Choose a Barbie Movie, Get a Book Rec By Savannah Kennelly </p> <section> <h2> <h2><strong>Choose a Barbie Movie, Get a Book Rec</strong></h2> </h2> <p><p>Okay y’all. You know what I didn’t know I needed? A resurgence of the Barbie movies. I love, love, <em>love</em> the Barbie movies. They are works of ART. I live for the Barbie Nutcracker movie. I watched that movie so many times I broke our DVD copy and we had to get a new one. So in honor of the most illustrious series of films known to man, I have created this quiz. You. Are. Welcome.</p> </p> </section> <section> <h2> <h2><strong>The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima</strong></h2> </h2> <p><p>If Barbie in the Nutcracker is your favorite Barbie film, you like classic fantasy adventures with a little edge. May I introduce you to <em>The Warrior Heir?</em></p> <p>Before he knew about the Roses, 16-year-old Jack lived an unremarkable life in the small Ohio town of Trinity. Only the medicine he has to take daily and the thick scar above his heart set him apart from the other high-schoolers. Then one day Jack skips his medicine. Suddenly, he is stronger, fiercer, and more confident than ever before. And it feels great-until he loses control of his own strength and nearly kills another player during soccer team tryouts.</p> <p>Soon, Jack learns the startling truth about himself: He is Weirlind; part of an underground society of magical people who live among us. At the head of this magical society sit the feuding houses of the Red Rose and the White Rose, whose power is determined by playing The Game-a magical tournament in which each house sponsors a warrior to fight to the death. The winning house rules the Weir.</p> <p>As if his bizarre magical heritage isn’t enough, Jack finds out that he’s not just another member of Weirlind-he’s one of the last of the warriors-at a time when both houses are scouting for a player.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> </p> </section> <section> <h3> <h2><strong>The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black</strong></h2> </h3> <p><p>Barbie as Rapunzel takes a classic tale and turns it around, in which Barbie escapes her tower prison and follows a tunnel into a whole new kingdom where she meets a handsome prince. Hmmm… escaping the world into new land? Sounds a lot like being spirited away to faerie to me!</p> <p>Hazel and her brother, Ben, live in Fairfold, where humans and the Folk exist side by side. Since they were children, Hazel and Ben have been telling each other stories about the boy in the glass coffin, that he is a prince and they are valiant knights, pretending their prince would be different from the other faeries, the ones who made cruel bargains, lurked in the shadows of trees, and doomed tourists. But as Hazel grows up, she puts aside those stories. Hazel knows the horned boy will never wake.</p> <p>Until one day, he does….</p> <p>As the world turns upside down, Hazel has to become the knight she once pretended to be.</p> </p> </section> <section> <h3> <h2><strong>Ash by Malinda Lo</strong></h2> </h3> <p><p>A fairytale retelling with a bit of Barbie flair? Something tells me you’ll love this fairytale retelling with a bit of bite!</p> <p>In the wake of her father’s death, Ash is left at the mercy of her cruel stepmother. Consumed with grief, her only joy comes by the light of the dying hearth fire, rereading the fairy tales her mother once told her. In her dreams, someday the fairies will steal her away, as they are said to do. When she meets the dark and dangerous fairy Sidhean, she believes that her wish may be granted.</p> <p>The day that Ash meets Kaisa, the King’s Huntress, her heart begins to change. Instead of chasing fairies, Ash learns to hunt with Kaisa. Though their friendship is as delicate as a new bloom, it reawakens Ash’s capacity for love-and her desire to live. But Sidhean has already claimed Ash for his own, and she must make a choice between fairy tale dreams and true love.</p> <p>Entrancing, empowering, and romantic, Ash is about the connection between life and love, and solitude and death, where transformation can come from even the deepest grief.</p> </p> </section> <section> <h3> <h2><strong><a href="https://www.thenovl.com/aseasonofsinisterdreams">A Season of Sinister Dreams</a> by <a href="https://www.thenovl.com/tracybanghart">Tracy Banghart</a></strong></h2> </h3> <p><p>Two female leads who come from different worlds who must come together to achieve a shared goal, you say? Well, I think you’ll find <em>A Season of Sinister Dreams </em>very interesting…</p> <p>Annalise may be cousin to the prince, but her past isn’t what she claims, and she possesses a magic so powerful it takes all her strength to control it. Evra is a country girl, and has watched as each friend and family member came into their own magic, while hers remains dormant. But everything changes after Annalise loses control of herself and Evra begins experiencing the debilitating visions of a once-in-a-generation clairvoyant meant to serve the crown.