Leah Cypess

With humor, a little chaos, and even tension, middle school and time travel mix in an unexpected and exciting way.

Ethan's life isn't exactly normal...not that anyone knows that. He's been visited several times by his future self to change little things here and there to make the future better. At least, that's what his very-oddly-dressed-and-way-too-serious-future-self always insists. So, when future him time travels back, once again, with another task, Ethan isn't really surprised, but this show more time, his future self is expecting the impossible. Ethan is supposed to make his up-coming substitute teacher not hate teaching, so she doesn't end up forming an army and destroying the world later. Ethan not only has no clue how he's going to get everyone in his class to be nice to her and not cause complete chaos, but he's not even sure he believes his future self enough to really try. Worse yet, his future self claims he lost contact with Ethan's very best friend long ago and doesn't even care. Add that his future self has, obviously, totally forgot what 4th grade is like, and Ethan is totally out of his depth and doesn't know how to handle any of it.

Middle school drama hits full on with quite a bit of humor and all sorts of concerns, which almost every person of this age group faces in some form or another. And it does it with a nice dose of reality (well at least, in that direction). While Ethan's future and much older self expects him to do certain things, Ethan is well aware that the plan won't work. For example, Ethan is only one kid in an entire classroom, whose students always give substitutes a hard time. So, getting them to behave differently on the first day isn't going to happen. There's also a understandable amount of distrust Ethan has concerning his future self. It's not extreme, but there's enough there to make it believable. Then, there's the entire emotional trip as Ethan learns that his future self could care less about his best friend...and doesn't seem to even remember why that relationship would be important, anyway. That most middle graders loose their friends after a couple years or so isn't really a topic I've seen hit quite in this way. The author does find a good way to round it back in to make a nice read, but the Ethan's reaction put a nice touch on the friendship theme while sliding in a painful reality.

The read flows well and is written for the lower end of the middle grade audience. There's a larger font and spacing for easy reading, and illustrations are nicely scattered in between. The chapters are kept relatively short, and the plot holds a quick pacing without too much time spent on depth. It creates a fun and easy read. The only thing that caught me a little off guard was that it feels like a later book in a series, since Ethan mentions earlier visits from his future-self several times. So, it feels like something is missing, especially since these earlier visits obviously molded Ethan's current view of his future self.

It's a fun read for those who enjoy quirky situations, humor, fun characters, and a touch of light scifi on the side. show less

I borrowed this book from my local library. It's a current finalist for the Norton Award.

I've loved Cypess's other creative reinventions of fairy tales, and this one is also a delight. The tale retells in Rapunzel in a fresh way through the viewpoint of Rapunzel's younger sister, Cinna. She has never known Rapunzel, as her big sister was spirited away by evil fairies before she was born. Even so, she frequently writes letters to Rapunzel and hides them in her room; Cinna is cosseted and show more friendless these days, her mother the queen often cold and callous as she prepares her daughter to someday assume the throne of the Borderlands. That includes lessons on just about everything, including how to utilize their family's magical hair. When Rapunzel is abruptly rescued and returns home, Cinna is thrilled--mostly. But her sister is nothing like she expected, and Rapunzel has only been given three days of grace to visit the human world.

This was such a fun book, with many surprises along the way. The narrative explores issues like sisterhood and changing expectations and neurodiversity (because Rapunzel does cue that way) without being heavy-handed. show less

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thornwood is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty told from the perspective of Sleeping Beauty's little sister. I love a good retelling, but sometimes they are hard to come by. This book was such a unique and refreshing take on the story we all know and love.

I love the idea of a book being told by the "forgotten sibling" of the protagonist. I identified with Briony (the little sister) a ton, but also show more found myself identifying with Rosalin (Sleeping Beauty). I think reading this book, and being a middle child helped me really get the most out of this book. The interactions between Rosalin and Briony were so real, and I liked that Cypess didn't sugarcoat their relationship. They struggled with each other, and didn't listen to what the other was saying, but you never question the love that they have for each other.

Other than the fantastic development of our main heroines, this book was action packed, and the pages turned themselves. There are twists and turns, and I wasn't quite sure how it would end. Thornwood keeps you on your toes, but also conveys a deeper meaning of the importance of family.

Overall, I highly recommend this book to middle grade, and fairy tale fans. I will be buying a copy for my ten year old sister upon publication, as I think she might just identify with Briony herself. show less

I read this as it is currently a finalist for the Norton Award. I checked it out from my local library.

Thornwood is an innovative retelling of Sleeping Beauty from the perspective of the famed princess's bratty little sister. The basic set-up remains the same: a fairy curse on the princess, the spindle, the awakening with a kiss from a prince, the fortress of thorns around the castle where everyone has slumbered. From there, though, everything is topsy-turvy. The residents of the castle wake show more up--but the curse isn't gone. The thorny vines are not only still outside, but trying to invade the castle. The prince may not be a prince. The fairy mischief may go far beyond a curse on one teenage girl. And it's up for one intrepid little sister to figure out how very wrong everything is and make it right again.

This is a cute, fast read. I would have unabashedly adored the book as a kid. I really like how consideration is--finally--given to the other people in the castle who are collateral damage to the curse. The ending strained my belief a bit, but my child-self wouldn't have been as critical. show less