Young Adult Beauty and the Beast Retellings

So you've seen Disney's new live-action Beauty and the Beast, and you need more Belle and Beast in your life. Never fear, we've gathered ten YA adaptations of your current favorite fairy tale so that you can stave off the Beauty and the Beast withdrawal.

Hunted by Meagan Spooner
This brand new fairy tale retelling by one-half of the These Broken Stars author duo, is about a girl who longs for the quiet and solitude of the hunt and the forest. When her father falls into financial ruin, her desire is realized and it leads to her destiny.

Lost in a Book by Jennifer Donnelly
I hadn't read any of Disney's new novels inspired by their classic films, but this one seemed like a good place to start. I love Jennifer Donnelly's writing, and the Beast's library is one of my favorite parts of the story.

Roses by Rose Mannering
This is the classic story set in a rich world cloaked in political turmoil. In a kingdom where magic is feared, a young girl is born with pale skin and silver hair. Cruelly given the misnomer Beauty, the girl grows into a woman who is inseparably connected to the fate of her world.

Belle by Cameron Dokey
This retelling was first published in 2008, but it got a whole new package design just in time for the Beauty and the Beast fervor. Belle, feeling her name is a misnomer, devotes her time to wood carving. When she faces the Beast, this talent unlocks their future.

Beauty by Robin McKinley
Robin McKinley's book is the retelling classic of this bunch. First published in 1993, I feel like Beauty set the standard for fairy tale retellings over the several decades.

Of Beast and Beauty by Stacey Jay
This is the science fiction retelling of the bunch. Set on a futuristic, distant planet, Stacey Jay created a dark fairy tale about a dying world, the monsters that inhabit it, and the princess meant to save it.

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Sarah J. Maas's Beauty and the Beast retelling is a fairy tale with feral faeries. Feyre is imprisoned by Tamlin, the High Lord of the Spring Court, when she kills a faerie. This dark faerie tale is hugely beloved by many YA readers.

Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley
Twenty years after she published Beauty, Robin McKinley returned to the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale in Rose Daughter. I love seeing what an author can do with a fairy tale, and Robin McKinley's ability to write two gorgeous retellings of this tale is remarkable.

Beastly by Alex Flinn
Alex Flinn is the queen of contemporary fairy tale retellings. Beastly is set in New York City and told from the Beast's perspective as he struggles to break the curse cast on him by a witch in his English class. 

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
Cruel Beauty is Beauty and the Beast meets Greek mythology. Set in the cursed kingdom of Arcadia, Nyx was raised knowing she must marry The Gentle Lord and then assassinate him and free the land. The Gentle Lord, however, is not what Nyx expected.

Young Adults Books for Fans of Audrey Hepburn Movies

Last summer Paige and I put together a post that paired Meg Ryan movies with Young Adult books. We had so much fun putting that post together that I knew this movie to book pairing was something we'd have to revisit again.

Stephanie Scott's debut Alterations is a retelling of movie Sabrina. Both the original version with Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart and the 1995 remake with Julia Orman and Harrison Ford are fantastic. I loved what Stephanie Scott did with this material and how she adapted it for a young adult audience living in the 21st century.

There are so many great Audrey Hepburn movies, and we had a lot of fun thinking of young adult books to pair with each one.
 

If you love Sabrina try Alterations by Stephanie Scott:
Stephanie Scott's Sabrina character, Amelia Blanco, is an aspiring fashion designer who lives with her mother and grandmother in the service apartment of the wealthy Laurenti family. Amelia's longtime crush, Ethan Laurenti, doesn't notice Amelia until he sees how much she's changed after a summer internship in New York. Alterations is fun update of the classic Audrey Hepburn movie.

If you love Funny Face try Geek Girl by Holly Smale:
Both Funny Face and Geek Girl feature very unlikely models. Funny Face's Jo Stockton works in an obscure bookstore and loves philosophy. She is definitely not looking to become a model. In Geek Girl watch math nerd Harriet Manners take on the world of modeling.

If you love Charade try With Malice by Eileen Cook:
Charade was one of the movies that my mom loved to pull out during slumber parties as an example of a classic thriller. Reggie Lampert's (Audrey Hepburn's character) husband is murdered and Lampert doesn't know who to trust and if anyone is who they say they are. With Malice is a YA thriller where the reader (and the main character) doesn't know what's true and if everyone is who they say they are.

If you love Breakfast at Tiffany's try Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland:
I recently rewatched Breakfast at Tiffany's, the story of Holly Golightly and her new neighbor Paul Varjak. Our Chemical Hearts, like Breakfast at Tiffany's, features a girl with a troubled past and a boy who, despite his best intentions, gets involved with her.

If you love Roman Holiday try Love, Lucy by April Lindner:
There are a whole slew of princess books that I could have picked for this pairing. (If you prefer princes and princess we have some recommendations here.) However, I just love April Lindner's retelling of Room with a View, and it definitely also has a bit of the Roman Holiday vibe.

