Zinnia (Zin) is having her 21st birthday! Yay!? Well, no, not really, because she has been cursed with a terminal disease with a history of no one living to the grand old age of 22. Her parents are trying to smile and be brave, as her grandmother gets drunk and her aunt won’t shut up about alternative therapies. Her best friend Charmaine (Charm) saves her from this morbid celebration, texting her to meet at “…the tower.”

Zin has always been a fan of fairytale, especially Sleeping Beauty. She collected every possible Sleeping Beauty toy, video or sleepwear from the age of 6 and even studied European Folklore at University. The ‘tower’ is part of a local abandoned prison, the closest thing to a ‘fairytale’ structure in their rural town in Ohio, and hence a favourite meeting place.

Charm has gone all out for Zin’s party. Booze, lights, roses, and a plastic crown for Zin to don upon arrival. The biggest surprise for Zin however, is the spinning wheel in the centre of the room. Zin is compelled to act out the fairytale. After all, Charm has gone to all the trouble of lugging the spinning wheel up there in the first place, right?

As a drop of blood appears on her finger, Zin vanishes.

She opens her eyes to see another spindle in front of her. This one is polished and new, and standing next to it is the epitome of every princess in every fairytale that she’s ever read, studied or Disney has reproduced. It’s the Sleeping Beauty. The longer Zin is in this fairytale/alternate reality, the more she understands of the fate of princesses like Aurora. She even discovers the truth behind the allegedly evil fairy that cursed her in the first place.

Can a ‘cursed’ girl from the present help a cursed girl from folklore avoid an unwanted fate? Are there more princesses out there that need saving?

I laughed out loud at this badass rewrite of the fairytale Sleeping Beauty. Main character Zin and her best friend Charm are sassy, sarcastic and upfront women of our world. The gaping chasm of contrast between Princess Aurora and Zin is brilliant, as Zin reveals the truth about Aurora’s curse, learns Aurora’s true feelings about her ‘Prince Charming’ and then shows her a plan B.

Other princesses are looking for an escape, but Zin has left her meds in another dimension. Can she rescue more before it’s too late – for them all!

This novella is illustrated with Arthur Rackham’s signature black and grey silhouettes throughout. Many have been beheaded or splintered for this tale – a macabre addition to this feminist and LGBTQ+ retelling.

Loved it.

Author – Alix E Harrow

Age – 16+

Take a look inside here

See the 2nd novella in this series (Click on the Cover)

(2021, Tor Books, Fairytale, Sleeping Beauty, LGBTQ+, Lesbian, Castle, Rescue, Prince, Escape, Princesses, Alternate realities, Retelling, Twisted Fairytales, Friendship, Cursed, Terminal illness, Novella, Arthur Rackham, Family, Funny, Sarcastic, Sassy, Badass, Love, Courage, Evil Fairy, Truth, Fantasy, Historical)