Title: Fierce Fairytales: Poems and Stories to Stir Your Soul

Author: Nikita Gill

Publisher: Hachette Books 2018

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 176

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Seasonal TBR

Traditional fairytales are rife with cliches and gender stereotypes: beautiful, silent princesses; ugly, jealous, and bitter villainesses; girls who need rescuing; and men who take all the glory.

But in this rousing new prose and poetry collection, Nikita Gill gives Once Upon a Time a much-needed modern makeover. Through her gorgeous reimagining of fairytale classics and spellbinding original tales, she dismantles the old-fashioned tropes that have been ingrained in our minds. In this book, gone are the docile women and male saviors. Instead, lines blur between heroes and villains. You will meet fearless princesses, a new kind of wolf lurking in the concrete jungle, and an independent Gretel who can bring down monsters on her own.

A friend read this one and loved it and it sounded right up my alley. We get a beautiful collection of subversive takes on classic fairytales. Told in verse and in prose, we examine the motivations and histories of many villains and heroines. I especially loved the few centered on Alice in Wonderland. Towards the end of the collection, Gil moves out of the realm of fairy tales to deal with modern feminism. I was absolutely enthralled by this collection. So much so that I think I need to own this in physical form.

Next up on the TBR pile: