Stories : a booklist for Room Nine classes

Presented by Aarene Storms, Chloe Chung, and Rick Orsillo
November 2008

The Alchemyst: the secrets of the immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott Nicholas Flamel is a fourteenth-century alchemist posing as a modern-day San Francisco bookseller. When a magical book is stolen, he--with the help of his wife, a set of teenage twins, and various gods--must retrieve it.

Beastly by Alex Flinn A retelling of “Beauty and the Beast”…from the Beast’s perspective. Rich, handsome, and mean-spirited Kyle plays a nasty trick on the wrong ugly schoolmate: an undercover witch, who curses him to a life of ugliness unless he can find true love.

Beauty: a retelling of Beauty and the Beast by Robin McKinley When Beauty's father is imprisoned for picking a rose, she agrees to take her father's place at the castle of the enchanted Beast. This version makes the Disney movie look like sissy stuff.

Beauty and the Serpent : thirteen tales of unnatural animals by Barbara Ann Porte Puppies from hell, escalator-dwelling cats, murderous crows, a coma-inducing snake tattoo, and more.

Black Pearls : a Faerie Strand by Louise Hawes Seven re-told tales based on traditional traditional fairy tales. Cinderella craves the deaths of her wicked stepmother and stepsisters; one of the seven dwarfs, falls in love with Snow White. Gretel tells what really happened with the witch, the oven, and her brother Hansel.

Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale Dashti, documents her time in service to Lady Saren through journal entries. When Saren, sixteen, refuses her father's choice of bridegroom, her father locks both girls in an isolated tower with provisions for seven years. A retelling of the obscure Grimm story “Maid Maleen”.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Death narrates the story of Liesl; her foster parents; the Jewish fugitive they are hiding; and a wild but gentle teen neighbor, Rudy, who defies the Hitler Youth and convinces Liesl to steal for fun.

The Diary of Pelly D by L.J. Adlington Toni V, a barely-educated brute laborer helping to pulverize the bombed-out remains of a city plaza, uncovers the diary of Pelly D.

Dream Factory by Brad Barkley Two teens working at Disney World as costumed characters over the summer try to resist falling in love.

East by Edith Pattou Rose agrees to go away with a talking white bear, and finds herself in a magical duel with the horrible Troll Princess. A retelling of “East of the Sun, West of the Moon.”

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull (sequels: Rise of the Evening Star and Grip of the Shadow Plague) Seth and Kendra visit grandfather's isolated Connecticut estate and discover that the place is a secret haven for magical creatures, both benign and wicked.

Fairest by Gail Carson Levine Gifted with a beautiful voice that has the power to captivate all who hear it, kindhearted Aza, believing that she is ugly, catches the attention of a handsome prince--and an evil new queen. An unusual retelling of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.”

Geeks : how two lost boys rode the Internet out of Idaho by Jon Katz The true story of two teens who used their education and the internet to leave their small town and start new lives.

Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! By Laura Amy Schlitz A medieval village is more than just lords and ladies. In this particular village there are also Nelly the Sniggler, Edgar the Falconer's son, Mogg--daughter of the town villein, and the town's resident half-wit.

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale On her way to marry a prince she's never met, Princess Anidori is betrayed by her guards and her lady-in-waiting and must become a goose girl to survive until she can reveal her true identity.

The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley (companion novel: The Blue Sword) Aerin, daughter of the King of Damar, uses the magical powers of the blue sword to kill the dragons that threaten the kingdom

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (sequels: Inkspell and Inkdeath) Meggie’s father has been keeping a secret: when he reads aloud from a book, he can bring the characters in it to life.

Left for Dead by Peter Nelson The true story of how a young boy helped the survivors of the U.S.S. Indianapolis reverse the court martial of their captain fifty-five years after the sinking of the ship.

Moon Riders by Teresa Tomlinson (sequel: Voyage of the Snake Lady) In ancient Greece, teenage Myrina joins the Moon Riders (a.k.a. the Amazons), befriends the young prophetess Cassandra, becomes a player in the Trojan War, and serves as a witness to many of the events told in “The Odyssey.”

The New Policeman by Kate Thompson (sequel: The Last of the High Kings) Time is leaking out of the human world and into T’r na n'îg. Fifteen-year-old fiddle player J.J. determines to fulfill his mother's wish for more time; in the process, he solves the mysterious time-skin leak.

Poison by Chris Wooding When Poison's little sister is stolen, she sets out to confront the Phaerie Lord to demand her sister's return.

The Rumpelstiltskin Problem by Vivan Vande Velde Retelling Rumpelstiltskin not once, but six times, in an attempt to answer questions inspired by the original tale…. "You'd think that in reality that the miller would have noticed that his daughter doesn't actually know how to spin straw into gold"….

Samuel Blink and the Forbidden Forest by Matt Haig (sequel: Samuel Blink and the Runaway Troll) Newly-orphaned Samuel and his younger sister Martha are sent to live with their strange aunt Eda on the edge of a magical forest, which is threatened by creatures that have been corrupted by the wicked Changemaker.

Shadow Spinner by Susan Fletcher Marjan, a young storyteller in ancient Persia, takes dangerous risks to deliver a new stories to Shahrazad.

Sisters Grimm: the Fairy-Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley (sequels: Usual Suspects and others) Daphne and Sabrina are descended from the famous storytelling brothers, and Ferryport Landing is a magical town, populated with "Everafters," characters straight from fairy tales.

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George In this retelling of “East of the Sun, West of the Moon” a girl, who is so unwanted that her mother refused to even name her, agrees to earn wealth for her family by spending a year in the magical palace of a gigantic talking white bear.

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner (sequels: Queen of Attolia and King of Attolia) A king orders the thief to carry out a nearly-impossible heist under threat of death. Lots of action, humor, and a surprise ending.

Whales on Stilts by M.T. Anderson An intrepid trio must defeat an insidious plan to use whales equipped with metal stilts and laser-beam eyes in a takeover of the state capital-and then the world.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen When 23-year-old Jacob is suddenly orphaned, leaving him penniless, he drops out of Cornell veterinary school and parlays his expertise with animals into a job with the circus.

Whirligig by Paul Fleischman After a drunk teenage driver kills a girl, his life is transformed by fulfilling a request of the girl's mother.

The Witch’s Boy by Michael Gruber Raised by a witch, a she-bear, and a demon, Lump is anything but ordinary. A retelling of “Rumpelstiltskin” and other familiar fairy tales.

The Year of Secret Assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty Three Australian teens establish pen pal letter exchanges with a rival public high school.