I love each book by Alix Harrow more than the last. This one, a modern retelling of Sleeping Beauty - or Beauties - left me in tears several times, yet still uplifted and astonished by the courage of the heroine. Zinnia, the protagonist, lives each day in an agonizing and inexorable march toward death from a rare disease, and has created a strict set of "rules for dying girls" to cope with the inevitable. That is, until she's somehow pulled into a parallel fantasy world, where her rules don't apply and the princess that needs saving isn't her. As the cursed girls band together to try to escape their fates, they learn that curses can be gifts, that everything you have might just barely be enough, and that asking for help is sometimes its own answer. This is a stunning book, and one I plan to reread often.

I read this stunning novella in one sitting! A Spindle Splintered is a subversive, feminist retelling of Sleeping Beauty structured a bit like Into the Spider-Verse. As usual, Alix E. Harrow offers readers beautiful prose and a thoughtful take on this classic fairytale.

I did want to mention that the tone of the novella is a bit different than that of her previously published novels. It’s told from the perspective of Zinnia Gray — a sarcastic, modern-day 21-year-old. She’s a really interesting character and I enjoyed her perspective, so that’s absolutely not meant as a negative! Just something to note in case anyone is expecting a story more like TTTDOJ or TOAFW (which were both historical fantasy, and thus toned to match).

I’ve been learning a lot about fairytales in the past year or so, and it was fun seeing so much of that reflected in the novel. I also ADORED the way the novella is a true work of art! In addition to the breathtaking cover, the title page + chapter pages are SO pretty, and almost every spread has a B&W illustration. If the ARC got this kind of royal treatment, I can’t even imagine how lovely the finished copy will be.

Thank you Tor Dot Com Pub for sending a free advanced copy my way!

Zinnia Gray is about to turn 21 and probably won't live to see 22. She has struggled against a rare disease caused by pollution since she was a baby, and has always known that she was cursed to die young. Maybe that's why she's always loved the fairy tale "Sleeping Beauty" and identified with its sleeping princess, cursed at birth to fall into a deep sleep after touching a spindle.
With that kind of history, it's no surprise that when her friends throw Zinnia Gray a Sleeping-Beauty themed birthday party, she feels compelled to playfully touch the spindle - which takes her through time and space to the castle of one of the Sleeping Beauties. In an attempt to save both of them, Zinnia and Sleeping Beauty must face their fears and defeat their enemies with the help of women who are, in their own way, facing down the curses of their fates and fighting against the roles that women are too often forced into playing.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4005371111

Holy shit. This is just...listen, it's just amazing. It blew my mind. It bowled me over. I thought I was going to just START it last night, before going to bed - but then I read the whole thing in one sitting, until 4:20am just totally ignoring the fact I needed to get up for work in the morning, and it was SO WORTH IT.

At its most basic, this is Into the Spiderverse for Sleeping Beauty - in that it plays with multiverse theory and mashing universes of a single story together, and letting the various cultural conceptions of one character archetype interact with each other in new, fun ways.

But remember how Into the Spiderverse was ALSO, underneath it all, a brilliant coming-of-age story about finding the kind of person you want to BE inside yourself, when you see pieces of yourself reflected (and not reflected!) in people who are so, so different from you and yet live some version of the same story?

A Spindle Splintered does THAT, too. But it's Sleeping Beauty. And it's a young woman who THINKS - very understandably! - that her story is already over. And it's universes full of young women in that same position, finding again and again new ways to make their story their OWN, and in the process help other young women do the very same thing. It's about how it's not over til it's over. And your story isn't done until you say it is - even when you DO only have seconds left on the clock. Your life, your STORY, always always always gets to be your own.

Anyway, I just graduated from law school, in a global pandemic, with a chronic pain condition, in a field where it still sometimes hard to be a queer woman, while feeling like I have zero percent of my shit together, and this novella is EXACTLY the thing that I needed at EXACTLY the moment that I needed it. And holy shit, I am so grateful.

Very good modern fairy tale. I enjoyed this a lot but some bits were thin - the climax had a bill & ted feel; the ending was unsatisfying to me. Nonetheless I will certainly recommend, overall a fun read.

This was a really great little novella. I really enjoyed the contrast of the main character's disease in the real world and how that worked with the story of Sleeping Beauty in the other world. Really excited for others to read this when it is published.

A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow. Not quite my cup of tea, though I do usually enjoy these types of retellings. Thank you for giving me a chance with this book

I have to say I wasn’t really sure what this book was about when I started it (other than the sleeping beauty implications) but it really got going. Princesses, terminal illness, the multiverse, lgbtq representation and all in 100 pages or less!
It is a rather short story so everything started going right from the beginning and kept up a pretty good pace through the book.
The author included a ton of content which actually does blend well together and takes a more modern or I would even say skeptical view of the sleeping beauty story. It’s not quite a retelling but more like jumping in with a modern lens.
Short and easy to read so worth it if you’re interested (:
Reviewed at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3806516795

A Spindle Splintered has a good premise: a modern-day Sleeping Beauty who meets one of her predecessors as they’re both desperate to escape their fate. Unfortunately, the execution is poor from the first page, which features a rant about the story in question, pulling in strange details about its “woke” rating and how Sleeping Beauty is no one’s favorite fairytale.

