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Fairy Tale Retelling (Diamonds and Toads), 288 pages
Published March 30th 2010 by Henry Holt and Co.
Diribani has come to the village well to get water for her family's scant meal of curry and rice. She never expected to meet a goddess there. Yet she is granted a remarkable gift: Flowers and precious jewels drop from her lips whenever she speaks.
It seems only right to Tana that the goddess judged her kind, lovely stepsister worthy of such riches. And when she encounters the goddess, she is not surprised to find herself speaking snakes and toads as a reward.
Blessings and curses are never so clear as they might seem, however. Diribani’s newfound wealth brings her a prince—and an attempt on her life. Tana is chased out of the village because the province's governor fears snakes, yet thousands are dying of a plague spread by rats. As the sisters' fates hang in the balance, each struggles to understand her gift. Will it bring her wisdom, good fortune, love . . . or death?
It seems only right to Tana that the goddess judged her kind, lovely stepsister worthy of such riches. And when she encounters the goddess, she is not surprised to find herself speaking snakes and toads as a reward.
Blessings and curses are never so clear as they might seem, however. Diribani’s newfound wealth brings her a prince—and an attempt on her life. Tana is chased out of the village because the province's governor fears snakes, yet thousands are dying of a plague spread by rats. As the sisters' fates hang in the balance, each struggles to understand her gift. Will it bring her wisdom, good fortune, love . . . or death?
Diamonds and Toads!!! I've always found this one of the most fascinating tales, and it's fairly unknown to most people, so it doesn't get a lot of retellings. I have this one on my shelves, and it was begging to be read this year, but I just couldn't fit it. Next year, I certainly hope to...maybe even before then.
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Love ur blog!!! I read all the time but I haven't tried fairy tale retellings. I usually only read paranormal romance. What is the best book for me to try first in this genre? Thanks :-)
ReplyDeleteI love the title of this one- Diamonds and Toads are too words and objects that shouldn't go together,,,but when they do it sounds fascinating! Will definitely be giving this one a try! x
ReplyDeleteI read this one in December. I was excited that it was based on a lesser-known/used tale and that it wasn't set in a European-esque country. The relationship between the sisters was really nice to see, as well. But I just never fell in love with the book. I had taken another book by the author out of the library at the same time, and I decided not to read it.
ReplyDeleteI loved this one. I thought the setting was gorgeous and it's nice to see characters and culture outside of the typical western world setting.
ReplyDeleteTomlinson did a great job of making what is traditionally a story about a perfect sister and a dreadful sister and giving them both shades of grey. I loved both of the sisters and the story itself was rich enough to keep me reading. Well worth picking up.
I haven't heard of this retelling, but I have heard of the original tale. Hmmm...I wonder how it is? **Goes off to stalk Goodreads...**
ReplyDeleteThis sounds beautiful!
ReplyDeleteOooh, I love this feature! I think it's such a good idea to feature little known retellings that we can go out and find right now. This one sounds really interesting, and I'm not familiar with the original at all. I love that it's an Indian setting, sounds/looks gorgeous, I'm certainly going to check it out!
ReplyDeleteI love this feature! I just put this book on hold at my library based on your recommendation. Thanks!
ReplyDelete