A Spindle Splintered

In this modern spin of “Sleeping Beauty” we meet Zinnia “Zin” Gray who is suffering from a rare condition which usually leads to death before the 22nd birthday - and Zin has just turned 21... Since Zin is obsessed with the fairy tale “Sleeping Beauty” her best friend, Charm, throws her a themed birthday party during which Zin pricks herself with a spindle. As this is a modern spin, she doesn't quite fall asleep but rather through the “multiverse” and in a trance-like state meets lots of other “Sleeping Beauties” until she steps out into one world in which she goes on an adventure with the resident “Beauty”, Princess Primrose, to, ideally, lift both their “curses”.Fortunately, this was a quick, short and amusing read because there's simply not enough substance to either the story told here or the characters to sustain a longer novel. The one-hundred pages of this novella pretty much flew past and I was willing to overlook some questionable explanations about Zin's condition, the mystery of full cell phone coverage in “Princess Primrose of Perceforest”'s fairy tale land and quite few other (minor) issues that I simply chose to ignore because I had a blast reading this fast-paced adventure.If you're willing to suspend your disbelief and/or are looking for a quick filler, maybe some literary fast food, you likely won't be disappointed.Just don't expect something like “[b:Uprooted 22544764 Uprooted Naomi Novik https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1550135418l/22544764.SX50.jpg 41876730]” or “[b:Spinning Silver 36896898 Spinning Silver Naomi Novik https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1513872748l/36896898.SX50.jpg 58657620]” both of which “play” in an entirely different league and are hereby highly recommended!Should Harrow decide to publish more “Fractured Fables” I'm going to read those as well - despite some reservations about a price tag of about ten Euros (roughly 12 US-Dollars) for such a slim book...Four out of five stars. Blog Facebook Twitter Instagram

73 Yr old reader here and I must say I liked this! Usually read award winning or nominee mysteries but tried something new this time. Book is 170P, Young adult girl is dying from incurable disease and some how is transported into her favorite book “Sleeping Beauty”. She must save the Princess and somehow find a way to get back to realty/present times! Has a great best friend!
The LGBT community may like this book! If you want a short read, try this! David N.

I really enjoyed this sideways take on the Sleeping Beauty tale.

Zinna Gray suffers from an incurable illness and has not been expected to survive to her 21st birthday, yet as the story starts she is celebrating her 21st in the grim knowledge that it will be her last. During the party a chain of events sends her to a parallel universe where she interrupts a certain princess who was in the process of pricking her finger on a spindle - and as a result opens up a whole new series of narrative possibilities.

Very well written.

Definitely a 4.5, so I'm rounding up.

I never actually read the author's previous book despite it being nominated and winning many awards because I never felt it was my thing. I also didn't bother to read much about the premise of this book due to similar apprehensions, but reading a gushing review by my fellow awesome blogger Misty convinced me that maybe I should give this a try. And this turned out to be so much fun.

I usually love retellings but more on the mythological side, because I'm not that fond of the usual European fairytales. And I hardly remember anything about Sleeping Beauty but that didn't hamper my enjoyment of this story. This story is an ode to classic fairytales with a modern twist, when the princesses don't need a charming prince to save them because they are perfectly capable of saving themselves. In this way, it recognizes the sexist undertones of the classics and subverts them to create a more progressive version of those age old tales that we love. The author does a seamless blending of modern day technology and a medieval world full of rigid gender roles, peppering the story with witty and biting dialogue, fast pacing which kept me so engaged that I didn't wanna put it down at all, and an excellent audiobook narration which enriched my experience. The way Amy does the various accents as well as voices, her sarcastic tone and just her overall way of telling the story was super entertaining.

Zinnia is such a fascinating protagonist. Having a terminal condition, she has been prepared to die before turning 22 as long as she can remember but when she gets the opportunity for an adventure, she takes it all in with both her hands. She is brave and witty, not easily ruffled by unexpected situations, and is smart enough to put her folklore degree to good use when she finds herself in a fairytale world. She is ably supported by her childhood best friend Charm who is her rock and ready to send out PowerPoint presentations to help her out despite sounding freaked out and is determined to find a cure for Zin's condition. Their friendship is goals and I loved how it evolved towards the end of the book.

And Primrose is the princess in the fairytale story who is cursed to become the Sleeping Beauty but is not ready to accept it. I loved the depiction of her character, especially through the audio because it showed both her vulnerable as well as slightly prideful sides. Together with Zin, Charm and a few other surprise characters, she takes her destiny into her own hands and refuses to conform to the rigid role she is being forced into.

Overall, this was a completely unexpected surprise. In under 150 pages, the author manages to give us a world full of fairytales and characters who find themselves in stories not belonging to them, but determined to chart their own course of their life story. If you love fairytale retellings with a twist, women being very supportive of each other, a thoroughly entertaining story with even better narration, and maybe some primer on what to do when you find yourself in a fairytale situation yourself - do give this a try. You will not regret it.

Zinnia and Charm have my heart. What an incredibly fun and breezy read! There's a fun smattering of subtle cinephile, book and board game references that thankfully lightened the darker undertone of Zinnia's situation--she's a realistic, nerdy heroine with fire and Charm is right there with some pizzazz. I only wish this novella was a full novel.