</p> <p>Thrown together at court, Evra and Annalise find that they have the same goal: to protect their kingdom from the powerful men who are slowly destroying it. But neither is quick to trust the other — Evra’s visions suggest a threat to royal rule, and Annalise worries that her darkest secrets will be revealed. Their magic at odds, the young women circle each other, until the truth must come out.</p> </p> </section> <section> <h3> <h2><strong><a href="https://www.thenovl.com/thatdarkinfinity">That Dark Infinity</a> by <a href="/katepentecost">Kate Pentecost</a></strong></h2> </h3> <p><p>Okay, first of all! Did you know that Brie Larson recorded a song for this movie!?!? It’s called Hope Has Wings and its honestly a BOP. Now that the important facts are out of the way, this movie involves a quest to conquer a curse with a band of misfit companions. If that doesn’t describe <em>That Dark Infinity, </em>I don’t know what does.</p> <p>By night, the Ankou is a legendary, permanently young mercenary—the most fearsome sword for hire in all of the Five Lands, and its most abiding mystery. But when the sun rises, a dark magic leaves him no more than bones. Cursed with this cycle of death and resurrection, the Ankou wants only to find the final rest that has been prophesied for him, no matter the cost.</p> <p>When the kingdom of Kaer-Ise is sacked, Flora, handmaiden to the royal family, is assaulted and left for dead. Wounded, heartbroken, and the sole survivor of the massacre, Flora wants desperately to be reunited with the princess she served and loved. She and the Ankou make a deal: He will help Flora find her princess, and train Flora in combat, in exchange for her aid in breaking his curse. But it isn’t easy to kill an immortal, especially when their bond begins to deepen into something more….</p> <p>Together, they will solve mysteries, battle monsters, and race against time in this fantasy novel about sacrifice, love, and healing by <em>Elysium Girls </em>author Kate Pentecost.</p> </p> </section> <section> <h3> <h2><a href="https://www.thenovl.com/mostlikely">Most Likely</a> by <a href="https://www.thenovl.com/sarahwatson">Sarah Watson</a></h2> </h3> <p><p>A contemporary high school story with mystery, romance, and the best friends anyone could ask for. <em>Most Likely </em>is just what the doctor ordered!</p> <p>Ava, CJ, Jordan, and Martha (listed in alphabetical order out of fairness)<em> </em>have been friends since kindergarten. Now they’re in their senior year, facing their biggest fears about growing up and growing apart. But there’s more than just college on the horizon. One of these girls is destined to become the president of the United States.<em> </em>The mystery, of course, is which girl gets the gig.</p> <p>Is it Ava, the picture-perfect artist who’s secretly struggling to figure out where she belongs? Or could it be CJ, the one who’s got everything figured out…except how to fix her terrible SAT scores? Maybe it’s Jordan, the group’s resident journalist, who knows she’s ready for more than their small Ohio suburb can offer. And don’t overlook Martha, who will have to overcome all the obstacles that stand in the way of her dreams.</p> <p>This is the story of four best friends who have one another’s backs through every new love, breakup, stumble, and success—proving that great friendships can help young women achieve anything…even a seat in the Oval Office.</p> </p> </section> <section> <h3> <h2><strong><a href="https://www.thenovl.com/thebonehouses">The Bone Houses</a> by <a href="https://www.thenovl.com/emilylloydjones">Emily Lloyd-Jones</a></strong></h2> </h3> <p><p>A relatively obscure fairytale reimagined? Well, you’ll love <em>The Bone Houses’ </em>Welsh fairy-tale lore!</p> <p>Seventeen-year-old Aderyn (“Ryn”) only cares about two things: her family, and her family’s graveyard. And right now, both are in dire straits. Since the death of their parents, Ryn and her siblings have been scraping together a meager existence as gravediggers in the remote village of Colbren, which sits at the foot of a harsh and deadly mountain range that was once home to fae creatures known as the Otherfolk. The problem with being a gravedigger in Colbren, though, is that the dead don’t always <em>stay</em> dead.