Reviews with content warning for Terminal illness - A Spindle Splintered

This was an interesting retelling of Sleeping Beauty. Zinnia, a girl from our world, loves Sleeping Beauty and fairy tales; is thrust into another world where she meets Primrose who is destined to prick her finger on a spindle and sleep for a hundred years.
The two young woman are both cursed, one through magic and another through a disease that is slowly killing her. Together they try to change their fates and break their curses.
I thought that this was an unique take on this classic fairy tale and I loved the references to the Disney version, the Brothers Grimm version (Little Briar Rose), the Italian 17th century version (Sun, Moon, and Talia), and a few more. Zinnia's knowledge about fairy tales help her to navigate the world she is thrown into and helps her to save Primrose and herself. It's a good short story and it's a good story to listen too.

Content Warnings

alienor's review against another edition

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dark emotional fast-paced

4.5

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thealyssa_ann's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful fast-paced

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

3.0

I enjoyed this modern take on Sleeping Beauty and appreciated some of the fantasy and fairytale aspects that were included for fun. And I think it was really interesting that the Sleeping Beauty trope/storyline was aligned with one of terminal illness. That was really cool, and a connection I wouldn't have made.

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ceallaighsbooks's review against another edition

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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

renettereads's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective sad 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

“My hair would fan into a black halo around the bloodless white of my face and whoever found me would be forced to pause and sigh at the sheer picturesque beauty of the thing.”

Charles Perrault/Brothers Grimm meets Marvel in this feminist retelling of Sleeping Beauty. Though Zinnia Gray might not be your typical damsel, being terminally ill means she has the same inability to escape a doomed fate. And then her 21st birthday celebrations force her into the multiverse where she happens across Princess Primrose and adventure awaits.

Even though this was only 120 pages long, it was such an impactful story. Vivid and well-paced with lyrical prose and a delightful flow, Alix E Harrow never fails to impress. This is a wonderful story of sacrifice and sisterhood, of writing our own stories and choosing what’s important rather than easy.

Fans of fairytales and fairytale retellings will love this quirky, Spider-versal twist.

Content Warnings

kelisabeth's review against another edition

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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

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