CCBC booklist are compiled from books we have recommended in various editions of CCBC Choices. Most of these booklists are updated annually. You can also select books from one or more booklists to create a custom list, which can also include additional books from the CCBC-Recommended Book Search.

To print a CCBC booklist, click on a list below and then use your browser’s “Print” command.

Retellings & Reimagining: Fiction for Older Children and Teens

Compiled by Tessa Michaelson Schmidt

This booklist was developed by the CCBC librarians to complement the 2025-2026 Go Big Read selection, James by Percival Everett, a novel that retells the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of Jim, an enslaved man who journeys with Huckleberry Finn. This particular booklist focuses on retellings of familiar stories.

Lovely War
by Berry, Julie
Penguin Random House/Viking, 2019. 468 pages. Age 14 and older

Star-Crossed
by Dee, Barbara
Aladdin, 2017. 277 pages. Ages 9-12

Stepsister
by Donnelly, Jennifer
Scholastic Press, 2019. 342 pages. Age 12 and older

Made Glorious
by Eagar, Lindsay
Candlewick, 2024. 388 pages. Age 14 and older

Dateline: Troy
by Fleischman, Paul
Illustrated by Gwen Frankfeldt and Glen Morrow. Candlewick, 2006. 79 pages. Age 11 and older

Twelfth Knight
by Follmuth, Alexene Farol
Macmillan/Tor Teen, 2024. 320 pages. Age 12 and older

Eagle Drums
by Hopson, Nasugraq Rainey
Roaring Brook, 2023. 245 pages. Ages 10-13

Voices of the Trojan War
by Hovey, Kate
Illustrated by Leonid Gore. Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2004. 117 pages. Age 13 and older

Adventures of Mary Jane
by Jahren, Hope
Delacorte/Random House, 2024. 441 pages. Age 11 and older

Spindle
by Johnston, E.K.
Hyperion, 2016. 355 pages. Age 13 and older

More to the Story
by Khan, Hena
Salaam Reads/Simon & Schuster, 2019. 262 pages. Ages 8-12

Enter the Body
by McCullough, Joy
Dutton, 2023. 318 pages. Age 14 and older

Far, Far Away
by McNeal, Tom
Alfred A. Knopf, 2013. 371 pages. Age 14 and older

And the Ocean Was Our Sky
by Ness, Patrick
Illustrated by Rovina Cai. HarperTeen, 2018. 158 pages. Age 13 and older

Bone Gap
by Ruby, Laura
Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins, 2015. 345 pages. Age 14 and older

A Wish in the Dark
by Soontornvat, Christina
Candlewick, 2020. 375 pages. Ages 9-12

Breadcrumbs
by Ursu, Anne
HarperCollins/Walden Pond, 2011. 312 pages. Ages 9-12

Greymist Fair
by Zappia, Francesca
Illustrated by Julia Iredale. Greenwillow/HarperCollins, 2023. 314 pages. Age 12 and older

Pride
by Zoboi, Ibi
Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins, 2018. 289 pages. Age 12 and older

Can’t find what you’re looking for? Our Recommended Book Search includes access to CCBC-recommended titles based on subject headings created by our staff.

Please send questions or comments about CCBC booklists to ccbcinfo@education.wisc.edu.