Reviews with content warning for Terminal illness - A Spindle Splintered

I've read my fair share of fairy tale retellings and far as sources go there are some very clear favorites... and some very clear unfavorites. One of those aforementioned unfavorites is the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale which is frequently dismissed and maligned because of the princess's lack of agency in the story. Alix E. Harrow is extremely aware of this. The main character literally starts the story by addressing said criticism!

But instead of settling for a simple rectification of these issues in A Spindle Splintered, Harrow uses the main character's struggles with her terminal illness to actively engage with themes of agency, free will, and independence. Parallel universe shenanigans aside, this is such a clever take on Sleeping Beauty!
The way our main character, Zinnia, navigates her life while dealing with a terminal illness is so engaging to read about. Her flippantly snarky quips, her borderline apathetic attitude towards her impending death, and her wariness of being treated like a fragile doll are compelling and contribute meaningfully to the themes of the story.

Now my enjoyment of Zinnia's narrative voice, on the other hand, took a hit thanks to the book's juvenile tone and its non-stop dropping of pop culture references. As I was reading the book I was kind of reminded of the comedy in Shrek but unlike Shrek the pop culture references are lazily incorporated into the narrative and some are already on their way to being painfully dated (

The "Harold, they're lesbians" meme reference near the end of the book was groan-inducing!!

).

As far as the story goes, it's kind of a mixed bag. The princess of the parallel universe, Primrose, is easily the weakest link in A Spindle Splintered. As expected of a retelling that is explicitly marketed as feminist, Primrose does subvert the negative stereotypes associated with princesses in fairy tales--which is totally welcome! The problem is that her characterization is overwhelmingly dependent on this subversion. She is primarily defined by what she IS NOT than by how she actually IS. In short, she feels less like a person and more like a narrative tool.

Funnily enough, the evil fairy has at most a third of Primrose's screentime (pagetime?) and yet she manages to be one of the biggest highlights of the story! I absolutely adored

the reveal of the fairy's true identity as Zellandine and that Zinnia gets to meet a princess from an older, more brutal version of Sleeping Beauty

. The evil fairy's meeting with Primrose and Zinnia is the part of the story where I was at my most pleasantly surprised and excited! I could clearly see the emotional, thematic, and adventure potential of a Sleeping Beauty multiverse.

But the book was just too damn short (and coming from me, that's really saying something because I think the vast majority of novels are too damn long)!! Not enough time to develop Primrose as a character, not enough time to delve deeper into Zinnia's relationship with Char and her parents, and not enough time to truly tap into the possibilities of the multiverse.

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popsicleplease's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring sad 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

4.5

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smagzisreading's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

lidia7's review against another edition

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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

archimatect's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring fast-paced

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

4.25

Content Warnings

netflixismyroommate's review against another edition

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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

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arianamarie's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging 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? No

5.0

A very interesting and inspiring concept of not settling for what you believe fate has in store for you. the characters were so interesting for a 120 page book with fleshed out characteristics

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