A Spindle Splintered
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- Create Date：2021-09-17 07:51:27
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Alix E. Harrow
- ISBN：1250765358
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Summary
USA Today bestselling author Alix E。 Harrow's A Spindle Splintered brings her patented charm to a new version of a classic story。
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。
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。
Reviews
Meagan
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Review to come
Alexa
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3。5 stars。 A Spindle Splintered has a clever concept and is executed in a readable， interesting way that I devoured in basically the equivalent of one sitting。 As someone who has always loved fairytales， I’m always interested in seeing new spins or alternate takes and this was definitely a solid one。
An S
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This was such an easy read， very fun and quick to read。 If you’re wanting to begin reading， I would suggest this book！ It was so wholesome and just a nice fairytale。 Very easy to understand and had a fun storyline！ Super quick read and overall a good fun read！Thank you to the publisher for sending an ARC！！！~4。5 starsCheck tws before reading！
Scottie Draughon
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Only dying girls like "Sleeping Beauty。" Zinnia Gray has Generalized Roseville Malady and isn't expected to make it to her 22nd birthday。 This is the night she turns 21。 All of her life， Zinnia has been obsessed with Sleeping Beauty， the beautiful princess who falls into a cursed sleep only to be woken by a handsome prince。 The real fairytale is much darker than that though， and by this time， Zinnia knows better。 Regardless， when her best friend Charm throws her a Sleeping Beauty-themed birthday Only dying girls like "Sleeping Beauty。" Zinnia Gray has Generalized Roseville Malady and isn't expected to make it to her 22nd birthday。 This is the night she turns 21。 All of her life， Zinnia has been obsessed with Sleeping Beauty， the beautiful princess who falls into a cursed sleep only to be woken by a handsome prince。 The real fairytale is much darker than that though， and by this time， Zinnia knows better。 Regardless， when her best friend Charm throws her a Sleeping Beauty-themed birthday party in an abandoned watchtower， Zinnia can't help but prick her finger on the spinning wheel。 Now， she's trapped in the fairytale and has no idea how to get out。 I don't know when I start dreaming， or whether it's a dream at all。 What do you call the vast nothing between the pages of the universe？ The whisper-thin nowhere-at-all that waits in the place where one story ends and another begins？I'm not going to lie， I struggled to get into this one。 Zinnia's voice is definitely an acquired taste， and sometimes it's downright abrasive。 At times the writing feels like it's trying too hard to be current。 There are a lot of pop references that， in the future， might not be accessible to the readers， especially in a culture that moves as quickly as ours does now。 That being said， I did like the second half of the novella。 As Zinnia gets out of her own head and starts focusing more on the action， the tone and story becomes more enjoyable。 Charm is a highly relatable character， and I only wish she could have been in the story more。 Primrose， too， is a fantastic character with a lot of fight in her。 The concept itself was interesting， and I thought it was executed really well。 So were the mechanics behind Zinnia getting stuck there in the first place。 I was concerned that it was going to be a "and it was all a dream" type of scenario and am happy to report that that is not， in fact， the case。 Would I recommend this to my friends？ Maybe。 It's a quick read， and so there isn't a huge loss of time investment if they don't like it。 It wasn't quite my cup of tea， but fans of YA in close first person POV might enjoy it more。 。。。more
Elizabeth Chandler
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Was this the best retelling I’ve read？ No， But it was an excellent quick short story retelling。 This is the kind of story you read when the week has been hard and you just want something light but not too light to read。 The short length fulfills your fairytale need and leaves you a bit up lighted and ready to face the world again。 Fall is the prefect time for fairytales so this story for the bill for me！
Jenifer
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This fun and engaging novella takes on the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale， as an attempt to set things right for a heroine who doesn't have much （if any） choice or agency in her own story。 The book's dedication is to "everyone who deserves a better story than the one they have。" While written for an adult audience， I think it also would work well as a YA crossover。Looking forward to the second installment in this series！ This fun and engaging novella takes on the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale， as an attempt to set things right for a heroine who doesn't have much （if any） choice or agency in her own story。 The book's dedication is to "everyone who deserves a better story than the one they have。" While written for an adult audience， I think it also would work well as a YA crossover。Looking forward to the second installment in this series！ 。。。more
Yodamom
