At Midnight: 15 Beloved Fairy Tales Reimagined

Edited by Dahlia Adler. Flatiron, $19.99 (464p) ISBN 978-1-250-80602-4

This expansive fairy tale anthology edited by contributor Adler (Home Field Advantage) comprises 14 reimagined fairy tales by Tracy Deonn, Malinda Lo, and Anna-Marie McLemore, among others, plus one “new fairy tale” by Melissa Albert. “Say My Name,” Adler’s “Rumpelstiltskin” retelling, features a genius teenage hacker who uses her skills to secure her best friend a spot in a coding competition. H.E. Edgmon’s rendition of “Little Snow White,” “Mother’s Mirror,” follows a transgender high schooler seeking freedom from their mother’s oppressive ideals. After learning his parents can’t afford their mortgage, an Apache teen teams up with a talking coyote to save his house in Darcie Little Badger’s “Coyote in High-Top Sneakers,” inspired by “Puss in Boots.” In Albert’s original fairy tale, “The Sister Switch,” a college student’s plans to break up with his girlfriend and date her best friend are foiled by the sudden appearance of a mysterious immersive theatrical experience. Intersectionally diverse and globally inclusive—stories take place across time in locales such as British-occupied India, Russia, New York City’s Chinatown, and suburban U.S. neighborhoods—this simultaneously whimsical, adventurous, and bone-chilling genre-spanning collection smartly riffs on the referenced source material to explore contemporary values. The original fairy tales conclude. Ages 12–up.