August 12th, 2020

    For my final review of best young adult series, I am actually not technically reviewing a series but an author. However, she does have two YA series that I am going to focus on: Fairy Tale Romance and A Medieval Fairy Tale series. 
    Both of these series have one thing in common: they are all fairy tale retellings. However, Dickerson re-tells them as historical romances instead of attempting to retain the fantasy elements of the stories. So instead of witches, there are abusive stepmothers. Instead of evil fairies like Maleficent, there is spiritual warfare. Instead of curses, there are plots of rebellion and political intrigue. Through it all, Dickerson’s heroines learn to put their trust in God alone. 
    Yes, these are faith based stories. One thing that makes these stand out in my opinion is how important the word of God is in these tales. One of the books, The Merchant’s Daughter, made me so thankful that we have Bibles translated into English and other common languages instead of having to know Latin. It also made me thankful that priests are no longer cautioning young women not to read the Bible for themselves. To think that my spiritual leaders would tell me I am sinning simply by hungering for God’s word! Characters throughout the books also rely on verses they have memorized to help them through difficulties. Some reviewers on Amazon complain about this, calling it “preachy.” However, to me, Dickerson always does it in such a natural way, the same way I remind myself of God’s truths continually. All Christians should, so this should never seem strange to us! And what an example for young women who read these!
    The romances in all of these books are also swoon-worthy. I could honestly go on and on about every single one. And the male leads are not all cut from the same cloth, either. Sometimes they are traditionally handsome, but other times they aren’t. Some of the male leads are charming, while others are reserved or even gruff at first. There are two books in which the male leads are “the beast” with scars or deformities that people have judged them by. 
    The Fairy Tale Romance series follows a particular family in Hagenheim, Germany. The Merchant’s Daughter will seem out of place, until its characters in England intersect with the characters in Germany. The Medieval Fairy Tale series, instead of being straight fairy tale retellings are fairy tale mashups. For instance, the first book in the series, The Huntress of Thornbeck forest is a mash-up of Robin Hood and Swan Lake. Both series are equally fantastic!
    Though you can read the series out of order and not be confused for the most part, I recommend reading them in order to fully enjoy the relationships between all the characters. It can be difficult to figure out what order to read, so here is a handy list:

The Fairy Tale Romance Series

1. The Healer’s Apprentice (Retelling of Sleeping Beauty)
2. The Merchant’s Daughter (Retelling of Beauty and the Beast)
3. The Fairest Beauty (Retelling of Snow White)
4. The Captive Maiden (Retelling of Cinderella)
5. The Princess Spy (Retelling of The Princess and the Frog)
6. The Golden Braid (Retelling of Rapunzel)
7. The Silent Songbird (Retelling of The Little Mermaid)
8. The Orphan’s Wish (Retelling of Aladdin)
9. The Warrior Maiden (Retelling of Mulan) *I have yet to read this one!*
10. The Piper’s Pursuit (Retelling of The Pied Piper) *I haven’t read this one yet either!*
    
    
    

The Medieval Fairy Tale Series

1. The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest (a mashup of Robin Hood and Swan Lake)
2. The Beautiful Pretender (a mashup of Beauty & the Beast and Princess & the Pea)
3. A Noble Servant (a mashup of Goose Girl and The Prince and the Pauper)

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