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Sleeping Beauty is no longer the meek accepting mouse some writers wrote her to be。 She has a voice， a choice， and will change everything。 Sleeping Beauty was cursed to prick her finger tell her prince came and dropped a kiss on her lips。 Ha ！ This sleeping beauty tale doesn’t follow the old rules。 She’s breaking the rules， and doesn’t need a man to come along and rescue her。 She may not even want to kiss a prince ！Sad， fun， sad， more fun， with a great ending。 It’s such a short read I really can Sleeping Beauty is no longer the meek accepting mouse some writers wrote her to be。 She has a voice， a choice， and will change everything。 Sleeping Beauty was cursed to prick her finger tell her prince came and dropped a kiss on her lips。 Ha ！ This sleeping beauty tale doesn’t follow the old rules。 She’s breaking the rules， and doesn’t need a man to come along and rescue her。 She may not even want to kiss a prince ！Sad， fun， sad， more fun， with a great ending。 It’s such a short read I really can’t say much without spoiling it。I enjoyed this open version of the Sleeping Beauty Tale 。。。more
Steph
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Received a free ARC but the words mentioned below are my own honest thoughts and opinions:A quick and unique retelling of Sleeping Beauty with a feminist twist， a morbid sense of humor， positive queer rep and lush writing。 For being such a small package this story holds a lot of value。 I would highly recommend to anyone wanting to see any of the aforementioned qualities above。 This is read that can be done in a single sitting and is definitely worth your time。 While not only being enjoyable this Received a free ARC but the words mentioned below are my own honest thoughts and opinions:A quick and unique retelling of Sleeping Beauty with a feminist twist， a morbid sense of humor， positive queer rep and lush writing。 For being such a small package this story holds a lot of value。 I would highly recommend to anyone wanting to see any of the aforementioned qualities above。 This is read that can be done in a single sitting and is definitely worth your time。 While not only being enjoyable this story will make you think and feel。 I look forward to seeing the other fables that Harrow creates in this "Fractured Fables" series and hope they are as impactful as this one。 Content warnings: illness & mention of rape 。。。more
Lois Young
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A brilliant fractured fairy tale that's part "traditional" and part "modern"！！！ Fans of fairy tales and folklorists NEED TO READ THIS STORY！！！Complete RTC！ A brilliant fractured fairy tale that's part "traditional" and part "modern"！！！ Fans of fairy tales and folklorists NEED TO READ THIS STORY！！！Complete RTC！ 。。。more
Hamad
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Enjoyed this one because of its simplicity！
Jenny （Reading Envy）
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I got an early copy of this Sleeping Beauty retelling and it is fun to read with drawn illustrations and a bit of a dimensional spin。 My favorite character is the main character's best friend， and I think Alix E。 Harrow should write a novel about her！ I got an early copy of this Sleeping Beauty retelling and it is fun to read with drawn illustrations and a bit of a dimensional spin。 My favorite character is the main character's best friend， and I think Alix E。 Harrow should write a novel about her！ 。。。more
Tara （the。readingredhead）
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A Spindle Splintered is one of the most unique books I’ve ever read。 It is quirky and sarcastic and funny。 It follows Zinnia Gray， a twenty-one-year-old with a terminal illness who has spent her life studying and relating to Sleeping Beauty until one day her best friend Charm finds her a spinning wheel。 And with one prick of her finger， she finds herself transported into the multi-verse of Sleeping Beauty with a chance to save the princess， who is also hoping to escape her curse。 I don’t read a A Spindle Splintered is one of the most unique books I’ve ever read。 It is quirky and sarcastic and funny。 It follows Zinnia Gray， a twenty-one-year-old with a terminal illness who has spent her life studying and relating to Sleeping Beauty until one day her best friend Charm finds her a spinning wheel。 And with one prick of her finger， she finds herself transported into the multi-verse of Sleeping Beauty with a chance to save the princess， who is also hoping to escape her curse。 I don’t read a lot of novellas， but Sleeping Beauty is just my all-time favorite and I just had to read it。 It is so fun and self-aware， filled with smart pop culture references and refreshing humor。 Charm is the perfect best friend， always rallying and supporting Zinnia， and Zinnia has so much depth and compassion and humor。 My problem with novellas is I always want more， but with this， it felt so full circle and so much is packed into these 128 pages that it’s just perfect how it is。 For a multi-verse though， I do with the Princess， Primrose， had a little more to her。 She is brave though， as she follows Zinnia along。 I just loved the multi-verse elements to this and seeing Sleeping Beauty come alive in this version！ This is a fun feminist take on a fairytale without a lot of the convention of a fairytale， plus in addition to beautiful， captivating prose， the book itself is stunning， filled with art throughout。 And I just saw there’s another in the series being released next year， so very excited fro that one and to get more of Zinnia！ 。。。more