If you love Wait Until Dark try Reign of Shadows by Sophie Jordan:
Wait Until Dark was another sleepover classic at my house. The first time I ever watched it was late at night with my friend Megan and my mom. We were at the most dramatic moment of the story when our recording switched to something else. Someone had recorded over the ending! (Ah the days of VHS tapes.) So we had to make a midnight run to Blockbuster so that we could find out what happened. (Ah the days of Blockbuster.) The main character in Wait Until Dark is blind, and her only advantage over her attacker is that she can navigate through the darkness much better than he can. This is also true of Sophie Jordan's main character, who's blindness allows her to navigate the dark world she lives in.

If you love My Fair Lady try The Fine Art of Pretending by Rachel Harris:
In the classic updating of Pygmalion, Professor Henry Higgins transforms Eliza Doolittle into a fine lady. In The Fine Art of Pretending, Alyssa Reed, with the help of her best friend Brandon Taylor, attempts to transform herself into someone more dateable. Unforeseen consequences and hijinks ensue.  

Young Adult Books for Fans of Meg Ryan Movies

Paige and I both adore Kasie West's books. We've read them all, loved them all, and were very excited for the release of P.S. I Like You on July 26th. We both read the book in one day. (Thanks to Scholastic for providing a copy.)

P.S. I Like You is about Lily Abbott, a girl who is very bored in Chemistry class. Daydreaming in class, she writes a line from her favorite song on her desk. The next day someone has written the next line. Soon Lily and her mysterious pen pal are exchanging notes daily.

P.S. I Like You reminded us of one of our favorite movies, You've Got Mail, and that got us thinking about all of Meg Ryan's other movies. The result is this blog post. So, if you love Meg Ryan movies and you love YA, we've got you covered. Now I'm off to watch my favorites.

If you love You've Got Mail try P.S. I Like You by Kasie West:

Mix together secret admirers and main characters who hate each other and you've got You've Got Mail and P.S. I Like You. As always, Kasie West writes a charming tale. We loved how Lily is an aspiring song writer and the banter between the two main characters took us back to You've Got Mail. Also, we love Lily's large family. Her parents are hilarious. Her siblings are great.

If you love When Harry Met Sally try Better off Friends by Elizabeth Eulberg:

Navigating a male/ female friendship is at the center of this movie and book pair. Macallan and Levi are best friends. They are goofy, finish-each-others'-sentences, have-tons-of-inside-jokes best friends, but a boy/girl best friendship is a complicated thing. Each chapter in this cute YA romance is told by one of the two characters, and then, at the end of the chapter, the two provide commentary on what was just said. It's darling and funny and really helps the reader get to the know the two of them as a pair. (Also featured here.)

If you love Kate & Leopold try Until We Meet Again by Renee Collins:

Kate and Cassandra fall in love with someone from the past in Kate & Leopold and Until We Meet Again. Cassandra meets Lawrence on the beach by her house one night and, after a great deal of confusion, the two realize that they are from different centuries.The only place where the timelines overlap is on the beach, and after Cassandra and Lawrence begin spending all their time there Cassandra starts to notice disconcerting changes in the timeline. (Also featured here.)

If you love French Kiss try The Distance from A to Z by Natalie Blitt:

Love France and a loathing-becomes-love relationship? Abby Berman is enrolled in an advanced French class at Huntington University in hopes of attending a high school in Paris her senior year. Everything is going her way until she's paired with Zeke Martin who she can't stand. Hopefully she can keep her head, and heart, focused on her goal.

If you love Sleepless in Seattle try The Lost & Found by Katrina Leno:

Do you love the magical realism of Sleepless in Seattle? The Lost & Found has the same mystical feel and also features people who fall in love without meeting. Frannie and Louis met in an online support group for people who have experienced trauma. They became fast friends, and their connection grew when they discovered they both tend to have things vanish on them. They decide to meet in Austin, Texas as they search for answers behind their losses.

If you love City of Angels try Halo by Alexandra Ardonetta:

In this pairing we have angels who fall in love with mortals. Bethany is sent with two other angels to earth to serve and protect humankind while remaining anonymous. Then Bethany meets and falls in love with Xavier Woods. The other angels attempt to keep the pair apart. What will happen when an immortal angel forsakes her mission to be with a human boy?

If you love I.Q. try P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han:

In the sequel to Jenny Han's To All the Boys I've Loved Before, Lara Jean is reeling over what happened with Peter and the results of all those letters she never intended to send. I put P.S. I Still Love You and I.Q. together because in each a group of old folks attempts to set up a young couple. I loved all the scenes that took place at the retirement center, and I just love John Ambrose McClaren a whole bunch.


P.S. Our reviews of Kasie West's other books here, here, here, here, and here.