A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow

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I absolutely loved this story! LOVED IT! If you love fairy tale retellings, especially ones that point out every sexist and problematic element, then is the perfect book for you.

On Zinnia Gray’s twenty-first birthday, she finds herself dying, surrounded by rose petals, at the top of a tower. Now, Zinnia has been dying since the day she was born. Genetic abnormalities caused by environmental pollutions has caused irreparable damage to her body and Zinnia knows she has maybe one more year left to live. After a birthday party thrown by her absolute best friend Charm, Zinnia finds herself faced with a spinning wheel just like a real-life Aurora.

What Zinnia doesn’t anticipate, is finding herself transported to a fairy tale world with another Aurora-like character, Princess Primrose who is destined to fall into a deep sleep for 100 years on her twenty-first birthday.

So what happens when you combine two real-life Sleeping Beauties who don’t feel compelled to follow the story written for them? They set out to write their own.

This is a short little novella that packs a huge emotional punch. I loved this book from the very first page and found myself laughing out loud and cheering on Zinnia and Primrose as they fought for their freedom. I’m a huge sucker for books with awesome friendships and Zinnia finds a fast ally in Primrose but also has the world’s best friend in Charm, her friend since elementary school. They are all fiercely protective of each other and have no problem calling each other on their nonsense. Charm doesn’t let Zin get too down and Zin doesn’t let Charm get too lost in searching for an answer to Zin’s illness. I found myself relating to the overprotectiveness of Zin’s parents and Zin’s need to break away and become her own person with the little time she had left. Some tears were definitely shed during this book but it was easily balanced by all the amazing one-liners and banter between the characters.

A Spindle Splintered is an excellent feminist retelling of one our most loved and problematic fairy tales. It’s subversive, funny, dark, and full of wildly beautiful illustrations.

If you would like to add this novella to your shelf, you can find ordering information here:

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