Fairy tale retellings often feel like a dime a dozen.  Whether they’re modernized or grounded in the past, gender flipped or boundaries blurred, the heart of the fairy tale must remain.  Otherwise, the retelling feels cold and disconnected, lacking all the magic of the original story.  But sometimes, a retelling gives the fairy tale a new complexity and shading.

Beauty
Robin McKinley
Published 1978
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Once upon a time, being homosexual in a YA novel meant you were the sidekick, if you were lucky.  If you were the main character, you could be abused, raped, beaten, or even killed.  Homosexual characters didn’t get happy endings–until Annie on My Mind.

Annie on My Mind
Nancy Garden
Published 1982
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One of several YA classics written by the late Robert Cormier, I Am the Cheese is a tense psychological study.  A young teenager named Adam starts on a bike ride from Massachusetts to Vermont.  At the same time, Adam is being questioned by an unknown man about his personal history.  What is the connection between these two stories?  The reader is left to figure that out over the course of the novel as a creeping sense of unease develops.

I Am the Cheese
Robert Cormier
Published 1977

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A moving story of tolerance in the Deep South during World War II, Summer of My German Soldier isn’t about civil rights or post-slavery relations.  There is some of that, but the bigger issue is tolerance between Jew and German, as a young Jewish girl finds the person who makes her feel good about herself–and that person is a young German POW.

Summer of My German Soldier
Bette Green
Published 1973

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I’m in the minority, I suspect, to be reading Johnny Tremain as an adult.  Many people were assigned to read this novel, set during the early days of the American revolt against the British, in school as part of units on the American Revolution.  It’s a pleasure to find out that reading it as an adult is an exciting, enjoyable process.  But how might a modern teen react?

Johnny Tremain
Esther Forbes
Published 1943
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With everything there is to read, it’s no surprise that many of us teen librarians have missed a must-read book here and there.  I was reminded of this with the 100 YA Books meme that’s been going around on Facebook and the blogosphere.  So, welcome to “Why Didn’t I Read That Book Before?” with me!

Forever . . .
Judy Blume
Published 1975

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