Scan barcode
A review by k80mae
Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
"She was theirs; they were hers. The love of monsters was uncomplicated."
I had the great fortune of being able to read this before publication thanks to NetGalley approving me. It is the first time I have had the chance to use NetGalley and having this book be my first foray could not have been a greater gift!
This story plays on what readers have come to expect from fairy tales. It challenges the genre and looks at it from a different point of view. It isn't quite parallel or parallax, but it asks the question of, what if everything you expect from fairy tales is not quite right? What if it is just set ever-so-slightly to the left?
Thornhedge faithfully takes the darkness of a true fairy tale and lets the story unspool in such a soft-hearted and gentle way, that you almost forget how dark the story truly becomes. Toadling is so effortlessly kind even to those who might not deserve it, that it feels impossible to describe her in the ways she often describes herself. At the core of its story, Thornhedge is about children taken from their families and what difference it makes to open yourself up to love. It is a story about refusing to bend what you believe to be beautiful to what the world thinks is beautiful. It is a story about finding a place to belong for yourself and how it is up to you to recognize where that space is.
Words cannot express how much of a joy this was to read or how excited I will be to purchase a physical copy as soon as it is available on the shelf!
I had the great fortune of being able to read this before publication thanks to NetGalley approving me. It is the first time I have had the chance to use NetGalley and having this book be my first foray could not have been a greater gift!
This story plays on what readers have come to expect from fairy tales. It challenges the genre and looks at it from a different point of view. It isn't quite parallel or parallax, but it asks the question of, what if everything you expect from fairy tales is not quite right? What if it is just set ever-so-slightly to the left?
Thornhedge faithfully takes the darkness of a true fairy tale and lets the story unspool in such a soft-hearted and gentle way, that you almost forget how dark the story truly becomes. Toadling is so effortlessly kind even to those who might not deserve it, that it feels impossible to describe her in the ways she often describes herself. At the core of its story, Thornhedge is about children taken from their families and what difference it makes to open yourself up to love. It is a story about refusing to bend what you believe to be beautiful to what the world thinks is beautiful. It is a story about finding a place to belong for yourself and how it is up to you to recognize where that space is.
Words cannot express how much of a joy this was to read or how excited I will be to purchase a physical copy as soon as it is available on the shelf!