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ceallaighsbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
“It was my own shitty story made mythic and grand and beautiful. A princess cursed at birth. A sleep that never ends. A dying girl who refused to die.”
TITLE—A Spindle Splintered
AUTHOR—Alix E. Harrow
PUBLISHED—2021
PUBLISHER—Tor dot com
GENRE—YA fantasy / fairy tale retelling
SETTING—rural Ohio & the fairy tale multiverse
MAIN THEMES/SUBJECTS—death, terminal disease, fairy tales, “who is saving who here?”, queer characters, princesses & their heroines, multiverse trope, personal agency & the magic of having choices
“But in the very oldest versions of this story—before the Grimms, before Perrault—the prince does far worse than kiss her, and the princess never wakes up.”
WRITING STYLE—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
CHARACTERS—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
STORY/PLOT—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
BONUS ELEMENT/S—Sleeping Beauty is actually one of my favorite fairy tales—in spite of what the first two pages of this book say 😂—so it was fun to read a super neat retelling of it!
PHILOSOPHY—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
PREMISE—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
EXECUTION—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“I know this story really, really well: after the curse is broken, Prince Charming marries the princess and they live happily ever after, the end. But this version has slid sideways somehow, like a listing ship. The curse isn't quite broken, the prince isn't quite charming, and that's not a happily ever after I see swimming in the princess's eyes.”
My thoughts:
This was a really cool and fun retelling! I think I have tried reading this before but dnfed after the first two pages bc of the writing style but this time I pressed through and I am really glad I did! (I actually had also dnfed Harrow’s ONCE AND FUTURE WITCHES last year so I was actually *very* hesitant going into this one…. 😅)
But the deeper philosophy (outside of a few moments that could potentially be read as ableist) was surprisingly solid. There are a few very common and specific reasons that sometimes white femme’s fairy tale retellings are a big miss for me but Harrow actually spoke to a *lot* of those reasons in her book and took a very thoughtful and critical stance in all of those debates so she gets full marks for that.
I don’t want to give too much away since it is such a short book but I *especially* loved Harrow’s use of the multiverse trope in her retelling. Philosophically it was a perfect interpretation of the significance and heritage of fairy tales and it is clear that Harrow knows her fairy tales both from a literary and historical as well as scholarship standpoint—which is good since the MC has a degree in folklore. 😂
“‘You are accustomed to thinking of fairy tales as make-believe.’ Dr. Bastille looked straight at me as she said it, her face somehow both searing and compassionate. ‘But they have only ever been mirrors.’”
I would recommend this book to fans of fairy tale retellings.
Final note: I am very excited to read A MIRROR MENDED next! I definitely hope Harrow continues to write more of these retellings… 👀
“Maybe we’ll both wake up in a better world.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
CW // terminal disease, grief (Please feel free to DM me for more specifics!)
Further Reading—
- A MIRROR MENDED, by Alix E. Harrow
- Gregory Maguire
- Helen Oyeyemi
Content Warnings
Moderate: Terminal illness and Grief
kelisabeth's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Medical trauma, Chronic illness, Medical content, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness
lidia7's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness
Moderate: Cursing, Grief, and Rape
Minor: Abortion, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, and Blood
netflixismyroommate's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Terminal illness, and Medical content
Moderate: Grief and Death
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Homophobia, and Suicidal thoughts
brokenbodybitch's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book; I think it was a very interesting take on the sleeping beauty story and I liked how the disability rep was sprinkled into the story. This may have been pretty short but I love the amount of detail added, it was very well developed for how short it is, and yes your base knowledge of fairy tales is slightly required but it is still explained just the right amount to refresh your memory. This retelling talks about other retellings which I really liked [very multiverse and it was fun], and I specifically liked how the differences between versions and how they were talked about; they were used to put other things in context and different lessons were pulled from the stories to add to the 'current' plot line. I really liked the disability rep in this book because yes she is independent or whatever but she knows her body limits her and I liked how the limits were touched on (to an extent). There is a magical cure in the end of this book BUT I personally don't think it was completely horrible, I think it was handled respectfully for the most part but it is something to be wary of going into it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Medical content, Terminal illness, Grief, Blood, Chronic illness, Confinement, and Death
Moderate: Abortion, Rape, Sexual assault, and Self harm
Minor: Violence
fromjuliereads's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
I really enjoyed this! It was a cool spin (pun intended) on the classic fairytale. And I liked that it has rep in it!
Heads up that there is an HP reference and I am still REELING at the stark opinion on P&P adaptations - mini series is superior, FIGHT ME.
