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Books in Once Upon a Twist series

  • Belle: A Retelling of "Beauty and the Beast"

    Cameron Dokey, Mahlon F. Craft

    Mass Market Paperback (Simon Pulse, Nov. 25, 2008)
    Belle is convinced she has the wrong name, as she lacks her sisters' awe-inspiring beauty. So she withdraws from society, devoting her time to wood carving. Secretly, Belle longs to find the fabled Heartwood Tree. If carved by the right hands, the Heartwood will reveal the face of one's true love. During a fierce storm, Belle's father stumbles upon the mysterious Heartwood -- and encounters a terrifying and lonely Beast. Now Belle must carve the Heartwood to save her father, and learn to see not with the eyes of her mind, but with the eyes of her heart.
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  • The Diamond Secret

    Suzanne Weyn

    Paperback (Simon Pulse, Nov. 13, 2015)
    After the Russian Revolution, Empress Marie, the czar's mother, who escaped to Paris, offers a reward for the return of her missing granddaughter, the princess Anastasia. Eager to collect the large sum, two friends hatch a plan to fool Empress Marie and convince Nadya, a mischievous and quick-witted kitchen girl at a Russian tavern, to accompany them to France. Nadya resembles the famous Anastasia, but can't remember her life before the revolution. Eager for the future, Nadya and her new friends venture across Europe, discovering new terrain of friendship, family, and love.
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  • Scarlet Moon

    Debbie Viguié, Mahlon F. Craft

    Paperback (Simon Pulse, Jan. 18, 2019)
    A teen must face the mysterious family secret of a new friend in this lively reimagining of The Little Red Riding Hood.Ruth’s grandmother lives in the forest, banished there for the “evil” that the townsfolk believed she practiced. But if studying the stars, learning about nature, and dreaming of flying is evil, then Ruth is guilty of it too. Whenever Ruth took food and supplies to her grandmother, she would sit with the old woman for hours, listening and learning. When she wasn’t in the woods, Ruth was learning the trade of her father, a blacksmith, now that her brother would never return from the Crusades. Amidst those dark days, a new man enters Ruth’s life. William is a noble with a hot temper and a bad name, and he makes her shiver. But the young man is prey to his heritage, a curse placed on his family ages ago, and each male of the family has strange blood running in his veins. Now Ruth must come face-to-face with his destiny at Grandma’s house.
  • The Diamond Secret

    Suzanne Weyn

    Mass Market Paperback (Simon Pulse, June 2, 2009)
    After the Russian Revolution, Empress Marie, the czar’s mother, who escaped to Paris, offers a reward for the return of her missing granddaughter, the princess Anastasia. Eager to collect the large sum, two friends hatch a plan to fool Empress Marie and convince Nadya, a mischievous and quick-witted kitchen girl at a Russian tavern, to accompany them to France. Nadya resembles the famous Anastasia, but can’t remember her life before the revolution. Eager for the future, Nadya and her new friends venture across Europe, discovering new terrain of friendship, family, and love.
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  • Belle

    Cameron Dokey

    Paperback (Simon Pulse, Feb. 7, 2017)
    The story of Beauty and the Beast finds new life in this magical and imaginative retelling that’s filled with romance and adventure.By the time her sixteenth birthday comes around, Belle feels more convinced than ever that she is being called by the wrong name. Unlike her older sisters Celeste and April, whose names suit them perfectly, Belle knows that she is not beautiful. She begs to be called by her given name, Annabelle—or even Anna for short—but to no avail. Her solace is her wood-carving hobby, and she longs to find the Heartwood tree: Legend has it that, when carved by the right hands, it can reveal the face of one’s true love. One day, during a fierce storm, Belle’s father stumbles upon the fabled tree—only to become ensnarled by it and come face-to-face with a terrifying and lonely Beast, who will set him free on one condition: that Belle carves the Heartwood. Belle agrees, never dreaming that she and the Beast have the same wish: to be seen not with the eyes of the mind, but of the heart.
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  • Water Song: A Retelling of "The Frog Prince"

