First things first; these aren't poems. They are poetic, but they're not poems. They're short stories, each only one or two pages long.

Second things second; they're beautiful. Absolutely wonderful, a really clever look at how the twelve sisters might have moved on from their brief freedom and the ways they might try to recapture it as adults. I can't say too much, because I don't want to spoil them, but they are amazing.

Although it'll help if you're familiar with the original story, it is recapped at the start, so you won't be missing too much. (And Andrea, I've read versions where he chose the youngest as well. Always written so that she was simperingly happy with being chosen.)

I'm loving all the new versions of fairytales where marriage is not the end game, and this book will sit proudly with them.

4. 5 stars

Many thanks to the publisher, Interstellar Flight Press, for gifting me with an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for my impartial review.

This was a short, beautiful, and important feminist take on The Twelve Dancing Princesses, a Brothers Grimm fairytale. My first encounter with The Twelve Dancing Princesses was when I watched the Barbie remake as a kid.

I loved that it wasn't just a retelling, but in the vein of Kalynn Byron's "Cinderella is Dead", it took the readers through the aftermath of the events of the fairytale. Many times this story has been retold, and many times the 12 princesses have been lumped together as one character. Here, however, Andrea Blythe has written each princess as an individual sister, with her own story and path post the revelation of their secret. As a result, we're able to get an in depth look at each person's personality, story, and interests. They are women who love books and writing, love the Sciences and alchemy, even cooking and baking - women who do whatever they want.

There were so many parts I highlighted while I was reading, because the texts were so great. There were a lot of feminists themes all over the book, and it's so beautiful how they were woven into the story by the author.

It was really great and I recommend it to everyone. It's such a must-read!

Before talking about this book, I’d request you, the reader, to read a few versions of this fairy tale. The more versions you read, the more insight you’ll have for this one and the more you’ll enjoy it!
It is no secret that the fairy tales we know and have always known have been women centric for the most part; they’ve been about queens and princesses and about orphan girls who grew up to be queens or crossed paths with the past and realised they are princess. The most important things they taught us young girls was that a prince will come to save their lives and one way or the other, every one of those tales ended in marriage.
The original version of this tale is no different. 12 princesses sleep into the night and wake up with damaged shoe soles as if they had been dancing. Their father, the king, wants to know what they do. And he (instead of asking his daughters what they are upto; geez they are just dancing) offers their hand in marriage to the male who solves the mystery in three days or he’ll end up at the hands of the executioner.
I liked how this book focused on the individuality of each sister rather than refer to them as a collective group. I mean there were 12 of them and all were different in age. How did they have the same demeanour and behaviour? I also liked how their stories showed them to be powerful, from being lost in the realm of books to using alchemy to trying to go back to being scared of the past, each sister is shown with a different story and its actually relatable and realistic.
Though, I did wonder why there was no talk of the Queen or the witch who told the soldier how to uncover the sisters’ secret. Or how the sisters supported each other during all this. I wish that was shown too.
It was an amazing read and a nice twist to the fairy tale we grew up with. I like this one better than all of them.

Twelve is a poetic retelling of “The Twelve Dancing Princesses” by the Brothers Grimm. I would recommend this one for readers at an elementary school level, but I would not consider the chapters to be “poems.”

Oh how could I not become enchanted by Twelve: Poems Inspired by the Brothers Grimm Fairy Tale.
Each of the twelve sisters finds her own way to rebel against her father, the king.

The king, wanting to know the ways of his daughters, the reason why their shoes are so quickly destroyed, issues a decree. Any man that can answer the question within 3 days will get to marry his choice of the daughters. The men that are unable to answer in the 3 day time period are sentenced to death. Let the games begin.

The king's daughters are formidable, beguiling, and charismatic. Even though the secret is revealed, the daughters betrayed by one of their own (a woman), they continue to be feminists, rebels in one form or another.
And the oldest daughter....the one chosen to be wed....she continues on with murder in her heart toward the
man that rightfully (or not so much rightfully) won her hand.

