ReteLLings

RETELLINGS RETELLINGS RETELLINGS There’s something about a retelling that’s so creative and smart!

Anna K

Jenny Lee

ANNA K is basically Gossip Girl meets Crazy Rich Asians meets classic Russian lit, and I was here for the entire thing. A spin on ANNA KARENINA, ANNA K follows a cast of Upper East Side high schoolers who are way too wealthy for their own good. We have perfect Anna who falls for Vronsky, despite the fact that she has a popular, well-to-do boyfriend. Suddenly, the trajectory of their lives change as they realize what it’s like to fall in love. Meanwhile, Anna’s brother Stephen and his girlfriend Lolly are weathering a scandal of their own, Lolly’s sister Kimmie is recovering from an ice dancing injury and Steven’s friend Dustin is harboring a massive crush on Kimmie. So dramatic and delicious!

This YA Little Women retelling was really cute! It takes place in between Jo writing her first and second novels and imagines what it would have been like had Jo ended up with Laurie. Tbh, I understand both Jo and Laurie and Amy and Laurie ending up together, so I really enjoyed reading this alternate ending. The writing style mirrored the original in a fun way and I liked the way the storyline honored the original plot while still adding its own unique flair. Would definitely recommend to anyone who loves historical fiction or books about writers and I think it would be perfect for any LITTLE WOMEN fan, whether you were all about Jo and Laurie or you just want an excuse to revisit their world.

ELIGIBLE follows the Bennet family and their five adult daughters. Liz and Jane, the oldest two have lived in Manhattan for years, but are called home to help care for their father after a health scare. While home in Cincinnati at their crumbling Tudor mansion, Mrs. Bennet is desperate to set one of her five single daughters up. Jane instantly falls for Chip Bingley, fresh off of a stint as star of a Bachelor-inspired dating show, while Liz gets off on the wrong foot with Darcy, Chip’s best friend. This book is funny, it’s smart, it’s romantic, it’s wellwritten and the entire thing is just so clever. I’m woefully unfamiliar with all the P&P nitty gritty and I honestly don’t think you need to know about all things P&P to love this novel (hello, I’m the prime example!).

A Jane Eyre retelling set in the South? SIGN ME UP. THE WIFE UPSTAIRS takes the Jane Eyre tale from Britain to Birmingham, Alabama. Jane is a twenty-something dog walker in an exclusive town. She’s nothing like the polished and pristine women of Thornfield Estates, the gated community where she walks the dogs of Alabama’s elite. When she meets Eddie Rochester, her life begins to change. Eddie’s wife Bea, along with her best friend Blanche, mysteriously died in a boat accident the summer before and before she knows it, Jane and the grieving Eddie are falling for each other. As their relationship gets increasingly serious, Jane can’t get what happened to Bea out of her head. Even though this was billed as a Jane Eyre retelling, it felt like its own twisty mystery that borrowed from the Jane narrative, complete with modern-day Southern belles.

Jo & Laurie

Melissa de la Cruz and Margaret Stohl

Eligible

Curtis Sittenfeld