</p> <p>The risen corpses are known as “bone houses,” and legend says that they’re the result of a recent curse. Ryn has always been quick to deal with this inconvenience whenever they wander too close to her graveyard, but when Ellis, an apprentice mapmaker, arrives in town, the bone houses attack with renewed purpose. What is it about Ellis that draws them near? And more importantly, how can they stop them for good?</p> <p>Together, Ellis and Ryn embark on a journey that will bring them deep into the heart of the mountains, where they will have to face both the curse and long-hidden truths about themselves. Equal parts classic horror novel and original fairy-tale, <em>The Bone Houses </em>will have you spellbound from the very first page.</p> </p> </section> <section> <h3> <h2><strong><a href="https://www.thenovl.com/thewitchhunter">The Witch Hunter</a> by <a href="https://www.thenovl.com/virginiaboecker">Virginia Boecker</a></strong></h2> </h3> <p><p>An orphaned girl is brought to a whole new world, unveiling secrets of her past while falling in love and fighting the corrupt powers-that-be? Well, The Witch Hunter is for you my friend!</p> <p><em>Your greatest enemy isn’t what you fight, but what you fear.</em></p> <p>Elizabeth Grey is one of the king’s best witch hunters, devoted to rooting out witchcraft and doling out justice. But when she’s accused of being a witch herself, Elizabeth is arrested and sentenced to burn at the stake.</p> <p>Salvation comes from a man she thought was her enemy. Nicholas Perevil, the most powerful and dangerous wizard in the kingdom, offers her a deal: he will save her from execution if she can break the deadly curse that’s been laid upon him.</p> <p>But Nicholas and his followers know nothing of Elizabeth’s witch hunting past–if they find out, the stake will be the least of her worries. And as she’s thrust into the magical world of witches, ghosts, pirates, and one all-too-handsome healer, Elizabeth is forced to redefine her ideas of right and wrong, of friends and enemies, and of love and hate.</p> </p> </section> <section> <h3> <h2><strong><a href="https://www.thenovl.com/athousandnights">A Thousand Nights</a> by <a href="https://www.thenovl.com/ekjohnston">E. K. Johnston</a></strong></h2> </h3> <p><p>A story within a story is what you have chosen, and a story within a story about the power of story is what you shall receive!</p> <p>Lo-Melkhiin killed three hundred girls before he came to her village, looking for a wife. When she sees the dust cloud on the horizon, she knows he has arrived. She knows he will want the loveliest girl: her sister. She vows she will not let her be next.<br />And so she is taken in her sister’s place, and she believes death will soon follow. Lo-Melkhiin’s court is a dangerous palace filled with pretty things: intricate statues with wretched eyes, exquisite threads to weave the most beautiful garments. She sees everything as if for the last time.But the first sun rises and sets, and she is not dead. Night after night, Lo-Melkhiin comes to her and listens to the stories she tells, and day after day she is awoken by the sunrise. Exploring the palace, she begins to unlock years of fear that have tormented and silenced a kingdom. Lo-Melkhiin was not always a cruel ruler. Something went wrong.<br />Far away, in their village, her sister is mourning. Through her pain, she calls upon the desert winds, conjuring a subtle unseen magic, and something besides death stirs the air.<br />Back at the palace, the words she speaks to Lo-Melkhiin every night are given a strange life of their own. Little things, at first: a dress from home, a vision of her sister. With each tale she spins, her power grows. Soon she dreams of bigger, more terrible magic: power enough to save a king, if she can put an end to the rule of a monster.</p> </p> </section> <section> <h3> <h2><strong><a href="https://www.thenovl.com/thewinterduke">The Winter Duke</a> by <a href="https://www.thenovl.com/claireelizabartlett">Claire Eliza Bartlett</a></strong></h2> </h3> <p><p>A wintery fairytale about a prickly girl with limited people skills? The Winter Duke is just for you!</p> <p>When Ekata’s brother is finally named heir, there will be nothing to keep her at home in Kylma Above with her murderous family. Not her books or science experiments, not her family’s icy castle atop a frozen lake, not even the tantalizingly close Kylma Below, a mesmerizing underwater kingdom that provides her family with magic. But just as escape is within reach, her parents and twelve siblings fall under a strange sleeping sickness.