Chante Marie
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~ ARC provided by NetGalley ~I truly do love fairytales reimagined。 Especially when it's done right。 This was no exception by Alix。 I was almost dismayed when I started and the book seemed so short， but it totally packed it all in。 It was funny， sappy， feminine powered and just a little sad。 I can't wait to see what the next fractured fairytale will be。 ~ ARC provided by NetGalley ~I truly do love fairytales reimagined。 Especially when it's done right。 This was no exception by Alix。 I was almost dismayed when I started and the book seemed so short， but it totally packed it all in。 It was funny， sappy， feminine powered and just a little sad。 I can't wait to see what the next fractured fairytale will be。 。。。more
Julie
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Breathtaking
Amanda
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This book is a feminist retelling of Sleeping Beauty that really turns the whole genre on its head with a healthy mix of female heroes， princ-ESS charming， and an into-the-spiderverse dose of alternate universes。 I loved every minute from start to finish。 The main characters are fresh and sassy， but not in a way that becomes overbearing。 The dialogue feels real， and the spin on these age-old curse stories was heartbreaking and believable。 I absolutely can't wait for the next installment！ This book is a feminist retelling of Sleeping Beauty that really turns the whole genre on its head with a healthy mix of female heroes， princ-ESS charming， and an into-the-spiderverse dose of alternate universes。 I loved every minute from start to finish。 The main characters are fresh and sassy， but not in a way that becomes overbearing。 The dialogue feels real， and the spin on these age-old curse stories was heartbreaking and believable。 I absolutely can't wait for the next installment！ 。。。more
Khrista
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I won an advance copy of this book in a goodreads giveaway， but all opinions are mine。What a delightful read。 This novella has such a special voice to it and even though the topic is serious and could easily come across as morbid， there were several parts I laughed out loud while reading。 I think that if you enjoy fairytale retellings， this book is a must read。
Candie
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A Spindle Splintered is a fairy tale lover’s dream story。 Zin is dying of a genetic disorder and not expected to live much beyond her 21st birthday 。 Her friend， Charm， throws her a Sleeping Beauty themed party including an antique spinning wheel upon which to prick her finger。 The fun starts there as Zin finds herself with a real Sleeping Beauty in an alternate reality。 As Zin fights to keep Primrose awake and herself alive， she comes to find that curses are often blessings in disguise。 Such a A Spindle Splintered is a fairy tale lover’s dream story。 Zin is dying of a genetic disorder and not expected to live much beyond her 21st birthday 。 Her friend， Charm， throws her a Sleeping Beauty themed party including an antique spinning wheel upon which to prick her finger。 The fun starts there as Zin finds herself with a real Sleeping Beauty in an alternate reality。 As Zin fights to keep Primrose awake and herself alive， she comes to find that curses are often blessings in disguise。 Such a fun read！！！！ 。。。more
Elley Murray
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Rating: 3。5 starsZinnia Gray will tell you that romantic girls love Beauty and the Beast， basic girls love Cinderella， goth girls love Snow White， but only dying girls love Sleeping Beauty。 And as a dying girl herself， she should know。 A Spindle Splintered is a portal fantasy fairy tale retelling about the Sleeping Beauty story playing out across the multi-verse。 At just over 100 pages， this novella provides some thought provoking feminist viewpoints into one of the least feminist of the popular Rating: 3。5 starsZinnia Gray will tell you that romantic girls love Beauty and the Beast， basic girls love Cinderella， goth girls love Snow White， but only dying girls love Sleeping Beauty。 And as a dying girl herself， she should know。 A Spindle Splintered is a portal fantasy fairy tale retelling about the Sleeping Beauty story playing out across the multi-verse。 At just over 100 pages， this novella provides some thought provoking feminist viewpoints into one of the least feminist of the popular fairy tales。 I liked several of the scenes in this book， but there were also a few places where it got very。。。 I'm trying to find a word for "we sat around smoking too much weed and got very introspective and deep and all up in our feels about Big Thoughts" feeling。 Is there a word for that？ Because there was a little bit of that， and also a few places where the story dragged a bit - which in a novella this short there's just really no time for。 Still， there were a lot of fun moments， and some very poignant ones。 I've got some of Alix E。 Harrow's other books on my TBR， and after reading A Spindle Splintered it was good enough that I still want to read more by this author， but not so amazing that I'm moving the other books to the top of my TBR。 This one was pretty solidly middle of the road for me。 A digital ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via Edelweiss+ for review。 All opinions are unbiased and my own。Like this review？ Check out more of my reviews on my blog， Elley the Book Otter 。。。more
