Thorn
by Intisar Khanani
A Young Adult Fantasy Retelling published by Hot Key Books on March 24th,2020
Rating:
A princess with two futures. A destiny all her own Between her cruel family and the contempt she faces at court, Princess Alyrra has always longed to escape the confines of her royal life. But when she’s betrothed to the powerful prince Kestrin, Alyrra embarks on a journey to his land with little hope for a better future. When a mysterious and terrifying sorceress robs Alyrra of both her identity and her role as princess, Alyrra seizes the opportunity to start a new life for herself as a goose girl. But Alyrra soon finds that Kestrin is not what she expected. The more Alyrra learns of this new kingdom, the pain and suffering its people endure, as well as the danger facing Kestrin from the sorceress herself, the more she knows she can’t remain the goose girl forever. With the fate of the kingdom at stake, Alyrra is caught between two worlds and ultimately must decide who she is, and what she stands for. – Includes The Bone Knife, a bonus short story set in the world of Thorn.
I need more.
Thorn was amazing.
This is the first time that I’ve read a retelling, where I don’t have at least the most basic of an understanding of the original story.
Thorn is a retelling of the fairytale The Goose Girl but the Brother Grimm. I loved Thorn. It was imaginative, truthful, intriguing, and descriptive. For me, the story ran a little slow because there was a lot of explaining and exploring. Plenty of world building.
It’s honestly not even a criticism, more of an observation. Thorn, the main character, is an absolute cinnamon roll, in the beginning. You want to protect her and help her and just be her best friend. If you watch that TV show: Chicago PD on the American Network NBC, Thorn is just like Burgess.
This adorable munchkin face with quiet strength in the beginning and utter bad assery towards the end. The situations that Thorn must deal with are absolutely terrible, I wouldn’t wish them on my worst enemy. That being said, the way she reacts to each circumstance, complete and unwavering desire to do right, is so admirable. I really want to be more like Thorn. Her character growth is perfection.
Of course, me being me, I would have liked a little more romance, but no situation could call for it in the book. So it didn’t really have a place. Which is awesome because not every book needs to have romance. Do I want it in every book? Yes. Necessary? Not so much. If anything, Thorn is about self-love and believing in oneself. This character driven tale needs to be read. Especially now.
Let me know what you think!
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