Book Review
Title: The Spinner of Dreams
Author: K. A. Reynolds
Genre: MG/Fantasy/Mental Health
Rating: *****
Review: I didn’t know anything about The Spinner of Dreams before reading it but I did know that the author is own voices as she struggles with mental health issues and I was excited to see the portrayal of mental health in this book. We are introduced to Annalise Meriwether who was cursed at birth by the Fate Spinner which is shown by the black mark on her hand, which draws a strong comparison to Sleeping Beauty. Since the moment of Annalise’s birth anything bad has been blamed on her and the landscape around her home changed drastically as the sun disappeared from their town. To understand the impact of Annalise’s curse we have to look at the lore we have been given, the world beyond humans is split into two realms, Fate and Dreams. The twin elf Kings originally ruled over these realms until they died in the War of Fates. Centuries passed and eventually two new twins were born, princess this time, Kismet who rules over the realm of fate and Reverie who rules over the realm of dreams. However, Reverie is loved by all as she grants dreams and wishes while Kismet is hated and it is because of this hate, Kismet becomes a monster. When Annalise was born with the mark, it meant that the Spinner of Fate had marked this girl and much lie it did to Kismet, the loneliness and isolation begins to affect Annalise as she suffers with anxiety and panic attacks and rarely leaves her home. All Annalise has wished for in her life is a friend and she thinks she has found that in a cat her father isn’t allergic to who matches her identically, right down to one enlarged paw but he is torn away from her. In the aftermath, Annalise makes a new wish, she wishes to be rid of the curse of the Fate Spinner and be in control of her own destiny once more.
As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, Annalise begins to recite her new dream but after the cat flees, she finds a small book in its cage entitled: The Book of Remembering. The second she touches the book, she remembers the Fate Spinner coming to their home when she was a child and trying to take Annalise, saying that the child had stolen something form her but she couldn’t enter due to the laws that bind the Spinners. The four laws that bind the Spinners are that if either dies, the other will inherit her powers, the can’t use their powers on each and this is respectively for both Spinners and the final law is that any mortal has the right to challenge Kismet’s fate and enter the Mazelands in the hope of gaining the dream they truly wants and introduces on how to do it. That night Annalise decides that she is going to follow the signs and challenge the fate that Kismet has given her and wants to gain her wish of freeing herself from the curse once and for all. As Annalise begins her journey, she faces some obstacles already like overcoming her free of trains to board one. As Muse, her guide cat is being hunted he can’t be with her but she befriends a black fox on the train who warns of the conductor and the next challenge she will have to face in order to get to the Mazelands.
As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, Annalise is going to face her next challenge and she hasn’t even arrived at the Mazelands yet and it is seeming like the journey to get there is going to be as difficult as what she may face within the Mazelands. Mister Edwards, her new fox friend, tells Annalise his story on the way to the Mazelands and we learns he has been through there once before with his husband to fulfil their dream of opening a candy store but even after they completed the maze, the servants of the Fate Spinner attacking them taking Mister Edwards’ legs and losing his husband in the process and he has returned to find his husband. He and Annalise decide to go through the maze together but it seems like something or someone is doing everything to stop Annalise from reaching the maze in the first place, but they have allies all around them and make it there where they meet the siblings, Nightingale and Bowie. Together the four present their tickets to the Fate Spinner and enter the maze but before they can truly enter, they must choose one of four paths. The last time he was in the maze Mister Edwards chose the third path, the path of suffering and it led to Dreamland but Annalise is sure she must take the fourth path, the path of illusion as that number is special to her. Mister Edwards chooses to stay with as her skills and his knowledge of the maze will hopefully give them the best chance of beating the Fate Spinner and claiming their dreams. They also know on each path they will be faced with four gates that they will have to pass through, but it is going to be dangerous and not everyone might make it through the maze alive.
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, Annalise and Mister Edwards face their first gate, the Gate of Doubt where anything within makes them doubt their goals, their dreams and each other but Annalise isn’t going to get up her friend that easily even when he tries to attack her. I was expecting a little more from the first gate to give a taste of the maze, but the pair continue their journey until they reach the second gate, the Gate of Rejection. As its name suggests they face rejection inside specifically Annalise, as they meet up with Bowie and Nightingale again and everyone is offered an express ticket to see the Spinner of Dreams except Annalise but when Mister Edwards rejects the offer he rejects it for them all as this is the loophole allowing them to continue with their journey. However, Bowie and Nightingale are angry as they wanted to be reunited with their parents who died and don’t want anything to do with Annalise anymore which she accepts as that has been her whole life. Before they can reach the third gate Mister Edwards is attacked by the ivy surrounding the walls of the maze and Annalise uses her cursed hand to save him much to the annoyance of the Fate Spinner and she realises that she might be able to use her curse to free herself and help her friends as within the maze it is stronger than it has ever been before.