What a wonderful retelling. I am very happy I was able to experience this read.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and Andrea Blythe for an ARC in return for an honest review

I finally get it.

As a Dad of 2 girls I have tolerated Disney princesses and been caught up in the standard ‘magic’ and misrepresentation these adapted stories historically told. I am pleased both my daughters are independent women and forged their own way in life.
The Twelve Princesses that Twelve springs from has opened my eyes however.

You see the disempowerment of women even as princesses; where until recent times women had little independence or wealth without a well planned marriage to a man. Yet, these 12 have a degree of independence; they are not waiting to be married off. No as their ruined shoes given witness to; something magical is happening overnight which means the twelve pairs of shoes are worn out.
Furthermore, the girls seem happy and resolved to the secrets they keep and their shared activities.

The King, thinking like a bloke promises a daughter’s hand in marriage, whoever the suitor desires if after 3 days he can explain the facts. Who wouldn’t want to marry a princess; even if the risk of failure to solve the puzzle meant losing your head?

The line of wise men quickly becomes a heap of foolish headless corpses.

The arrival of a downtrodden ex-soldier looks like another chancer. He however knows the reason others have failed and has that wonderful wardrobe accessory-“a clock of invisibility”.

Andrea Blythe re-imagines the world of the Brothers Grimm as though the Enlighten Sisters had editing sway on the ‘fairy tale’.

Makes you think and addresses your accepting attitude of these ‘childhood’ stories.

Will please more people than it upsets as really it isn’t destroying anything of value but expanding our minds. The author has a love of these stories and rather than just redacting them is carefully explaining the potential for women characters to blossom and fail under their own terms at times. Her ideas are clever and well articulated. I am so pleased her open way of writing and her notes around this venture are shared with joy and without judgement.

Today I am #reading: Twelve: #Poems Inspired by the Brothers Grimm Fairy Tale by Andrea Blythe (@andreablythe). This was a cool read. I liked that each poem was a different sister. I like that we had sisters in the version. I relate maybe too well with the third sister.

This collection of poems was so cute! These poems read more as short stories rather than poems. All of these stories were written in a way that left them open to be added on to. It would be super interesting to see if this author takes one of these poems and writes a full length story.

*clears throat* *cracks knuckles* Ok, get ready for me to gush about HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS! This book starts with a prologue giving an explanation of what happens in the story of the twelve Dancing Princesses (hence the name of the work) then is followed by an explanation of what happens to each sister after the soldier discovers their dancing in fairy-land and the king stops their fun.

I loved each sister's story. Each had their own unique tale following the loss of fairy-land, and not every one was a perfect and magical princess happy ending, at least in the tradition sense. There is a clear underlying theme of feminism throughout this work and I LOVED it, and the author's intent is clear reading her Author's Note. I think my favorite stories were definitely of sisters 8 & 9 who are badass and I would gobble a whole story just about those two and the Black Fox. I also loved the stories of sisters 3 (books <3), 10 (LESBIANS AND BAKING), and 4.

Honestly the only thing I didn't like about this book was the length; I WISH THERE WAS MORE!!! it was wonderful and an easy read, and as explained in the author's note, there is no clear hero or villain; each of the sisters take life into their own hands and explore their interests, no matter how dark and sinister (or pure and sweet) it may be.

I would TOTALLY RECOMMEND you pick this up, and I might just buy a copy for myself.

Rating: 5/5 stars

When I chose to read a copy of "Twelve: Poems Inspired by the Brothers Grimm Fairy Tale", by Andrea Blythe, I overlooked the ":" and was under the impression that it would be a collection of twelve poems, each retelling a different Brothers Grimm fairy tale, in a way like "I Am Not Your Final Girl", by Claire C. Holland reclaimed the voice of final girls in horror cinema. That may be because I didn't read the synopsis clearly...oops. Still, I did enjoy this a lot.

