Brief Review:

Briony is the lesser-known younger sister of Princess Rosalind, better known as Sleeping Beauty. When Briony suddenly wakes up on the floor of a room with a spinning wheel, she immediately knows that the curse has come true and Rosalind has pricked her finger, sending the entire castle into a century-long nap. But why did Briony wake up before her sister? And after the foretold Prince kisses Rosalind, why is the castle still surrounded by a dense forest of thorns? It’s up to Briony, along with her new friend Edwin, her sister, and the surprisingly incompetent Prince Varian to figure out how to defeat the thornwood. Along the way, they gradually learn that Rosalind’s curse was actually just a part of a far larger feud amongst the fairies. In order to save her family, friends, and servants, Briony must sort through all of the half-answers and cryptic clues that her sister’s fairy godmother has been gradually feeding her over the course of the book. This fractured fairy tale will appeal to fans of the genre, especially Liesl Shurtliff’s (Fairly) True Tales series. The familiar story is given numerous twists that make it particularly appealing to the tween audience including a few additional characters who are likable and relatively believable, an atypical and almost sinister depiction of the fairies, realistic themes of sibling rivalry and sibling love, and enough complexities and setbacks to maintain an exciting, fast-paced plot for the duration of the novel.

Long Review:

In this novelized retelling of the Sleeping Beauty story, Briony is the younger sister of the beautiful, tragically cursed princess Rosalind. The royal family has lived in fear for longer than Briony has even been alive, but now it’s finally Rosalind’s sixteenth birthday, and they just have to make it through one more day before they can be sure that Rosalind is finally safe. The king decides to throw a huge party for his older daughter’s birthday to celebrate the end of the curse. But when Briony suddenly wakes up on the floor of a room with a spinning wheel, she knows that Rosalind didn’t escape the curse after all. Despite all of her parents’ precautions, Rosalind has pricked her finger on a spinning wheel and everyone in the castle has fallen asleep for a hundred years.

But Briony gradually realizes that the curse didn’t play out exactly as predicted. Why is she the first person in the castle to wake up, and why is she the one who wakes up in the room with the spinning wheel? And after she finds Rosalind just as the foretold prince kisses her, why is the castle still surrounded by a dense forest of thorns? Besides that, Briony can’t help instinctively disliking Prince Varian. He later confidentially admits that he isn’t actually a prince at all and that he doesn’t even know how to use his magical sword. He explains that Rosalind’s fairy godmother gave him the sword and led him through the thornwood and that he doesn’t know how to get rid of the thorns now. He also says that it’s been a lot more than one century since Rosalind and Briony fell into their magical slumber. In fact, Briony learns that the nearby village is now a tourist destination whose economy mainly relies on the princes who have each wanted to try rescuing the legendary Sleeping Beauty.

Meanwhile, Briony meets and befriends a boy named Edwin who came to the castle shortly before Rosalind pricked her finger. Although most of the palace servants had simply failed to show up for work that day in order to avoid the curse, Edwin did the opposite. He snuck into the castle for the purpose of being caught in the century-long nap so that he could escape his reputation as the “village dolt”. But now, he joins forces with Briony, Rosalind, and Prince Varian to figure out how to escape the castle while the king, queen, and servants continue to sit around and hope that the thornwood will go away on its own.

As the four young people try multiple methods of escape, and Briony has a few bizarre encounters with her sister’s fairy godmother, they gradually learn that Rosalind’s curse was actually just a part of a far larger feud amongst the fairies. Rosalind’s fairy godmother simply used Rosalind as a pawn in her scheme to imprison the fairy queen. And it was working while Rosalind was asleep. But the thornwood is controlled by the fairy queen herself, not by the curse. Now that the curse has been lifted and Rosalind is awake, the thornwood wants to consume her. Briony is sure that there has to be another solution. Nobody is able to tell her what it is; in order to save her family, friends, and servants, Briony must sort through all of the half-answers and cryptic clues that the fairy godmother has been gradually giving her.

This fractured fairy tale will appeal to fans of the genre, especially Liesl Shurtliff’s (Fairly) True Tales series. It takes a very familiar story and gives it several twists that make it particularly appealing to the tween audience including a few additional characters who are likable and relatively believable, an atypical and almost sinister depiction of the fairies, occasional passages of dry humor, realistic themes of sibling rivalry and sibling love, and enough complexities and setbacks to maintain an exciting, fast-paced plot for the duration of the novel. This book is evidently the first in a new fairy-tale-themed series about sisterhood.

Thornwood is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty (Roslin) from the point of view of her sister (Briony). Briony wakes up first from the hundreds year sleep and from there on odd things happen.

The castle is covered in thorns, the fairy godmothers aren't really helpful, and the people in the castle are afraid and angry with the royal family (especially Roslin aka Sleeping Beauty).

With the help of the Prince and a common boy the team tries desperately to save the kingdom from encroaching Thornwood and save the kingdom and each other from even more troubles that continue to pop up along the way.

