Twelve by Andrea Blythe

Twelve is a poetic retelling of the Brothers Grimm fairytale "The Twelve Dancing Princesses." Bewitching and beguiling, this short series of linked poems takes the reader to the underground realm and back, following the stories of twelve princesses and their life after the magic shoes.

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First things first; these aren't poems. They are poetic, but they're not poems. They're short stories, each only one or two pages long.

Second things second; they're beautiful. Absolutely wonderful, a really clever look at how the twelve sisters might have moved on from their brief freedom and the ways they might try to recapture it as adults. I can't say too much, because I don't want to spoil them, but they are amazing.

Although it'll help if you're familiar with the original story, it is recapped at the start, so you won't be missing too much. (And Andrea, I've read versions where he chose the youngest as well. Always written so that she was simperingly happy with being chosen.)

I'm loving all the new versions of fairytales where marriage is not the end game, and this book will sit proudly with them.