household items fulfilling my every need, and an enormous library. Getting to kiss the prince was just a bonus! And the only way to be a princess like Belle was to dress the part. But nothing lasts […] -
Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo: 5 Cinderella Retellings to Make Your Dreams Come True
Happy Princess Week, Riveted readers! I love having this as an excuse to write about Cinderella (not that I really need much of an excuse to ramble on about how wonderful Cinderella is). I watched Disney’s Cinderella countless times as a child. It was so easy to get swept up in the enchantment—when life is […] -
Under the Sea: 8 Little Mermaid Retellings to Swim Away with
Fairy tale retellings are a hot commodity in teen lit, and there’s a simple reason – classics provide a fantastic base for a new and unique story. Anyone who knows me knows that I have the soul of a mermaid, so it only makes sense that I would gravitate to the retellings of Hans Christian Anderson’s […] -
The Fairest of Them All: 5 Snow White Retellings You’ll Love
It’s Princess Week, and I am so excited to use this as an excuse to talk about Snow White because her story holds a special place in my heart. For a couple of summers in my teens, I got to play Snow White at a fairytale festival for kids. As glamorous as it sounds—signing autographs, […] -
The 15 Secret Princesses of YA
Have you ever been minding your own business when suddenly an extremely handsome but incredibly brusque man comes up to you and says “you’re the lost princess of Awesomelandia, and I, as captain of the royal guard, must keep you safe from your enemies?” No? Well, obviously it happens because there are TONS of wait-what-do-you-mean-I’m-the-lost-princess […] -
7 Books with Nautical Adventurers
Books with nautical elements have been all the rage in YA for the past couple years. From pirates to privateers and even some unwilling passengers, the voyages take these characters on adventures miles away from everything they know. It’s always an exhilarating ride and I know I’ll be swept away to the open water whenever […] -
6 Dystopian Worlds That Pull from Reality
The dystopian books I’ve always found the most interesting (read: scary) are the ones that take things that really happened in the past or are happening now, and use them as inspiration for their crumbling society. I get this overwhelming feeling that it could happen because so much is based in reality, and that makes it all […] -
Where Did the Parents Go?: 5 Books with Missing Parents
Being a teenager means sometimes wanting to get as far away from your parents as possible…but it also means realizing how much you need them. After all, they may not be the coolest humans, but they’re the ones that always have your back. If your parent were to go missing, you’d want to find them right? […] -
While We Wait for Black Tapes Season 3
I’m such a huge fan of Pacific Northwest Stories, but I have to admit I’m getting pretty impatient for Season 3 of The Black Tapes. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Pacific Northwest Radio, it’s a “news source” that’s actually completely fictional, and models itself after NPR. They currently have two horror podcasts, […]