Pamada
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I didn't think it was possible to have such a fun， emotional and compelling story in less than 120 pages， but here we are。 I laughed， I teared up， I ended the book with the most satisfying feeling in my heart。This is my time reading anything by Alix E。 Harrow and I am certainly going to be adding the rest of her books to my TBR。 I didn't think it was possible to have such a fun， emotional and compelling story in less than 120 pages， but here we are。 I laughed， I teared up， I ended the book with the most satisfying feeling in my heart。This is my time reading anything by Alix E。 Harrow and I am certainly going to be adding the rest of her books to my TBR。 。。。more
Sarah
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I don’t know exactly what I was expecting going into this book， but it definitely wasn’t what I got。 A Spindle Splintered is described as a Sleeping Beauty Spiderverse， and boy is that an accurate fit。 It was fascinating to see all the different versions of the same fairy tale bleed together into a very enjoyable read。 The humor is laugh out loud funny， though slightly cliché。 The plot also managed to surprise me。 All in all， a fun quick read that I would definitely consider revisiting。
Melissa Flanagin
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Well this retelling was a let down。 Felt a little rushed and I felt like I was left hanging。 I wanted more。 Needed more of a back story。 There was never any explanation for why the characters were in the situation they were in。
Lisa
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"Sleeping Beauty is nobody's favorite。 Romantic girls like Beauty and the Beast; vanilla girls like Cinderella; goth girls like Snow White。 Only dying girls like Sleeping Beauty。"It was going to take some high level of creativity and skill to pull off a modern retelling of Sleeping Beauty that didn't fall back into the trappings of the original fairytale's chauvinistic and overall awful ways， but Harrow absolutely pulled it off。 A Spindle Splintered is magical and thoughtful and definitely manag "Sleeping Beauty is nobody's favorite。 Romantic girls like Beauty and the Beast; vanilla girls like Cinderella; goth girls like Snow White。 Only dying girls like Sleeping Beauty。"It was going to take some high level of creativity and skill to pull off a modern retelling of Sleeping Beauty that didn't fall back into the trappings of the original fairytale's chauvinistic and overall awful ways， but Harrow absolutely pulled it off。 A Spindle Splintered is magical and thoughtful and definitely managed to tug at my heartstrings in its mere 120 pages。 Harrow's prose is， yet again， phenomenal。 So many incredible lines。I caught myself being peeved at the ending being tied up in a bow since I'm not a fan of those endings， but， modern retelling or not， it's still a fairytale 🏰💕4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 。。。more
Miranda Peterson
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Pre order this one！
Em
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I was happily surprised how much I fell in love with the characters of this book even though it was only 100 pages long。 Wonderful retelling of Sleeping Beauty and excited to see where the sequel goes。
Robin
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Well， that was a fun romp through a fractured fairy tale。 In this case， it was a feminist mash-up of a contemporary setting combined with the fairy tale kingdom featuring Sleeping Beauty。 The writing was snappy， funny， and touching， with appealing characters。 I'll be glad to read any fairy tales this author cares to take on。 My only quibble was that it was too short， and I wanted to read more about Zinnia's adventures， but that isn't very fair as I picked it up because it was only 100 pages！ Yea Well， that was a fun romp through a fractured fairy tale。 In this case， it was a feminist mash-up of a contemporary setting combined with the fairy tale kingdom featuring Sleeping Beauty。 The writing was snappy， funny， and touching， with appealing characters。 I'll be glad to read any fairy tales this author cares to take on。 My only quibble was that it was too short， and I wanted to read more about Zinnia's adventures， but that isn't very fair as I picked it up because it was only 100 pages！ Years ago， I enjoyed Orson Scott Card's take on Sleeping Beauty Enchantment and believed it would be a good readalike。 Readers of fairy tale retellings by authors Katherine Arden and Naomi Novik might enjoy this。Thanks to the publisher for the advance digital galley。 。。。more
Korynne