As we cross into the second half of the novel, Mister Edwards and Annalise have crossed the third gate, the Gate of Panic which is something Annalise knows well. After passing through the gate, they are greeted with four paths, Annalise has always chosen the fourth path and changes her mind here and chooses the third only to realise she has been tricked by the Fate Spinner. The gate leads to a spider lair and it has captured Mister Edwards, Annalise faces down the beast in order to rescue her friend and in doing so get the Book of Remembering back and the spider explains it will lead her down the right path. After beating this test, the pair get a brief reprieve from the trials of the Mazelands but they have to face down a dragon next but the Book of Remembering gives her a vital clue about how to defeat it in the form on a memory. As the face down the dragon, Annalise and Mister Edwards manage to defeat it but Annalise is injured in the process. After awakening the dragon casts Mister Edwards through a mirror to somewhere else in the maze and Annalise can’t go after him but she vows to find her friend. She realises that the dragon is the Spinner King, disguised as a monster by his daughter and as Annalise has set him free, he rewards her with a dagger that can shatter the Fate Spinner’s illusions. Through these tests Annalise has come to realise her hand isn’t a curse but something she can use to strengthen herself and vows she will never underestimate it again as it has done nothing but help her in the maze. As she enters the snow mirror, she comes face to face with the Fate Spinner but knows that she is stronger and escapes her. Here she comes face to face with the Gate of Death, the final gate she must cross through before she can reach Dreamland and claim her dream.
As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, Annalise is in great pain as soon as she encounters the door only for the creature we have seen little of, to final emerge from her hand but they are still connected by a thread. The unicorn is called Esh-Baal and Annalise realises this strong, beautiful creature has been hiding inside of her the whole time and that there’s no reason for either of them to hide now. Together Esh-Baal and Annalise must face their final challenge which is to defeat a chimera and Annalise immediately suspect that this might be the Spinner Queen, Saba in disguise. As they battle, the Fate Spinner offers Annalise the chance to come to her willingly and free the prisoner she has but Annalise understand the way the Fate Spinner works now and refuses. She and Esh-Baal defeat the chimera and free the Queen who had over her locket as it will open the gates of Dreamland when she arrives there. However, before they leave the Fate Spinner reveals that her friend Mister Edwards have been working against her the whole time and was leading her to the Fate Spinner. He was doing this because his husband was turned to stone by the dragon and he believes the Spinner was going to give him back but after spending time with Annalise he changed his mind but by then it was too late. He apologises and Annalise forgives him, but the Fate Spinner sends her final monster after them but with Esh-Baal, Mister Edwards, Nightingale and Bowie by her side they take on the Fate Spinner for their dreams. The battle is long and hard, but they manage to free all the dreamers the Fate Spinner has imprisoned and defeat the monster, but it isn’t over. The Fate Spinner decides to completely the tale Annalise has been learning as on the day she was born, the Fate Spinner did away with her sister, meaning Annalise and Esh-Baal are all that is left of the Spinner of Dreams but no one gives into her lies and head to see Dreamland for themselves as it always exists for those that believe.
As we cross into the final section of the novel, we see Annalise restore Dreamland to it’s former glory and return Reverie to her rightful place as she was Esh-Baal all along but the power of the unicorn is inside of her. However, since her dream was achieved the moment, she opened the gates to Dreamland, she asks for her town to be healed of the Fate Spinner’s influence which Reverie agrees to although she gives Annalise much more. Annalise’s parents met her in Dreamland, and they return home together, along with Mister Edwards and his husband who decide to open their candy store in Annalise’s town to be close to her and even Nightingale and Bowie move in next door. Finally having the life, she always dreamed of, Annalise isn’t the shy, timid girl anymore and she is quickly ready for her next adventure. I really liked how mental health, specifically anxiety and depression, is looked at in The Spinner of Dreams and highly recommend it for all, especially those looking for some mental health rep or just a new fairytale-esque fantasy story.
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Comentários