I’ve always been obsessed with fairytales, especially Cinderella. I was also an avid reader through most of my schooling and loved flipping through the Scholastic book catalog we got in middle school. It was in one of these catalogs that I found one of my favorite book series. It’s a young adult sci-fi/fantasy series based off classic fairytales. If that sounds interesting to you, I highly recommend reading the “Lunar Chronicles” by Marissa Meyer.
I don’t want to give too much away, but this book really hits all of my boxes. It has strong women and highlights their friendship and sisterhood. Characters who are used to always being alone find a family with each other. There’s action and drama, secrets revealed, and just the right amount of romance. One of the most important things with the romance for middle-school me is that all the romances had some sort of friendship basis. That’s one of the great things about finding a young-adult romance, a lot of times the relationships seem to be healthier.
The scenery is vivid, each location is easy to imagine. The characters each have their own personality, their own opinions, their own strengths and weaknesses. The villains are complex and interesting, and I loved to hate them. Characters that are there for only a few chapters leave a lasting impression, things mentioned early on that you don’t think will be relevant to the plot end up being important two books later. And, of course, there’s fairytale themes, mixed with a fun take on sci-fi.
There are four books, along with a prologue novella (anyone who loves villain backstories will love this book), and a collection of short stories. Each book sports gorgeous artwork, and there’s plenty of versions to choose from. I’ll be honest, the short stories weren’t done when I was reading the series, and while it’s on my shelf, I still haven’t gotten around to reading it. I reread the first book of the series this summer, and I normally have an awful time rereading books, but this was even better than my first and second read-throughs. This summer I’m planning to read the whole series again, including the short stories.
Apparently, an animated movie is in the works by Warner Brothers, collaborating with Locksmith Animation. There haven’t been updates since 2024, and there’s no release date at the moment, but I’m incredibly excited to see my favorite series really be brought to life. I highly recommend reading the books before the series comes out, especially with summer rapidly approaching. I’m hoping it brings a whole new audience to read the series, and get to appreciate the love and artistry that went into making it.