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A Spindle Splintered is a modern， feminist retelling of Sleeping Beauty combined with Into the Spider-Verse but for different versions of sleeping beauties。 I loved it。 I've loved Alix Harrow's previous books so I knew I would love this one too。 Her writing style is so beautiful。 Reading this novella with my eyes made me want to go back and reread her other books with my eyes since I've only listened to their audiobooks。 There's something about visually reading her writing that makes it captivat A Spindle Splintered is a modern， feminist retelling of Sleeping Beauty combined with Into the Spider-Verse but for different versions of sleeping beauties。 I loved it。 I've loved Alix Harrow's previous books so I knew I would love this one too。 Her writing style is so beautiful。 Reading this novella with my eyes made me want to go back and reread her other books with my eyes since I've only listened to their audiobooks。 There's something about visually reading her writing that makes it captivating in a whole new way。 I will read anything she releases。 I did not know the story of Sleeping Beauty before reading this novella （the shame， I know）， so I actually had to ask my husband to tell it to me so I could compare it to what was going on in this story。 I legitimately didn't even know that she pricks her finger on a spindle and that's how she falls into an accursed sleep。 （I haven't seen the Disney movie。） I'd recommend familiarizing yourself with the Sleeping Beauty story beforehand since this retelling is based on it and subverts a lot of normal fairytale tropes。 In this story， it is Zinnia's twenty-first birthday， and she has a rare disease and essentially has a year left to live since no one else with the disease has made it past twenty-two。 I won't say how， but Zinnia ends up getting transported into a medieval version of a Sleeping Beauty tale and teams up with her counterpart sleeping beauty to try to save them both before their "curses" take over。 I absolutely loved the illustrations and the fact that they were on nearly every page of the story。 Even though they didn't always match the story， they added an ethereal and fairytale-like quality to the book。 They were all done by Arthur Rackham， who is a classic children's book illustrator。 I thought this was particularly neat， especially since our protagonist， Zinnia， mentions his work at one point。 A Spindle Splintered is funny， fast-paced， engaging， and surprising。 I loved the ending， too。 I'd definitely recommend it in general， but I think any fairytale fans out there will particularly enjoy it。 My Book Blog: Storeys of Stories 。。。more
Kristina （heartsfullofreads）
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As soon as I heard Alix E。 Harrow describe this as Sleeping Beauty meets Into the Spider-Verse， I was sold。 This was such a fun read。 It was light， funny， and filled with adventure。 I truly enjoyed the feminist take on the story and it made me examine Sleeping Beauty in a new way。 I also thought the disability rep was great。 Some things about the story were slightly cliche， but that's to be expected in a fairytale retelling。 Other than that， I have no major complaints。 I really enjoyed this nove As soon as I heard Alix E。 Harrow describe this as Sleeping Beauty meets Into the Spider-Verse， I was sold。 This was such a fun read。 It was light， funny， and filled with adventure。 I truly enjoyed the feminist take on the story and it made me examine Sleeping Beauty in a new way。 I also thought the disability rep was great。 Some things about the story were slightly cliche， but that's to be expected in a fairytale retelling。 Other than that， I have no major complaints。 I really enjoyed this novella and I'm looking forward to seeing what the author does next。 **ARC received from Tordotcom Publishing in exchange for an honest review。 All thoughts and opinions are my own。 。。。more
Lauren
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As always， Harrow weaves a glorious， imaginative tale， this time about a princess lost in a multiverse of fairytales。 I didn’t know what to expect other than I knew I would probably， most definitely love it; and I did。 So much。 #SleepWhenYoureDeadI was very excited to win this ARC from Goodreads！ Thank you Tordotcom and of course Alix E。 Harrow for another incredible story
Josie
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I picked this novella up because I love fairy tales and was delightfully surprised to read a feminist retelling of a classic fairy tale。 Sleeping beauty is known as a very passive princess and in her movie she has only 18 lines， making her very misheard and controlled by others in the story。 In A Spindle Splintered all of the main characters are strong females who take ownership in their destiny and help one another to find happiness。 I loved the discussion on terminal illnesses and what "making I picked this novella up because I love fairy tales and was delightfully surprised to read a feminist retelling of a classic fairy tale。 Sleeping beauty is known as a very passive princess and in her movie she has only 18 lines， making her very misheard and controlled by others in the story。 In A Spindle Splintered all of the main characters are strong females who take ownership in their destiny and help one another to find happiness。 I loved the discussion on terminal illnesses and what "making the most of your time alive" looks like from a 21 year olds perspective。 The ending was short and sweet and I loved that it ended with female empowerment as the overarching message。 。。。more
MG
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**special thanks to A Room of One’s Own bookstore in Madison， Wisconsin for an ARC of this novella**This book was like the fairytale fanfic I always wanted， in the best possible way。 I wish I could’ve read something like this when I was in middle school。 The ending was a little cheesy， but it is， after all， a fairytale。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=A Spindle Splintered
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=A Spindle Splintered&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,A Spindle Splintered&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0