#BookReview: A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow

Synopsis: USA Today bestselling author Alix E. Harrow's A Spindle Splintered brings her patented charm to a new version of a classic story.

"A vivid, subversive and feminist reimagining of Sleeping Beauty, where implacable destiny is no match for courage, sisterhood, stubbornness and a good working knowledge of fairy tales." ―Katherine Arden

It's Zinnia Gray's twenty-first birthday, which is extra-special because it's the last birthday she'll ever have. When she was young, an industrial accident left Zinnia with a rare condition. Not much is known about her illness, just that no one has lived past twenty-one.

Her best friend Charm is intent on making Zinnia's last birthday special with a full sleeping beauty experience, complete with a tower and a spinning wheel. But when Zinnia pricks her finger, something strange and unexpected happens, and she finds herself falling through worlds, with another sleeping beauty, just as desperate to escape her fate.

This title will be released on October 5, 2021. 

Goodreads | Amazon

Rating: 4 Stars
My Review: I admit upfront that I haven’t read this author’s work before, so I had no idea what I was getting into when I started this, her first novella and a take on Sleeping Beauty. 

That said, WOW. I loved this story. I found myself wishing it was longer because I could have explored alternate realities with the main character for a significant portion of my life. Zin, as a main character, had more depth than most authors would think to give a girl in her position. This was a subversive delight and such a refreshing twist on the classic fairy tale we’re all familiar with.

I don’t want to go into much detail here, but trust me when I say you should pick this one up and give it a go. At 119 pages, it’s a quick afternoon/evening read and a delightful romp through a fairytale countryside with a princess. How could you possibly go wrong?

Review

"A vivid, subversive and feminist reimagining of Sleeping Beauty, where implacable destiny is no match for courage, sisterhood, stubbornness and a good working knowledge of fairy tales." ―Katherine Arden, bestselling author of the Winternight trilogy

"Like Into the Spider-Verse for Disney princesses, A Spindle Splintered is a delightful mash-up featuring Alix E. Harrow’s trademark beautiful prose and whip-smart characters. Both emotionally touching and side-splittingly funny, Harrow weaves a gripping narrative that bridges the gap between fairy tale tropes and the sci-fi multiverse. Like the best fairy tales, it’s as unique as it is memorable." ―Mike Chen, author of Here and Now and Then

"In this enchanting and devastatingly poignant novella the constructs of the fairytales we know and love are broken wide open, exposing their raw and often tragic origins. A wonderfully imaginative, and Queer as hell, tale for those who who wish to be the authors of their own stories." ―Kalynn Bayron, author of Cinderella is Dead

"What I love about Alix Harrow's work is that her stories are clearly written by someone who loves and knows stories, featuring characters who also love and know stories. This is a self-aware, empowered riff on Sleeping Beauty that manages to be thrilling, funny, smart, and sweet." ―Sarah Pinsker, Nebula Award-winning author of A Song for a New Day

“Alix Harrow takes traditonal fairy tales, turns them inside out, then upside down, and uses them to kick ass. Brava!” ―Ellen Klages, Nebula and World Fantasy Award-winning author of The Green Glass Sea and Passing Strange

“A Spindle Splintered is a princess story gone rogue. At times sweet and funny, at others bitingly acerbic, this whirlwind tour of fairyland jabs at the old happily-ever-afters ― and asks whether we might want more than a prince and a palace.”―Kerstin Hall, author of The Border Keeper

About the Author

A former academic and adjunct, Alix E. Harrow is a Hugo-award winning writer living in Virginia with her husband and their two semi-feral kids. She is the author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January, The Once and Future Witches, and various short fiction. Find her on Twitter!

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Posted in: 4 Stars, Adult, Jessica P., Review, Tor Books