Alix E. Harrow’s brisk, glittering novella takes Sleeping Beauty off the pedestal and drops her into a multiverse of girls who refuse to lie still. A Spindle Splintered is part portal fantasy, part fairy-tale critique, and part love letter to best-friend devotion, told with Harrow’s signature wit and a pulse that never slacks.
What it is about
Zinnia Gray is turning twenty one, a birthday she has always known will be her last because of a rare illness caused by an industrial accident. Her ride-or-die friend Charm stages a Sleeping Beauty themed party complete with a spindle. One prick later, Zinnia falls through worlds and meets another doomed princess. Together they try to break the script that has trapped them both.
Why it works
- Agency over destiny: Harrow centers girls who choose rather than wait, flipping the kiss-and-rescue script into a story about consent, courage, and rewriting inherited narratives.
- Multiverse fun: Think spider-verse for fairy tales. The crossings are clever, fast, and packed with sly nods to older, darker versions of the myth.
- Voice with bite: Zinnia’s first-person narration is snarky, warm, and alive to pop culture while still carrying real emotional weight about illness, fear, and the hunger to live.
- Friendship as lifeline: Charm is the book’s beating heart, proving that the truest magic is a friend who shows up.
What might not land for everyone
- The novella length keeps the pace snappy, but some readers will wish for more time in each world.
- Meta jokes and meme-y asides are part of the charm, yet they can feel a bit on the nose if you prefer a timeless tone.
- The feminist reframing is clear and satisfying, though readers hoping for a pitch-black deconstruction of the oldest versions of the tale may want a sharper edge.
Vibe check
Whimsical yet sharp. Hopeful without being precious. Perfect for fans of fractured fairy tales, portal adventures, and character-driven fantasy that asks who gets to tell the story.
Final thoughts
A Spindle Splintered is a compact burst of magic, nerve, and girl-powered defiance. It entertains, it rethinks, and it leaves a small ember of courage glowing after the last page.
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