#a spindle splintered

Alix E. Harrow’s new A Spindle Splinteredbreaks down “Sleeping Beauty” and rebuilds it – no longer is our protagonist under a curse from a bad fairy, now she’s a modern teenager doomed to an early death because of the aftereffects of an industrial accident.

“This is a slender novella but it spins a strong and captivating tale. It’s funny, sharp, queer, and deeply loves its source material,” says critic Jessica P. Wick – you can find her full review here.

– Petra

nerdishfeels:

Just finished my second book for the summer readathon, A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow! Here’s a mini review:

A Spindle Splintered - 5*

• This book took me by surprise! Having read two of Alix E. Harrow’s books, her writing style was slightly different for this book and was written in first person rather than third person! But it made a lot of sense considering that Sleeping beauties don’t have the luxury of expressing their own voices.
• I loved Zinnia as a character! I love her quirky personality and how vibrant she is. As a character with a rare genetic illness, you learn about how she’s had to limit what she can do in her life because no one survives the illness past the age of 21. You also learn how people usually act around her, either with pity or disinterest. It was nice to see her go on a journey and realise that most of her time was spent preparing herself for the end of her life and how she doesn’t have to play by the clock.
• I also love that we got some lesbian rep in this book, especially with her friend, Charm. I really liked their friendship and how easily Charm was able to believe whatever multi universe chaos was going on.
• Of course, this is a sleeping beauty retelling and it was really nice to see Primrose express herself more in this book. She gave me Giselle vibes from enchanted lol. I liked the twists and turns in the story, how everything is not as it seems like with the “evil” fairy that cursed her. It makes sense that this story got turned into one where women have a voice and are empowered by their own choices.
• There were some other interesting characters introduced from different worlds. I hope we get to see more of them in the series since we didn’t get much from them.
• I wasn’t sure what to expect when reading this, especially how it would end. I appreciated that Zinnia wasn’t magically cured by her journey, but that it gave her a chance to see what she wanted to do with her life.
• As eerie as the illustrations were, I liked seeing them throughout the story. They added a darker atmosphere to the book.
• The only thing I would say is that I do prefer Alix E. Harrow’s full length novels because I felt there’s so much that needs to be explored from this idea and the book did feel short. If this wasn’t a series, I wouldn’t have been satisfied.