    Suzanne Weyn, Mahlon F. Craft

    Paperback (Simon Pulse, March 9, 2012)
    ONCE UPON A TIME IS TIMELESS Young, beautiful, and wealthy, Emma Pennington is accustomed to a very comfortable life. Although war rages abroad, she hardly feels its effect. She and her mother travel from their home in Britain to the family estate in Belgium, never imagining that the war could reach them there. But it does. Soon Emma finds herself stranded in a war-torn country, utterly alone. Enemy troops fight to take over her estate, leaving her with no way to reach her family, and no way out. With all of her attention focused on survival and escape, Emma hardly expects to find love. But the war will teach her that life is unpredictable, people aren't always what they seem, and magic is lurking everywhere.
  • Winter's Child

    Cameron Dokey

    Mass Market Paperback (Simon Pulse, Sept. 8, 2009)
    A Retelling of "The Snow Queen" Free-spirited Grace and serious Kai are the best of friends. They grew up together listening to magical tales spun by Kai's grandmother and sharing in each other's secrets. But when they turn sixteen and Kai declares his love for Grace, everything changes. Grace yearns for freedom and slowly begins to push Kai -- and their friendship -- away. Dejected Kai dreams of a dazzling Snow Queen, who entices him to leave home and wander to faraway lands. When Grace discovers Kai is gone, she learns how much she has lost and sets out on a mystical journey to find Kai...and discover herself.
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  • Scarlet Moon

    Debbie Viguié, Mahlon F. Craft

    Mass Market Paperback (Simon Pulse, April 1, 2004)
    The True Face of Love Ruth's grandmother lives in the forest, banished there for the "evil" that the townsfolk believed she practiced. But if studying the stars, learning about nature, and dreaming of flying is evil, then Ruth is guilty of it too. Whenever Ruth took food and supplies to her grandmother, she would sit with the old woman for hours, listening and learning. When she wasn't in the woods, Ruth was learning the trade of her father, a blacksmith, now that her brother would never return from the Crusades. Amidst those dark days, a new man enters Ruth's life. William is a noble with a hot temper and a bad name, and he makes her shiver. But the young man is prey to his heritage, a curse placed on his family ages ago, and each male of the family has strange blood running in his veins. Now Ruth must come face-to-face with his destiny at Grandma's house
  • Sunlight and Shadow: A Retelling of "The Magic Flute"

    Cameron Dokey, Mahlon F. Craft

    Mass Market Paperback (Simon Pulse, June 17, 2008)
    A new spin on "The Magic Flute" by an acclaimed author!In a time when the world was young and many things were quite commonplace that are now entirely forgotten, Sarastro, Mage of the Day, wed Pamina, the Queen of the Night. And in this way was the world complete, for light was joined to dark. For all time would they be joined together. Only the ending of the world could tear them apart. In other words, in the days in which my parents married, there was no such thing as divorce....Thus begins the tale of Mina, a girl-child born on the longest night of the darkest month of the year. When her father looked at her, all he saw was what he feared: By birth, by name, by nature, she belonged to the Dark. So when Mina turned sixteen, her father took her away from shadow and brought her into sunlight.In retaliation, her mother lured a handsome prince into a deadly agreement: If he frees Mina, he can claim her as his bride.Now Mina and her prince must endure deadly trials -- of love and fate and family -- before they can truly live happily ever after....
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  • Water Song: A Retelling of "The Frog Prince"

    Suzanne Weyn, Mahlon F. Craft

    Mass Market Paperback (Simon Pulse, Oct. 24, 2006)
    When Emma Pennington travels with her mother to their family estate in Belgium, they find a war-torn country with enemy troops fighting to take over the estate, and Emma learns many lessons from the war, including that life is unpredictable.
  • The Gingerbread Man

    Saviour Pirotta, Karl Newson

    Library Binding (QEB Publishing _ Quarto Library, Aug. 1, 2017)
    This is the famous story of the gingerbread man who leaps from the oven as soon as soon as the door is opened! Nobody can catch him―not the old woman who made him nor any of the animals. It seems he's got away with his freedom. Then he meets a wily fox by the river who offers to help him safely cross. This, of course, is his famous mistake: to trust the fox, little by little―until it's too late and he's gobbled up in one ferocious bite.
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  • The Snow Queen

    Saviour Pirotta, Lucy Fleming

    Library Binding (QEB Publishing _ Quarto Library, Aug. 1, 2017)
    The Snow Queen, originally written by Hans Christian Andersen, is one of the best-known classic stories for children. It's the story of young Gerda's search for her playmate Kay, who was abducted by the Snow Queen and taken to her frozen palace. Here it is rewritten and re-illustrated for today's readers.
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