"Twelve: Poems Inspired by the Brothers Grimm Fairy Tale" is actually the retelling of only one fairy tale, namely "The Twelve Dancing Princesses". The essential story is that the king, father of twelve princesses, cannot explain why his daughters shoes are tarnished in the morning when his daughters do not leave the castle at night. Since his daughters won't tell him what is happening, he lets men from all over his kingdom try their luck for three days to discover what is happening. If they find out nothing they get executed, but if they find out the reason they get to chose a princess to marry. Eventually one soldier wins at this challenge and gets to pick his prize. This is essentially the fairy tale story. This little book follows the fate of each of the twelve princesses after. In this fashion, it is a bit similar to "I Am Not Your Final Girl", and I enjoyed reading about the different fates of the princesses, albeit most were sad. Still, it was the fates that they fought to have, rather than accepted what was dealt to them by their father so for them it was worth it.

The writing is very beautiful, a bit reminiscent of Gwendolyn Kiste's writing. While it definitely is poetic and the imagery is vivid, I wouldn't personally call this a collection of poetry, but that may be because I have a more traditional view of poetry (stanza, rhythm, rhyme that sort of thing). To me this read like a collection of short stories with beautiful, poetic language.

If you are a fan of fairy tale retellings, especially feminist fairy tale retellings, I would definitely recommend this one. And even if you are not ( I myself have never read a fairy tale retelling before), it is definitely a quick, beautiful and worthwhile read.

A great retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses which is one of my favourite ‘childhood’ fairy tales. The takes have much detail added about the characters background and personalities. There’s a definite demise twist in the way that the princesses characters are more developed than being mere bit players and possessions of the king.
I enjoyed the simplicity of the story it’s poetic prose.
Thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ahead of publication in exchange for an honest review.

To me, fairytales are the original story. With elements of folklore and oral-storytelling passed on from generation to generation until they are finally written down and published for anyone to read, it's no wonder that each of these amazing stories have different variations and attributes linking to a myriad of cultures across our planet. Modern-day retellings often seek to gender-bend or feminise these tales, questioning the traditional roles of the obedient princesses who require a loving stereotypical marriage as their happily ever after.

In Twelve, Andrea Blythe manages to pull off a modern retelling in spectacular fashion whilst retaining the elements of fairytales and storytelling which all of its fans love. Taking each sister one by one, Blythe dedicates each of the Twelve Princesses with their own unique voice and identity giving fresh substance and purpose to the once subservient, archaic damsels-in-distress in search of their prince.

As characters of their own, we see the ringleader whose decision it was to condemn their failed suitors to death; the sister whose stubbornness and obstinance defied punishment and carried on her dancing regardless of the King's ruling; the wannabe-baker who despite being told to stay out of the kitchen ends up finding more than one passion in the pantry; the Belle-like book-lover who managed to camouflage herself amidst the stacks.

Twelve was not quite poetry in the form I was anticipating and represents more of a prose-style narrative, however the writing was lyrically beautiful just the same. Language and imagery contribute to a huge part of my enjoyment in a book and, for something shorter than what I'm used to reading, Blythe brought this in spades! The haunting imagery of the Third Sister's tale is sure to resonate with any bibliophile who has ever been lost and caught up in their own little bookish world.

The Author's Note at the end seeks to clarify Blythe's inspiration for writing these wonderful poems. It gives credence to the fact that she is well-versed in the genre and this tale in particular. It was interesting to read her motivations for writing Twelve and take on board her own viewpoint in bringing these stories to life.

Why Should You Read This Book?
For the bewitching storytelling.
For a fresh uplift on a classical fairytale.
For the diverse representations and identities of the Twelve Princesses.

Any reader with a passion for fairytales is sure to find something to enjoy in this short and sweet collection of poems based on tale of The Twelve Princesses from The Brothers Grimm.
[Review to be posted on blog on: 19/08/2020]

I am a big fan of fairy tale retellings and Twelve was no exception. Blythe deftly explores what happens to each of the sisters in The Twelve Dancing Princesses once their secret has been found out and she takes us to some unexpected and beautiful and sometimes bittersweet places. I would love to read longer versions of Blythe's stories!