The rest of the story follows in a similar vein, where readers know less than the bear minimum about the protagonist, Zinnia, and care about her not at all. What is she dying of? Something that is not gone into in detail. Has she lived her life? Well, she went to college and graduated studying fairytales, but the specific versions she studied are not explained—unless they’re the ones that are showing up. The foreshadowing in nil and the emotion even less.

The identity of the evil fairy was interesting but never returned to, and why is there inter-dimensional cell service?

I love fairytale retellings, but this isn’t one I’ll be recommending.

I was skeptical about this Sleeping Beauty multiverse at first, but I quickly found myself giggling and smiling along with the characters. Harrow infused a new feminist charge to the story of Sleeping Beauty (and more than one Beauty, at that!). Oh, and this story is SO FUNNY WOW please read it--especially the scene where Zinnia had a nice one-liner towards Hector (you'll know the one I mean, I promise). I can't wait to see the internet explode with art and memorable quotes from this novella when it's published!

Special thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for sending me an ARC!!

Well, I just loved this book! It's super, super short, so get ready for a quick read. This book though, it sure packs a wonderful punch for so few pages! Alix Harrow is such a fabulous writer!

This is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, but it's got this amazing MC that knows all the details of all the versions of Sleeping Beauty. She is affected by a fatal disease and connects with the Sleeping Beauty characters. When she's swept into a fairy tale world, she gets to go on an adventure.

All the characters are so amazing in this. They have attitude and hilarious commentary. It's an entertaining read, but also has some really great themes around being an advocate for yourself LOVED THIS!

I was provided a gifted copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review volutarily.

Sleeping Beauty, but with lesbians, multi-verses, and changing your fate! This book was such a great read. Zinnia Gray, 21, is dying, and soon. A lover of all things 'Sleeping Beauty', Zinnia's best friend creates the perfect birthday party for her, complete with spinning wheel. When Zinnia pricks her finger, she's transported to a different universe - one with a different princess in need of saving. Sleeping Beauty is a fairy tale that is often grim, when it's not Disney-ized, and I loved that this didn't shy away from that. It deals with feminism and consent and women taking charge of their own stories, and I LOVED the power in all of it.

I laughed, I cried, and I was so glad to have read this novella. Harrow's characters are vivid and real, and Harrow is unafraid of showing her characters at their worst - Zinnia's darkest thoughts about her fate come across as tragic but true, and Charm's snarkiness and Primrose's strong personality were especially memorable. This kind of retelling is right up my alley, and I'll definitely look for more from Alix E. Harrow in the future.

A funny, modernized, LGBTQ friendly retelling of Sleeping Beauty. In this retelling there is a woman named Zinna who has a rare illness and thinks she will die at the ago of 21 since no one has ever lived past 22. Over all this was a really fun short read. This is a refreshing take on a classic fairytale.

A Spindle Splintered marks my first Alix E. Harrow book and it didn't disappoint. Alix's version of Sleeping Beauty takes an old tale and revitalizes it with a harrowing protagonist that's more than her story and world beautiful mastered. A Spindle Splintered is everything Disney could have done when they made the live action but missed the mark. Zinnia's take on her life reminded me a little of my high school bestfriend's little sister. A lot of spunk and a will to live. Sadly she passed way too young. A Spindle Splintered is definetly a book to pick up if you want to have hope in the face of death.

Thank you for this beautiful novella! I am so glad it turned out to not be a fairytale but a splendid girl empowering tale, which i really enjoyed.

I do love the trend of modern retellings of fairytales. The mashup with the traditional tale is a brilliant idea that’s well written.

<i> "Right now you're thinking: this isn't how the story goes. </i>

A Spindle Splintered is a very new version of Sleeping Beauty. Zinnia is not pretty blonde with rose-petal skin, but she is as desperate as any sleeping-beauties to escape her fate.
Zinnia, our heroine has rare illness which "cursed" her to die before she reached 22. At her 21st birthday, however, the universe has another plan. I love Zinnia and her "dying girl rules". She is a very refreshing character, and this novella is fast-paced, fresh take on Sleeping Beauty retelling. Throw away all your ideas of dashing noble Prince Charming... because ladies, princesses and queens alike, we are here to save ourselves. I have a little issues here and there but overall I like it!

It's both amazing and almost terrifying that Alix managed to pack that much story in such amount of pages. I enjoyed almost every page and read them so fast I can't believe it ends. A recommended read for those who wish for stronger Auroras and love darker version of Sleeping Beauty (like me).

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Thank you Tordotcom Publishing for sending me e-ARC through Netgalley. Review is 100% honest.

Much shorter than I'd expected but a punchy, sarcastic, queer re-imagining of the classic Sleeping Beauty fairy tale. This author is becoming an auto buy for me!

A Spindle Splintered is a feminist Sleeping Beauty retelling. Zinnia Gray was told that she would not survive her 21st birthday due to a rare genetic disorder. When her birthday arrives; however, nothing really happens. When Zinnia’s friend throws her a birthday party inspired by Sleeping Beauty, Zinnia is transported to a strange world where there’s a girl trying to escape her fate.

The story reminded me of Enter the Spiderverse, but with Sleeping Beauty. I loved how in such a short span of time, Alix was able to develop this character who has so much depth to her. Zinnia is strong despite her illness, and I loved how both her and her best friend Charm interact throughout the story.

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I LOVED this. Snarky and queer and clever and respectfully critical of the “original” text. Perfect.