Author: Intisar Khanani
Publisher: HaperTeen
Published: 24th March 2020
Pages: 512 [eBook]
Pages: 512 [eBook]
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.
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.
I remember reading Thorn back in 2015 and one thing has not changed: Thorn still is a perfect retelling of the Goose Girl. I love how truthful the narrative is to the Goose Girl tale and yet unique. Intisar Khanani tells us the story of a princess who struggles to know who she is that must decide who she wants to - a princess or a goose girl.
Storytelling: Khanani's writing is simply beautiful. I enjoyed how detailed and vivid it is. The descriptions were perfectly-intricate and I could easily imagine the scenarios in my mind's eye. Moreover, I loved that even though the story stays true to the tale that inspired it, the author crafts a deeper plot, in which she addresses some heavy topics, such as rape, abuse, the lack of justice for those who own little, how revenge corrupts the ones who seeks it, among others.
I would like to point out that when I first read this book there were two things that did not make me enjoy the story wholeheartedly. I don't know if you all know, but the author revised the story (it has more 20k words than the first edition that came out) and I was very happy to realize that these two issues that I had with the narrative before were no longer part of it. How could I not now give Thorn all the stars?
Characters: Can we just talk about how awe-inspiring Alyrra is? Although she finds herself being a goose girl, Alyrra, who embraces the name Thorn after losing her own identity, is resilient and manages to get herself out of dangerous situations and help others as well. She is no damsel in distress. Also, the character growth is amazing! Throughout the narrative, Alyrra goes from a silent young princess mistreated by her family (she suffered a lot of abuse at the hands of her family, physical, mental and emotional) to a strong young woman in the path to become the queen Kestrin people needs.
Alyrra did have doubts about her place and her identity, but she never believed the girl who stole her skin would be a better queen than her. However, the time she spends as Thorn, working in the barn as a goose girl was essential for her to understand her own strengths and what kind of princess she wished to be.
I don't want to say much about Kestrin because I might give something away, but I did enjoy how he gave Alyrra a choice: she was the one who had to decide if she wanted to be a queen or a goose girl. He would not push her into her rightful place, even after learning about the truth.
World building: There is so much more I want to learn about this magical world woven by Intisar Khanani! I learned so much and yet I feel I learned so little because there was so much to explore. I mean, the fundamentals are explained throughout the story, but I wanted to learn a lot more about Falada, his family and the Horses; to know more about the Mage Circle and the magic system.
Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher/author for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
Storytelling: Khanani's writing is simply beautiful. I enjoyed how detailed and vivid it is. The descriptions were perfectly-intricate and I could easily imagine the scenarios in my mind's eye. Moreover, I loved that even though the story stays true to the tale that inspired it, the author crafts a deeper plot, in which she addresses some heavy topics, such as rape, abuse, the lack of justice for those who own little, how revenge corrupts the ones who seeks it, among others.
"The Wind has visited me in this dell since I was a child. I learned quickly that it did not speak to anyone else, and over time it has become both my closest confidant and my biggest secret. It's hardly an appropriate thing to visit with woodland spirits - even if this one is nowhere near as capricious as the old tales would have me believe."
I would like to point out that when I first read this book there were two things that did not make me enjoy the story wholeheartedly. I don't know if you all know, but the author revised the story (it has more 20k words than the first edition that came out) and I was very happy to realize that these two issues that I had with the narrative before were no longer part of it. How could I not now give Thorn all the stars?
Characters: Can we just talk about how awe-inspiring Alyrra is? Although she finds herself being a goose girl, Alyrra, who embraces the name Thorn after losing her own identity, is resilient and manages to get herself out of dangerous situations and help others as well. She is no damsel in distress. Also, the character growth is amazing! Throughout the narrative, Alyrra goes from a silent young princess mistreated by her family (she suffered a lot of abuse at the hands of her family, physical, mental and emotional) to a strong young woman in the path to become the queen Kestrin people needs.
Alyrra did have doubts about her place and her identity, but she never believed the girl who stole her skin would be a better queen than her. However, the time she spends as Thorn, working in the barn as a goose girl was essential for her to understand her own strengths and what kind of princess she wished to be.
I don't want to say much about Kestrin because I might give something away, but I did enjoy how he gave Alyrra a choice: she was the one who had to decide if she wanted to be a queen or a goose girl. He would not push her into her rightful place, even after learning about the truth.
World building: There is so much more I want to learn about this magical world woven by Intisar Khanani! I learned so much and yet I feel I learned so little because there was so much to explore. I mean, the fundamentals are explained throughout the story, but I wanted to learn a lot more about Falada, his family and the Horses; to know more about the Mage Circle and the magic system.
Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher/author for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
Do you enjoy fairy-tale retellings as much as I do? Do you have a favourite retelling of the Goose Girl? Have you already ordered your copy of Thorn?!
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I'm currently reading this and honestly, it's so nice but I hadn't read it when it was first published. The writing is certainly one of the best aspects.
ReplyDeleteI loved the writing when it was first published and I loved it now. Intisar Khanani's writing is simply beautiful.
DeleteHappy readings! 😊
This sounds lovely! It's already on my TBR, but your review is making me want to read it sooner rather than later. ;)
ReplyDeleteLindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? 💬
I hope you read it sooner rather than later because Thorn is such an amazing retelling of the Goose Girl.
DeleteHappy readings! 😊
This book sounds so great! I love retellings so much, so I'll definitely add this to my tbr!
ReplyDeleteI hope you love it as much as I did. Happy readings! 😊
DeleteOh, this isn't the Thorn I thought it was! This is a different one! I like the sound of this one very much. The cover is much better too.
ReplyDeleteSo many books... It's no wonder I get confused sometimes. ;)
What Thorn did you think about? There are a lot of books out there and some with the same title, so it is easy to confuse them.
DeleteHappy readings! 😊
So glad that you loved Thorn the second time around <3
ReplyDeleteIt's such an amazing book! 😊
DeleteI saw this book had been rereleased and I really enjoyed it when I read it wayback when so I really want to check out this new revised edition and see if it holds up to how I remember or if it’s been improved as it has been for you. It was a great retelling and one I really want to read again now.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have the opportunity to read Thorn again very soon. My reading experience this time around was a lot better. Every aspect of the book was so much more polished!
DeleteHappy readings! 😊