Reviews with content warning for Child death - Spinning Silver

Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

40 reviews

theinkedpath's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

ES:

Un retelling interesante y oscuro...largo a veces, pero bellamente escrito.

EN:

A very compelling story that spins the Rumpletilskin story a bit. Very atmospheric and dark, it tells its narrative as a very well-crafted spider web.

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flyintothestorm's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Un mundo helado, para mí, tiene todo el sabor de un cuento de hadas bastante oscuro y me ha parecido maravilloso (aún no he leído Un cuento oscuro, pero sé que existe).
Pensaba que las tres historias iban a estar más separadas y que se iban a juntar solo en ciertos puntos, pero se van juntando y separando, lo que hace que sea muy orgánico.
Y pese a los cambios en los puntos de vista, la narración hace que sea bastante fácil saber a quién se está siguiendo en cada momento, aun sin especificarlo (creo que una vez dudé un poco, pero ya).
En resumen, merece mucho la pena.

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adalieslittlelibrary's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Naomi Novik’s writing has a timeless quality that transports the reader into whatever world she has written about. Spinning Silver follows the intertwining stories of three girls living in a kingdom plagued by the cold influence of the Staryk king (think Winter Fae). It is a story of bargaining, of resolve, of protecting loved ones, and of the unforeseen consequences of actions.

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While so many stories focus on the battle between good and evil, in Spinning Silver, Novik instead chooses to center the tale on the struggle between justice and injustice. Very few characters can be described as purely good, just as very few characters can be described as purely evil. This focus made for an incredibly thought-provoking read.

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The story flows from character to character, allowing for a level of depth that could not be achieved if telling the novel from a single point of view. Because of this strategy, it felt like a million stories packed into one incredibly intricate tale. Novik also manages to adjust the voice of her writing for each character’s perspective, again adding depth and allowing for greater character development. She is truly a master of her craft.

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selenatothemax's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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leilorenzo's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a really sweet retelling. I am not very knowledgeable about fairytales, so I wasn't sure which story I was being introduced to, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

The female characters were loveable and their journey a very interesting one.
I found the main characters' development at the beginning of the book to be her most interesting bit, but the rest of the book started uncovering other lives and stories so it was still enjoyable.

The male main character was... forceful. I understand the reason behind it, and the fact that his species and rank make it so that it seems natural, but I still worried about the message younger readers would receive from it. Given the problems and how they went about solving them it was not as problematic as Edward and Bella's relationship but... I mean.... there were some questionable moments.

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kirajarrar's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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kaziaroo's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I’ll begin by admitting I was disappointed in this book because I was hoping it would be like Uprooted (by the same author), which I enjoyed a few years ago, and given the rave reviews I was sure I’d enjoy it even though the blurb didn’t sound very interesting to me. And in the first half, I was optimistic; it was nothing like Uprooted, but I still held out hope that I could enjoy it because it was well written if a bit slow. My attention was wandering, but I was sure that as the plot progressed and I got more into it I’d be more interested.

Unfortunately, the second half was only worse. By the time I was two thirds of the way through, I was thoroughly bored and couldn’t wait for it to end. I didn’t warm (pardon the pun) to any of the characters, and by the end I was sick of them. Unlike most reviewers, I enjoyed the unlabelled point of view (POV) transitions – that is, until the number of POVs kept increasing and I was dragged back to the perspective of side characters who had no reason to have so much time in the spotlight. None of the character relationships were convincing or fleshed out enough to be interesting, and the characters themselves were unlikeable. It seemed like no matter whose perspective was next, I was still disappointed.

I also want to mention some more serious flaws in this book (avoiding spoilers as much as I can). This book tries very hard to make certain characters forgivable, even for horrible sins, making their sins not only forgiven but also forgotten as if they never did anything wrong. This makes the ending very uncomfortable as the author clearly wants you to believe that the characters will live happily ever after, but there’s just no precedent for this. Characters who hated each other (for good reason) throughout the book suddenly love each other with no build-up, further shattering any remaining suspension of disbelief. Everything is tidied up into a neat happy ending with no negative consequences, even when they are justly deserved. This left me feeling sour and unsatisfied.

Despite this, I gave Spinning Silver three stars because it was still well written on a sentence level and the characters had distinctive voices (although I did forget who was talking halfway through a chapter once or twice, so maybe not always!), and the first half was decent. There were some nice domestic scenes which, while they slowed the book down, I found enjoyable to sink into. I’m now teetering between 2 and 3 stars, so who knows, maybe I’ll go back and edit this later after thinking further. On the other hand, I feel like I've spent more than enough time with this book.

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