<br />In the space of a single night, Ekata inherits the title of duke, her brother’s warrior bride, and ever-encroaching challengers from without–and within–her own ministry. Nothing has prepared Ekata for diplomacy, for war, for love…or for a crown she has never wanted. If Kylma Above is to survive, Ekata must seize her family’s power. And if <em>Ekata</em> is to survive, she must quickly decide how she will wield it.<br />Part <em>Sleeping Beauty</em>, part <em>Anastasia</em>, with a thrilling political mystery, <em>The Winter Duke</em> is a spellbinding story about choosing what’s right in the face of danger.</p> </p> </section> <section> <h3> <h2><strong><a href="https://www.thenovl.com/briarheart">Briarheart</a> by <a href="https://www.thenovl.com/mercedeslackey">Mercedes Lackey</a></strong></h2> </h3> <p><p>A girl-power team of female warriors banding together to save the kingdom? <em>Briarheart</em> is just for you!</p> <p>Miriam may be the daughter of Queen Alethia of Tirendell, but she’s not a princess. She’s the child of Alethia and her previous husband, the King’s Champion, who died fighting for the king, and she has no ambitions to rule. When her new baby sister Aurora, heir to the throne, is born, she’s ecstatic. She adores the baby, who seems perfect in every way. But on the day of Aurora’s christening, an uninvited Dark Fae arrives, prepared to curse her, and Miriam discovers she possesses impossible power.<br />Soon, Miriam is charged with being trained in both magic and combat to act as chief protector to her sister. But shadowy threats are moving closer and closer to their kingdom, and Miriam’s dark power may not be enough to save everyone she loves, let alone herself.</p> </p> </section> <section> <h3> <h2><strong><a href="https://www.thenovl.com/lighttheabyss">The Light at the Bottom of the World</a> by <a href="https://www.thenovl.com/londonshah">London Shah</a></strong></h2> </h3> <p><p>Sporty Barbie in an underwater adventure. Well, <em>The Light at the Bottom of the World</em> has the same energy… just with a bit more edge!</p> <p>In the last days of the twenty-first century, sea creatures swim through the ruins of London. Trapped in the abyss, humankind wavers between fear and hope-fear of what lurks in the depths around them, and hope that they might one day find a way back to the surface.<br />When sixteen-year-old submersible racer Leyla McQueen is chosen to participate in the city’s prestigious annual marathon, she sees an opportunity to save her father, who has been arrested on false charges. The Prime Minister promises the champion whatever their heart desires. But the race takes an unexpected turn, forcing Leyla to make an impossible choice.<br />Now she must brave unfathomable waters and defy a corrupt government determined to keep its secrets, all the while dealing with a guarded, hotheaded companion she never asked for in the first place. If Leyla fails to discover the truths at the heart of her world, or falls prey to her own fears, she risks capture-or worse. And her father will be lost to her forever.</p> </p> </section> <section> <h3> <h2><strong><a href="https://www.thenovl.com/gossipgirl">Gossip Girl</a> by <a href="https://www.thenovl.com/cecilyvonziegesar">Cecily von Ziegsar</a></strong></h2> </h3> <p><p>I mean really, this one should be obvious. You clicked on Barbie: A Fashion Fairytale and I’m recommending you <em>Gossip Girl</em>. You know you love it.</p> <p>Welcome to New York City’s Upper East Side, where my friends and I live, go to school, play, and sleep–sometimes with each other.<br />S is back from boarding school, and if we aren’t careful, she’s going to win over our teachers, wear that dress we couldn’t fit into, steal our boyfriends’ hearts, and basically ruin our lives in a major way. I’ll be watching closely…<br />You know you love me. gossip girl</p> </p> </section> <section> <h3> <h2><strong><a href="https://www.thenovl.com/cruelprince">The Cruel Prince</a> by <a href="https://www.thenovl.com/hollyblack">Holly Black</a></strong></h2> </h3> <p><p>Barbie must rescue Ken after he is spirited away to faerie! I mean, come ON. Did you think I’d recommend a different book to you! Go read <em>The Cruel Prince </em>already!</p> <p>Jude was seven years old when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.</p> <p>To win a place at the Court, she must defy him—and face the consequences.</p> <p>In doing so, she becomes embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for bloodshed. But as civil war threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.</p> </p> </section> <section> <h2> <h2><strong>Choose a Barbie Movie! </strong></h2> </h2> </section> <p>
