“The Snow Child” by Eowyn Ivey – This haunting book is based on the Russian tale of the snow girl, set on a homestead in Alaska where a woman, unable to have children, creates a daughter from the snow who seems to come alive.
“Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles Book 1)” by Marissa Meyer – a clever and well-written science-fiction update of the Cinderella story, with a cyborg as the title character. This series has a fairytale character at the heart of each novel.
“Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (The Wicked Years #1)” by Gregory Maguire – a fascinating return to Oz and a new take on a timeless character.
“Beastly (Kendra Chronicles Book 1)” by Alex Finn – YA story based on “Beauty and the Beast” from the point of view of a spoilt teenager who gets turned into a Beast. Quirky and romantic. There has also been a film made of this book starring Alex Pettyfer and Vanessa Hudgens.
“Fruits Basket, Volume 1” by Natsuki Takaya – The first in a series of manga novels, this tells of a teenager who faces tragedy and is helped by a family with an extraordinary secret: when touched by someone of the opposite sex they turn into animals from the Chinese Zodiac.
“Uprooted” by Naomi Novik – Award-winning fantasy novel inspired by dark fairytales, it tells the story of a young woman called Agnieszka who has a happy life in her village but once every ten years a girl is taken for an unknown purpose by a magician known as the Dragon. This year Agnieszka is chosen.
“Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast” by Robin McKinley – Strong writing and characters in this YA fantasy re-telling of the classic fairytale.
Finally, not a novel but a collection of amazing stories, “The Bloody Chamber and other Stories” by Angela Carter provide strong female characters, fascinating plots and a feminist take on the fairytale.