gigireadswithkiki 's review for:

Thorn by Intisar Khanani

3.75

adventurous dark emotional slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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As a long time lover of the Goose Girl fairytale, I had been itching to finally read "Thorn" and I'm so glad I finally have, this is truly one of the best story retellings I've ever read. The retelling itself is done supremely well, calling back to the original story while also featuring enough personal spins and additives that this story becomes its own. The plot is very well paced, each obstacle the characters face is given enough time to fully simmer in a rich blend of character development and turmoil, resulting in a slow paced, yet wildly compelling read. 

I wasn't expecting this book to broach dark topics so deeply, especially as a young adult novel, especially in the scenes

surrounding the hanging of Alyrra's imposter

and how thorough the author was in

discussing the way rape is treated within the culture of the city.

While I do appreciate the discussion surrounding SA within the story, it really irked me how the characters adamantly pursued a solution to the side effect of a greater problem, continually doting on how men who SA people ought to be punished, instead of thinking on how to prevent men from SA-ing other people. Plus with the lack of nuance surrounding the guards' (who I interpreted as the "cops" of the world) lack of action, I could see that the author wanted to delve into deeper topics, but lacking nuance, a lot of it fell flat for me. 

The magic element was mildly interesting but frankly altogether quite forgettable, which really sums up how much it comes into play within the book itself. 

Princess Alyrra herself was a bit overtly "Savior"-esque and saintly in her ploys and actions and it often felt like she didn't possess a single flaw or any form of grey morality, but I don't think this took away too much of her character for me. I really enjoyed her romance with the prince, I found their story endearing and it was nice to see their romance bloom over a long period, as opposed to any sort of instant-love-romance. 

All in all, I'd definitely recommend this for lovers of Goose Girl, keeping in mind that some of the more serious topics aren't as well fleshed as they could be.