Spindle's End

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Summary: Wonderful book!
Review: I really loved this book! I love Robin McKinley books because you will always remember the room that this your that happened in. You become immensely fond of the characters and get to know them very well. The first half of the book is more about Katriona (The fairy who rescues Rosie, the princess.) And once Rosie is old enough for it to be more about her it is told more from her point of view. I did miss Katriona though, even though she was still in the story. I missed hearing her thought. I also loved the fact that the country was known only as "that country." It was never named! This is a great book with an ending you will not be expecting! It is definitely worth reading!

Rating:
Summary: Spindle's End
Review: The is one of the best books i have ever read. It compares up to the harry Potter books.

Rating:
Summary: Magical Indeed
Review: What a lovely book! Another of McKinley's variations on a traditional fairy tale theme, this one a very different Sleeping Beauty story...The reaction to the archetypical curse by the archetypical bad fairy is to send the infant Briar-Rose away to a remote village, hidden away to be raised as ordinary Rosie...But what makes this novel so wodnerful, so readable, is the inherent-ness (is that a word?) of the magic in the kingdom--that fairies are ubiquitous, even necessary, might be your next-door neighbor, certainly a bit "other" but not ostracized. Maybe the "best" families don't have magic in their bloodline, but ya just gotta have fairies around, since magic seeps and simmers everywhere in the land, manifesting as dust on the windowsills and scales on the teapots, talking beasts and serio-comic hauntings. Light-hearted, funny, and then suddenly veering, deepening into neck-hair-raising, myth-tinged eerie-ness. Twists and turns, wonderment wherever you look...Fifteen pages from the end of the book, I still had no clear idea how the story was going to end. Nice...

Rating:
Summary: Not Snow White, dope!
Review: I knew from the beginning this book was a version of Sleeping Beauty. I kept getting confused with Snow White though and could not figure out what was with this book. Once I remembered though, it was actually very good.
The entire book was full of plot twits and surprising turns. I was interested the entire time which is a rarity for me. Normally I give up after the first couple of pages. Many new characters were introduced at numerous times. Also, a few characters were developed extremely well, four were tracked throughout a majority of their lives, and one more was carefully tracked.
The book was too the point and wasted little time with needless, tedious descriptions. The book combined action with magic. It even had philosophy and love, giving it all the characteristics of a great book.
The book starts off a little bit confusing, but this just drew the reader in. I was impressed with the placement of this slightly tedious information. McKinley described the confusing rules of magic in her world to the reader in the first chapter. Though normally boring, the fact it is in the begging makes it interesting. The information is vital to the understanding of much of the rest of the novel.
This novel was a masterpiece. I was duly impressed with all of the characteristics tied into it. The author was obviously brilliant, there was never a dull period that lasted more than a paragraph. I recommend this book to any one that likes any sort of fantasy.

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Summary: Yet another take on Sleeping Beauty
Review: Spindle's End
Robin McKinley

While certainly a consummate storyteller, perhaps McKinley's greatest strength as a novelist lies in the marvelous animal characters she creates. Here she imagines an easily believable direct communication between her human, fey, and animal folk that entertains as it charms. I must say her earlier reworkings of Sleeping Beauty I found less satisfying than this, but now I am considering rereading BEAUTY and ROSE DAUGHTER. I suppose one could also find fault in the novel's pacing. The first two-thirds of the book move at a pleasant enough pace, but the final third, leading to the ultimate confrontation, races along and you can't turn the pages quickly enough. That should keep no one from reading this fresh take on a classic fairy tale. Oh, and as for McKinley's prose style, pure butta!

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Summary: This book will WOW you!By Carina Galvin
Review: This book is so great! Everytime you read it you just want to read more.If you do not like Fiction then you will not like this book but if you do then this is a book for you! Spindells End is like a never ending ride there is not a dull moment it is a little in tense but not to much.The story frist starts by tell you about the story and who the evil fairys are and who is good they tell you what to look out for , you actually become the character. If you are looking for a great Fiction book this is the book for you!

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Summary: Adventurous!
Review: If only all fantasy books were this great! Robin McKinley works a little magic with "Spindle's End", a kind-of retelling of the fairy tale classic "Rumplestiltskin", but with a style all her own. McKinley paints some beautiful imagery with her words, even if at times the narrative is a bit long-winded. But its well worth getting through to unearth the nuggets of brilliant storytelling that lie imbedded throughout.

In talking about a horse, which plays a big part of the action toward the end, she writes, "...she wasn't bothering to try and talk to him; his mind was full of spinning glittering fragments of running, wanting to run, waiting to run, being nothing but running with a bay coat stretched over it--..." What a fantastic feat of writing, and there are numerous such gems everywhere within this rollicking adventure story. Even if you've read "Rumplestiltskin" a hundred times, read "Spindle's End" at least half of that...you won't be sorry!

Rating:
Summary: If it weren't this author...
Review: I'd have rated it a little higher. But I know what McKinley is capable of, and this isn't her best work. It's a little unfocused, and towards the end, the plot started to waver a bit. Character development is not as strong, either. It's a good read, but not prime McKinley.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: This book is so amazing. I believe it earns more than 5 stars. I basically could NOT put this book down! I loved every minute of it, and when it was over I wanted more. It is kind a like the Sleeping Beauty story, but with twists and turns to make it interesting to the young people but also older people too. Hope you get to read it. You will see the story through a different eye than just that old story you heard your parents read to you when they wanted you to go to sleep. This will make you read it under the covers with your string lights (like me!) or just a normal flashlight. Hey, this is the 21st century! There are different ways on reading a book.

~Darci K.

Rating:
Summary: Good, if not great
Review: Somewhat lacking in the vividness of McKinley's other books, Spindle's End meanders along engagingly for about 200 pages and then grinds to a near standstill. The characters are likable and original, the approach is intriguing, but that last third of the book is some tough sledding -- unusual from such a talented author.

In sum, it's certainly worth reading, but not up to the quality of Deerskin or Rose Daughter.