A fun, fast twist on the "Twelve Dancing Princesses" fairy tale, outlining what *really* happened to those 12 ladies after their door to the fairy underworld was sealed off. I'm not sure I would call them "poems," maybe more like short descriptive stories, but they were creative and well done nonetheless.

This is a powerful and memorable collection of prose poems inspired by the Brother's Grimm Fairy Tale " The Twelve Dancing Princesses" , the story of twelve sisters who spend their nights dancing the soles off their shoes in a mysterious and magical land, to the despair of their father, the King. Desperate. he offers the hand of a princess as a reward, and many young men lose their lives in an attempt to solve the mystery, until one day a soldier, with the help of a wise old woman, manages to evade the traps set by the sisters, and is able to find out what is really going on each night. The story ends with him marrying the oldest daughter, and this is where Andrea Blythe's book begins.
Each of the chapters tells the story of a different sister, or in one case, a set of twins, beginning with the oldest who is locked in never ending battle with her new husband, and travelling through each sister in turn. Each has a different voice that suits their story, and I think this shows the remarkable skill of the author. I particularly loved the story of the third sister and her love of books, the darker and more chilling story of the fourth sister and the surprising story of the eighth and ninth sister, but all of them had a sense of power and agency that I really loved. I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

This is a short book and a quick read but it is enchanting from the very first word until the very last.
The book is a set of poems following the twelve sisters and each of them has their own magic, as well as being part of the bigger story.

My favourite poem from this book is about the eighth and ninth sisters.

Each princess received her own poem retelling the Twelve Dancing Princesses from her viewpoint. Dark.
If you want twisted fairytale poetry this is for you.

I’d never heard of the poet before but I decided to read this because I loved the idea of a poetry collection inspired by The Twelve Dancing Princesses. I tend to enjoy fairytale retellings so I was looking forward to this. I enjoyed this book, a lot. The only issue is that the tales included her are not poems. I’m a bit old fashioned but to me, a poem has a very specific structure split into lines and stanzas. The tales in Twelve are short vignettes but clearly prose, not poetry. The language is poetic though. This bothered me because I was looking forward to getting lost in a collection of fairytale retellings in poetry form. I’m only vaguely familiar with the original fairytale so I’m not sure how close or different to the original Twelve is. Twelve explores the stories of the twelve princesses after the events contained in the original poem. I found this enjoyable and entertaining.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Twelve: Poems Inspired by the Brothers Grimm Fairy Tale retells the story of the twelve dancing princesses, and what happens to each sister after they are cu off from the fairy realm in which they dance each night.

As a little kid, I remember watching the Barbie version of the 12 dancing princesses and being so heartbroken when they were no longer allowed to return to the fairy realm, that I never watched the movie again. I never searched for the original source of the story either, so I am glad that I stumbled upon Andrea Blythe's retelling. I was a little surprised that it read more like a short story than poetry to me, but there definitely was an artful quality and flow to her words.

I was most enamored with the story of the disappearing sister and the final sister. There was something about the description of the disappearing sister's setting that was haunting, yet beautiful. I could clearly picture every detail of her surroundings, and was transported to that dreamlike realm. I feel like the final sister's adventures could be turned into a fantastical sequel, which I would be very interested in reading. I have a suspicion that the longer I reflect on this work, the more I will begin to appreciate its intricacies.

My one complaint was that it felt a little bit like something I would read in high school as part of made-for-AP lit piece to practice analyzing literary devices. I cannot quite articulate the feeling it gave me, if it seemed a bit of a forced narrative at times, or possibly just retained the air of the old enchanted fairytale from which it came.

Either way, it was a pleasant and short work to read that took me back to my childhood, and for that I am delighted!

Whereas fairy tales tend to elide large sibling groups, Andrea Blythe gives each of the Twelve Princesses a unique personality and story. The midnight dancers in the impossible land come to grittier life as they make their way in a more ordinary world. Brief, haunting, carefully poised en pointe.