This book employs my favorite trope; a big group of friends working its way through "The Big Problem" with lots of wit and cooperation and sacrifice (with a little crush or two along the way). Thornwood threw in a twist that I as an adult reader could see coming but will be amazing for the targeted audience.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this ARC.

I received an electronic ARC from Random House Children's through NetGalley.
An interesting twist on Sleeping Beauty. Cypess tells the tale from the younger sister's perspective. Readers get to see the story behind the fairy tale and how the central plot point affected far more than one person's life. Several plot twists may surprise readers as they watch the Briony, Rosalin, Edwin and Varian take on the overgrown briars that actively attack the girls and work to solve the puzzles within the puzzles to free the castle and its inhabitants to live free again.
Fairy tale readers will enjoy this first book in the author's new series looking at familiar tales from a different point of view. This is a quick read with plenty of humor to match the action and adventure.

Eleven-year-old Briony has never been the princess people noticed. That would be her older sister Rosalin, the princess with a curse that claims on her sixteenth birthday, she’ll prick her finger on a spinning wheel and the whole castle will sleep for one hundred years. No one can stop the evil magic, but when Rosalin is kissed by a prince, and the castle wakes up, Briony believes the curse has been broken…until she looks outside. It turns out that the curse didn’t fully break, and now the murderous Thornwood is threatening to overtake the castle. With time running out, it’s up to Briony to figure out what’s really going on and save her friends and family if they ever want to see the sun again.

In her middle-grade debut, Leah Cypess weaves a tale of sisterhood, friendship, and courage that is not to be missed. I always love fairy-tale retellings, and this was no exception. With brilliant characters and a setting that practically comes alive on the page, I found that I couldn’t put it down for even a moment. Briony is a fantastic heroine: persistent, brave, and clever; yet, jealous, scared, and sometimes a little too trusting too. Her voice is wonderful, and I enjoyed spending the story in her head. Although the bond between the sisters is admirable, my favorite element of Thornwood is the friendship that forms between Briony and Edwin. Fans of magical middle-grade adventures and twisted fairy-tales will delight in this sensational story.

(Pine Reads Review would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing us with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change upon final publication.)

Everyone knows all about Sleeping Beauty, but no one's ever heard of Briony, her younger sister. When the curse is broken, nothing goes to plan, and it's up her to figure out how to save everyone in the castle from their impending doom.

Thornwood is charming and fun, full of twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat. The plot was well-constructed, the characters interesting, the emotions packed, and the twists bendier than the thornwood itself. It can be difficult to find a fresh take on a story that's been told so many times, but I feel this truly accomplished that. I found the relationship between the sisters to be well done.

Thornwood was perhaps not the kind of book that I expect will stay with me forever (though time will tell), but it was certainly an enjoyable and fun read for right now. I look forward to the rest of the installments in the series, and I hope they include just as many excellent twists.

ARC provided as an ecopy for review by NetGalley.

Dispelling the traditional friendly fairy myths, this intriguing novel showcases an unlikely pair of heroines. Strong women save the day.

Thornwood takes readers on a new twist of an old fairy tale. Did you know Sleeping Beauty had a little sister, well neither does anyone else in the castle or kingdome as she is pretty much ignored by everyone but Sleeping Beauty and her parents. I think middle grades 3-6 will enjoy this retelling as the curse doesn't really end with Sleeping Beauty being woken by the kiss.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this eARC for an honest review.

I thought that this was a nice book for the upper elementary/middle school audience. The twist at the end was good, I didn't see it coming.

Rosalin is Sleepy Beauty, cursed to sleep for a hundred years when she pricks her finger on a spindle. Oh, there's her sister Briony too, but she's not as important. Kidding, Briony is the narrator of this story, what is *her* story? How does she handle constantly being in THE Sleepy Beauty's shadow 24/7?

This is more of a different take on the classic story and I like how it includes other fairytales in the process. Plus, Briony is a pretty snarky narrator. People may not like how abrasive she can get, but I think it's toned down enough so it's not as annoying as she could be.

My favorite part is how Briony and Rosalin are forced to see how the curse has affected the castle staff and aristocrats. What about all the people that just happened to be in the castle when the curse hit? It's a really cool angle that I haven't seen done in a Sleeping Beauty retelling before.

My only real complaint is that it is too short, I feel like a lot of things could have been expanded on. The epilogue is really sweet though, I liked that there was one in the first place, ha.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

The cover of this book drew me in instantly. This book is a charming retelling of Sleeping Beauty, and I think middle grade readers will very much so enjoy it! It was well paced, and the characters have depth and are well likeable.

Thornwood is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty told from the perspective of Sleeping Beauty's little sister. I love a good retelling, but sometimes they are hard to come by. This book was such a unique and refreshing take on the story we all know and love.

