Now a Goodreads Choice nominee in Fantasy! Recently someone told me they’re “tired of retellings”, which I cannot at all relate to. Every time I feel myself approaching that thought I see another fairytale retelling advertised somewhere and I’m like “Ooooh?!?!!???”, immediately falling down a new rabbit hole.But if you feel this way, even though you are wrong, I can understand where that feeling comes from. Sometimes you see your millionth YA Fantasy Beauty and the Beast retelling and it’s li

This is a slick, booksmart, subversive Sleeping Beauty that I polished off in a couple hours. Then I spent the next 24 pondering why I didn't like it more, especially considering that a) I once considered getting an MA in fairy tales and folklore, b) Alix Harrow has clearly read many of the same books I have, and c) she pens some lovely lines and observes some astute details.A Spindle Splintered lies somewhere between Sleeping Beauty, portal fantasy, and...Lurlene McDaniel (what, you didn't spen...

ooof. this has about twenty pop culture references too many for me to personally enjoy this.i think i will stick to AHs full length novels because this was too short for me to appreciate the story. it honestly felt like it was trying too hard, cramming in so much into such a limited space. and also, i know this is fiction, and a fairytale inspired story on top of that, but not a single character acted realistically and the world-building made no sense.so between the pop culture references, rushe...

↠ 5 starsSleeping Beauty comes crashing into the multiverse by way of Alix E. Harrow, author of The Once and Future Witches and The Ten Thousand Doors of January. Destined to not survive her twenty-first birthday due to a rare genetic disorder, Zinnia Gray has always felt a strong affinity to sleeping beauty, someone who shares in her fate. Then miraculously her birthday arrives and nothing of note occurs, that is until her best friend decides to throw a birthday party worthy of sleeping beauty

This is a wonderful novella--a "fractured" re-telling of the Sleeping Beauty story with a modern day twist. I'm shocked at how much I enjoyed this book, because I'm definitely not much into this genre, but Harrow gives the perfect feminist, lesbian-affirming twist to the tale.Zinnia Gray is turning 21, and knows she's living on borrowed time. Afflicted with a disease that causes protein deposits to build up in her organs, she knows her life is short. Her lifelong obsession with all Sleeping Beau...

Alix E. Harrow proves to me in 100 pages she has a masterclass in the art of doing a great deal with very little. A Spindle Splintered is an entertaining and frequently tense portal fantasy adventure, one full of oddball characters and offbeat diversions that made each trek through the world of Sleeping Beauty feel unique and totally worthwhile. Harrow has done a fantastic job of capturing the spirit of this childhood nostalgic story while giving us a massive toolbox of modern elements. A main c...

FracturedTo say fairy tales are only full of fun, magic, and songs would be a false assumption. From the Grimm Brothers, regional folklore, and Disney, there is a sinister side in most tales; whether it be narcissism or murder, child abuse or kidnapping, evil spells and witches, or some dreadful songs, there is a darker side lurking. I have grown up enjoying fairy tales and being Peter, like the boy who never grew up, I’m aptly named to delve into these stories without hesitation. Although I lov...

I really like the parallel between the main character’s chronic illness and Sleeping Beauty’s curse to sleep forever. There’s clear themes in this short story: the idea that their lives are fragile and limited as they’re both “cursed” by passivity with mortality, and deciding to fight against their fate and take charge of their own stories. The writing in this novella was a bit too simplistic and juvenile for my tastes though, which made it difficult to take the messages seriously. I’ve read the...

"A Spindle Splintered" by Alix E. Harrow is the first book in the 'Fractured Fables' novella series.Zinnia Gray is turning 21 years old and knows this is most likely the last birthday she'll ever celebrate. She has a rare condition not much is known about other than no one has lived to age twenty-two. Charm, her BFF, is determined to make a birthday celebration worthy of Zinnia's dreams. She's shooting for the complete Sleeping Beauty experience with a huge tower and spinning wheel. But when Zin...

Two girls destined to die cross paths, altering their doomed fates, in this whimsical modern-day reimagining of Sleeping Beauty.Due to an industrial accident, Zinnia Gray, was left with a rare and fatal condition. The prognosis of which means she won't live to see her 22nd-birthday.As bleak as that is, Zin has had a great life, surrounded by people who love her so much. Including her best friend, Charm, who decides to throw Zin a Sleeping Beauty-themed party for her 21st-birthday, complete with

I never cared much for fairy tales, although Brothers Grimm versions were much cooler than the sanitized Disneyfied princess dreams they have become for generations of mostly girl children. Disney princesses made my kid self scoff judgmentally while I chose to watch Jacques Cousteau instead. Yeah, I was a little brat. “I used to see Sleeping Beauty as my wildest, most aspirational fantasy—a dying girl who didn’t die, a tragedy turned into a romance. But suddenly I saw her as my mere reflection:

"Even among other nerds who majored in folklore, 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's Zinnia Gray's 21st birthday, and given that she suffers from a rare medical condition with a life expectancy of under 22 years, it's likely the last she will ever have. During her childhood she had an obsession with Sleeping Beauty, a story she related to knowing that...

I love a good fractured fairy tale and who would have thought anyone could write one this good based on boring Sleeping Beauty.A Spindle Splintered is a reimagining of the tale of the Sleeping Beauty, but in this case the Princess refuses to play her normal role and fights for better choices in her life. She is aided by Zinnia, a twenty year old girl living in modern day America who is dying from a rare disease. She imagines herself to be like Sleeping Beauty about to go to sleep forever and whe...

2.5⭐I wanted to try something different and this was a novella that was available from my library so I jumped right in. Please read other glowing reviews! 😊

I'm afraid nothing really worked for me from the start. The voice, the tone, the story, the language. I'm probably alone in this, but I don't like a lot of cuss words in my books and this one had more than I was comfortable with, especially for a fairy tale. It's a short novella with a good portion of the book filled with shadow-image type illustrations. The illustrations were interesting, but odd at times and didn't typically go with the story at-hand. In fact, several of the illustrations had

A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow is the first book in the new Fractured Fables which is a fairytale retelling series. This first book of the series is a new twist on Sleeping Beauty. Following the first book the series will move onto other fairy tales but with the same main character making them a series that will best be read in order although this first could be enjoyed as a standalone.Zinnia Gray is quickly approaching her twenty first birthday and for most that would be a wondrous occa...