The Magic Thief Series by Sarah Prineas

          I absolutely loved this book!  It had plenty of mystery, fantasy, and adventure.  It's kind of like Harry Potter, in the way that it has magic and wizards--just no wands.  I liked the way the author described everything. It's one of my favorites.

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

Now, if you've seen the movie, Ella Enchanted, don't despair; the book is ten times better.  I mean, don't get me wrong--I liked the movie okay, and I think Hugh Dancy is a great actor, but they changed a lot of things and made it somehow modern in ways it wasn't supposed to be.  So . . .  all that aside, back to the book.

There have been countless retold fairy tales about Cinderella, but I love the twist on this one--that Ella has to obey any order she is given.  You'll find all the elements of the original story (i.e. the glass slippers, the ball, pumpkin carriage, and wicked stepsisters) along with a spunky, spirited heroine who has a mind of her own.  This one is appropriate for about 4th grade and up--clean and cute, and hey--a Newberry Honor book!

Once Upon a Time: Before Midnight & The Storyteller's Daughter by Cameron Dokey

I find that I have to intersperse my heavy reading with lighter books so my brain doesn't start to hurt . . .  and this series was a perfect "'tweener."  It was recommended to me my my lovely sister-in-law, Amy (who has excellent taste in books).  The series has several titles, all of them retold fairy tales, and three or four of them are written by Cameron Dokey.  Now they aren't life-changing and tend to be a bit predictable (because of course we all know how the fairy tale ends, right?), but they are clean and fun--and who doesn't like a nice happy ending once in a while?

Before Midnight is a retelling of the Cinderella story.  There is an unusual twist on the father and step-mother relationship that makes it different from the familiar Disney version, and I really liked it.

Another title I read was The Storyteller's Daughter.  You'll find a lot of stories out there about Beauty & the Beast, Cinderella, etc., but you don't often hear about Sharazad, and I found her tale quite intriguing.

I would really recommend this series (hopefully all the others are as good!) for any preteen daughters you might have who are perhaps too caught up in vampire series books. . . .  You are safe with these, and they're still interesting and have enough romance (but not too much) to keep them reading.