Audiobook Review: A Spindle Splintered by Alix E Harrow

 SUMMARY:

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.

TEE'S THOUGHTS:

Since I have been a little girl, I have loved fairytales. I still remember one Christmas, my mom and dad, getting me an entire set of really cool Fairytale books, I read them until they were worn out, and after my kids went through them, they had to be put to rest.

 Spindle Splintered, though short, is barely 100 pages, but it is written amazingly well. The story is about Zinna, who is dying with a genetic disorder that will probably kill her during her 21st birthday, and Briar Rose..yes the Briar Rose of Sleeping Beauty, who are working together to escape both of their fates. 

Zinna, a fan of Sleeping Beauty, is attending her 21st birthday party given by her best friend Charmaine, during which she pricks her finger on a spindle and is instantly transported to a Fairytale World where Sleeping Beauty ( Briar Rose ) exists. 

The characters of Zinna, Charmaine, and Briar Rose are all so likable, that you will find yourself rooting for them throughout the book, as they race to save themselves and a few other Princess's stuck in the same fate. The timeline is parallel ( I guess that is what you would call it ), with Zinna and Briar Rose in Fairytale world and Charmine in our world. I know it sounds crazy, but this is fantasy and technology allows it to happen.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Amy Landon, who made the book very pleasant to listen to, her voice was clear, and she did really well on the various characters' voices.

This is a magical, clever, and smart novella, with a great look at feminity, friendship, coping, and fighting against your circumstances. It is also the first book in the Fractured Fables series, so I am looking forward in seeing what comes next.