I love the idea of a book being told by the "forgotten sibling" of the protagonist. I identified with Briony (the little sister) a ton, but also found myself identifying with Rosalin (Sleeping Beauty). I think reading this book, and being a middle child helped me really get the most out of this book. The interactions between Rosalin and Briony were so real, and I liked that Cypess didn't sugarcoat their relationship. They struggled with each other, and didn't listen to what the other was saying, but you never question the love that they have for each other.

Other than the fantastic development of our main heroines, this book was action packed, and the pages turned themselves. There are twists and turns, and I wasn't quite sure how it would end. Thornwood keeps you on your toes, but also conveys a deeper meaning of the importance of family.

Overall, I highly recommend this book to middle grade, and fairy tale fans. I will be buying a copy for my ten year old sister upon publication, as I think she might just identify with Briony herself.

3/5 Stars

** I received this as an E-ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review, Thank you!**

I enjoyed reading this book. I enjoyed the interesting spin on sleeping beauty. I also really enjoyed the fact that this author kept fairies to manipulative creatures, I think worked well in this story. I will say it felt a little too short for me, but perfect for intended age range. It was a very simple read and would for sure recommend to young readers wanting to read a fantasy or retelling.

This book is considered Middle Grade, but I would be inclined to say it reads lower than that just a bit. The pacing is fine for kids and while there is certainly some dark themes, nothing is too intense. While this was certainly not in my list of favorites in the world of retellings, I think there is a lot here for kids to appreciate: a castle surrounded my a forest of thorns, the survival story, fairies, swords, a little bit of love. There is a great deal of cheesiness and some predictability, but kids will like this one.

For Libraries: If you have young fantasy and fairytale fans, this is a good addition to your shelves.

This is a gorgeous, dark retelling of Sleeping Beauty, focusing on sisterhood and saving your own self and family, rather than waiting for someone to do it for you. Illusions abound and the encroaching thorns genuinely creeped me out. There's twists and turns and lost memories, and whoever said fairy godmothers had to be good? I definitely recommend this for fairy tale lovers who can handle darkness and danger, and I look forward to the author's next book.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for the ARC.
This review originally published at Bookworms in the 'Burg: https://bookwormsintheburg.blogspot.com/2021/02/thornwood.html

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book!

Thornwood is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, told from the perspective of Sleeping Beauty's forgotten younger sister, Briony. Briony has a complicated relationship with her older sister, Rosalin, and when she wakes up from the so-called 100-year curse, things get even more complicated. The curse ends up not being as straightforward as one may have thought, and Briony has to figure out how to stop the Thornwood from continuing to grow and swallow up her castle before it is too late.

There is a lot to love about this book. I love fairy tale retellings in general, and I very much appreciated some of the twists on this classic tale. I liked the idea of the princess having a younger sister and having the story told from the sister's perspective, but I didn't actually love Briony's character, and I also didn't love the relationship between Briony and Rosalin. I felt like something was missing from the development of these characters and their relationship, and while I generally enjoyed the plot, I had trouble fully immersing myself in Briony's voice. I did very much enjoy some of the side characters, especially Briony's friend Edwin, and I would have liked to see his relationship with Briony developed further.

This was a solid, fun book, but not as amazing as I was hoping it would be. I would still recommend it to anyone who enjoys fairy tale retellings!

Thornwood is a retelling of the Sleeping Beauty fairytale. This novel is a Middle Grade novel. It's about Sleeping Beauty, her younger sister and the curse that has haunted them since birth. This novel is quite a departure from the Sleeping Beauty fairytale and I liked the story. There are surprising twists.

I liked the characters, the plot and the setting. The story transported me back to another place. I liked the descriptions of the characters.

Note: I received this Advanced Reading Copy of Thornwood in exchange for an honest review. I asked for the ARC and the publisher, Harvey Klinger, granted my request. Thank you.

I enjoyed this retelling of Sleeping Beauty told by her younger sister. I thought it was really cute and sweet story focusing on sisterhood. It was a quick easy read and it kept my attention pretty much all the way through. I did think the writing was a little repetitive at times but overall thought it was written pretty well. The characters were okay as well. Rosalin could be annoying at times but I almost think that was the point. Overall, I was entertained and didn't think the couple hours it took to read it were wasted.

This was a cute take on the classic sleeping beauty tale. I enjoyed how the princesses were their own heroes in the end. I loved that it showed how the bond and love of a family can prevail evil.

A reimagining of the classic Sleeping Beauty story told from the perspective of her little sister, Briony. All her life Briony has been stuck being in her sister’s shadow. When the curse finally happens and when everyone is awoken again, things are not as they seem. The “prince” is not a prince and has many secrets, the curse is still happening and trapping everyone inside the castle, and fairies are at war with one another. This was an interesting take on the original story but I found that I really disliked the characters and I just wanted the book to end. By the end, everything wraps up fine. This is a book in a series of retellings.

*Thanks Netgalley and Random House Children's for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

This retelling of Sleeping Beauty did not quite meet my expectations and the book had a hard time holding my attention.