Spindle Splintered
Alix E. Harrow
Tordotcom
2021
Ms. Hen decided to read this book because she read about it on her library's email newsletter about science fiction books. She got the book from the library; it took a little while for it to come when she ordered it, since it is so popular right now. She understands why there is a waiting list for this short book.
This novel is a reimagining of SLEEPING BEAUTY, the main character, Zinnia Gray, is a twenty-one year old woman with a fatal disease, and does not have long to live. She has been obsessed with SLEEPING BEAUTY since she was young, and she studied folklore in college. Her best friend, Charm, throws a birthday party for her in an abandoned prison tower, and Zin gets whisked away to a fairy tale land, after she pricks her finger on a spindle that Charm brought to the party.
Zin finds herself magically transported to the setting of SLEEPING BEAUTY, and she rescues Princess Primrose from having to marry the prince she isn't interested in. They go to the forest to find the fairy that cursed Primrose, and discover the truth about the curse. Zin and Primrose travel back to the castle, only to find they cannot end the curse. Zin comes up with a plan, and they might live happily ever after.
This is a SLEEPING BEAUTY story with many twists. It's very contemporary, and the characters are queer. Zin's friend Charm is gay, and Zin claims she leans toward that way a little. This novel takes SLEEPING BEAUTY and turns it on its head, there is the fear of death, and the desire for love, and the quest for love and justice.
This novel is very short and Ms. Hen read it fast. It's a perfect book to cheer someone up, by letting them slip into a fairy tale world. This is a strange book, but that's okay, because Ms. Hen likes strange things. The stranger the better is what she says. She doesn't really say that, but she wishes she did.
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