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Spindle's End by Robin McKinley
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Spindle's End

by Robin McKinley

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1,695261,724 (3.92)62
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Very nice. Sort of a Briar Rose retelling, but with enough differences that I wondered why she kept her link to the original fairy tale at all.I liked best the parts about the hazards of living in a country with a large amount of ambient background magic, and other background bits. The book seemed too long; I almost would have liked it better with more background and less plot. ( )
krisiti | Jul 1, 2009 |  
I thought I would like this one better. Just did not hook me ( )
gerleliz | May 24, 2009 |  
Robin McKinley does a wonderful job portraying the Sleeping Beauty/Briar Rose fairy tale in a fresh light. By delving into the people's attempt to thwart the evil fairy Pernicia, she expands the story so that when I got to the inevitable confrontation, I was rooting for Rosie and her friends, both human and animal. ( )
krin5292 | May 19, 2009 |  
the book was about sleeping beauty. princess rosie. she grew up talking to animals, and working with horses, and hating all the things that made her look or act like a princess, even if she didn’t know that’s what she was hating. great book for young adults. i think i’m just a little old for it, which is not something i say about books very often. i just couldn’t get into the story, as evidenced by the fact that it took me 2 weeks to read it.

it was an ok book. not as great as sunshine, which has to be one of my favorite mckinley books ever, but ok. ( )
bestem | Jan 24, 2009 |  
Spindle's End is another lovely fairy tale retelling by Robin McKinley. She takes the Sleeping Beauty story and spins it into something new and wonderful while escaping the bonds of convention. Here is a fairy tale for modern times. ( )
thioviolight | Dec 2, 2008 |  
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Series (with order)
Canonical Title
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Awards and honors
Epigraph
Dedication
To the Lodge, my Woodwold and to the other Dickinsons who love it too.
First words
The magic in that country was so thick and tenacious that it settled over the land like chalk-dust and over floors and shelves like slightly sticky plaster-dust.
Quotations
Small spider weave on a silver sleeve,
Oh, weave your grey web nearer.
From a golden crown let your silk hang down,
For lost, lost, lost is the wearer.
Magic can't do everything.
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Book description
The princess has been missing since she was a baby. And Rosie, an ordinary girl, is growing up in an unremarkable little village far away from the royal city.

Unremarkable, that is, in a land where magic is so common that it settles over everything like dust. But a fairy curse is the kind of magic that nobody wants, beacuse it always comes true. And Rosie cannot stay ordinary for ever...

Amazon.com (ISBN 0441008658, Paperback)

Renowned fantasy writer Robin McKinley, author of the lush "Beauty and the Beast" retellings Beauty and Rose Daughter, has produced another re-mastered fairy tale, this time about the dreamy Sleeping Beauty. Much like in the original story, the infant princess, here named Rosie, is cursed by an evil fairy to die on her 21st birthday by pricking her finger on a spindle. That same day, Rosie is whisked away into hiding by a peasant fairy who raises her and conceals her royal identity. From that point on, McKinley's plot and characterization become wildly inventive. She imagines Rosie growing up into a strapping young woman who despises her golden hair, prefers leather breeches to ball gowns, and can communicate with animals. And on that fateful birthday, with no help from a prince, Rosie saves herself and her entire sleeping village from destruction, although she pays a realistic price. In a final master stroke, McKinley cleverly takes creative license when the spell-breaking kiss (made famous in "Sleeping Beauty") comes from a surprising source and is bestowed upon the character least expected.

Although the entire novel is well written, McKinley's characterization of Rosie's animal friends is exceptionally fine. Observations such as "...foxes generally wanted to talk about butterflies and grasses and weather for a long time while they sized you up," will spark reader's imaginations. It won't be hard to persuade readers of any age to become lost in this marvelous tale; the difficult part will be convincing them to come back from McKinley's country, where "the magic... was so thick and tenacious that it settled over the land like chalk dust...." Highly recommended. (Ages 12 and older) --Jennifer Hubert

(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:15 -0400)

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