Heads up that there is an HP reference and I am still REELING at the stark opinion on P&P adaptations - mini series is superior, FIGHT ME.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Confinement, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Medical content
Minor: Rape, Alcohol, Pregnancy, and Sexual assault
panthalassa's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Cursing, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Self harm, Chronic illness, Blood, Confinement, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Abortion
emilypete17's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness and Chronic illness
Moderate: Sexual violence, Medical content, Sexual assault, Sexism, and Medical trauma
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Alcohol, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Blood, Violence, Pregnancy, Abortion, and Cursing
Brief allusions to sexual assaults(off page). Chronically/terminally ill main character.forthesanityof1's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
A nice, quick read. The author uses good impact writing when necessary even if the narrative tone was not my personal favorite. Intriguing plot, and I'm glad the author didn't pull a "this was all a coma-induced dream" sequence on us (@ Libba Bray I'm still salty). The end did feel a little magical, but I think that was the point, and the main conflict didn't really go away. I really enjoyed the incorporation of the fairy tales and the original sleeping beauty. I liked the messages that came through from that and the way they pulled through the rest of the novella. Areas for improvement: some of the parenthesis info could have been cut along with the real-world dumping details (I personally don't like real-world references because they break the narrative for me), and some minor details could have been fleshed out a bit instead. Overall pretty good though, just not my personal favorite.
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape, Abortion, Blood, Grief, Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Terminal illness
beforeviolets's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
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
4.25
4.25
TW: medical content, terminal illness, discussions of death and mortality, grief of self, prescription drug use, self harm (for magic), blood (brief), warped sense of reality, SA (offscreen, past, recounted), pregnancy from SA (mention), abortion (mention), imprisonment, violence (minor)
I'd also like to add an additional TW mention. This book contains gruesome illustrations in a cartoony-silhouette style including imagery of people and animals missing body parts, people hung on trees, getting torn apart, having switched body parts, etc. They aren't realistic or heavily detailed.
This was such a fascinating perspective on Sleeping Beauty and I can't wait to read the rest of the series.
Usually, I'm not a fan of snarky MCs that use a lot of "relatable" references but Zinnia is written in such a complex way that her snark and her commentary actually makes her a reliable and grounded touchstone throughout the story. Her cynical nature seems to have developed organically as a coping mechanism and actually develops our understanding of her approach to dealing with her own mortality instead of being used as a cheap tool to make her seem quirky. Her references also feel earned. They're not overly done, but are rather sprinkled through in the natural way that young adults actually insert references into conversation. (Even the Harry Potter reference was immediately shamed, offering a sense of self-awareness that I found really helped.) And most of her references feel lived in and realistic. Zinnia is clearly a critical consumer of media and has spent a long time researching fairytales and storytelling tactics and tropes and history and it absolutely shows. She brings things up in such a way that feel not only informed by her experiences but that feel informative to us as an audience. It helps our understanding of the stories that are being played out, rather than just emphasizing her interests. Like sure, she's snarky, but she's interesting and full of relevant information. It makes her SUCH a valuable window into the world.
I also love how this story discusses love and support. Our main character goes on a huge journey from keeping people at arms length to not only being able to express her love, but being able to ask for help and share her hopes and her fears. I read a book recently that had a character with fibromyalgia and in a moment of need, she essentially ignores her pain and illness for the sake of dramatics and heroics and I love that this book did the exact opposite. Zinnia is ABSOLUTELY limited by her illness and no amount of willpower or wishful thinking can change that. This book does contain the "miracle cure" trope to some extent, but I think approaches it (in my opinion) in a better way.
Overall, just so tastefully done.
TW: medical content, terminal illness, discussions of death and mortality, grief of self, prescription drug use, self harm (for magic), blood (brief), warped sense of reality, SA (offscreen, past, recounted), pregnancy from SA (mention), abortion (mention), imprisonment, violence (minor)
I'd also like to add an additional TW mention. This book contains gruesome illustrations in a cartoony-silhouette style including imagery of people and animals missing body parts, people hung on trees, getting torn apart, having switched body parts, etc. They aren't realistic or heavily detailed.
This was such a fascinating perspective on Sleeping Beauty and I can't wait to read the rest of the series.
Usually, I'm not a fan of snarky MCs that use a lot of "relatable" references but Zinnia is written in such a complex way that her snark and her commentary actually makes her a reliable and grounded touchstone throughout the story. Her cynical nature seems to have developed organically as a coping mechanism and actually develops our understanding of her approach to dealing with her own mortality instead of being used as a cheap tool to make her seem quirky. Her references also feel earned. They're not overly done, but are rather sprinkled through in the natural way that young adults actually insert references into conversation. (Even the Harry Potter reference was immediately shamed, offering a sense of self-awareness that I found really helped.) And most of her references feel lived in and realistic. Zinnia is clearly a critical consumer of media and has spent a long time researching fairytales and storytelling tactics and tropes and history and it absolutely shows. She brings things up in such a way that feel not only informed by her experiences but that feel informative to us as an audience. It helps our understanding of the stories that are being played out, rather than just emphasizing her interests. Like sure, she's snarky, but she's interesting and full of relevant information. It makes her SUCH a valuable window into the world.
I also love how this story discusses love and support. Our main character goes on a huge journey from keeping people at arms length to not only being able to express her love, but being able to ask for help and share her hopes and her fears. I read a book recently that had a character with fibromyalgia and in a moment of need, she essentially ignores her pain and illness for the sake of dramatics and heroics and I love that this book did the exact opposite. Zinnia is ABSOLUTELY limited by her illness and no amount of willpower or wishful thinking can change that. This book does contain the "miracle cure" trope to some extent, but I think approaches it (in my opinion) in a better way.
Overall, just so tastefully done.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Medical content, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Self harm, Rape, and Pregnancy
Minor: Abortion, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Violence
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