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mayagoer 's review for:
Spindle's End
by Robin McKinley
A beautiful retelling of Grimm's Briar Rose, where the author very cleverly uses the untold times in the original fairytale to change the most passive protagonist of all times into a confident and strong 'princess'-character. And she is not the only one, there are many more independent female characters to get to know and love in this story. Apart from that you get to read a really uncringey young adult novel which is very suitable for adults, too. McKinley is also able to create a very unique kind of magic in a fairytale country, that feels real and logical on its own terms. Set in the offest of all countrysides and containing magically rampant plants, conscious old castles and speaking animals, while most of the time until the final showdown just depicting everyday cottage life, this is the cottagecore novel of your dreams. Creating this peculiar world is the clear strength of the author, while it gets a little tiresome during the showdown. McKinley keeps feeding you background information all the time, which is nice to round out the world she built, but is really irritating when the protagonist flees for her life on the fastest horse in the whole kingdom. But other than that the ending really drags and stretches, this is a beautifully told magical story about family, friendship and humility to immerse yourself in.