Adventurous readers of all ages will fall in love with this tale of hope, courage, and friendship. Highly recommended.” — School Library Journal
“A magnificent and fantastical journey expertly woven with magic, imagination, and hope. Reynolds gently draws the reader to a place where fragile dreams are realized, where broken hearts are made whole. Readers will be utterly captivated.” — J.C. Cervantes, New York Times bestselling author of The Storm Runner
“With this haunting, wildly-imaginative, deeply-felt fairy tale, K.A. Reynolds proves to be a gifted dream spinner herself. A testament to the power of hope, determination, and of having a magical cat on your side.” — Anne Ursu, author of The Lost Girl
Utterly thrilling and achingly poignant, The Spinner of Dreams positively brims with magic, mystery, and poetry. This is the kind of book I needed when I was eleven years old: the type that proves that girls can fight their demons and win. — Hayley Chewins, author of The Turnaway Girls
Praise for The Land of Yesterday: “Told with riveting language, this is a poignant tale that will resonate with readers of all ages and leave them reeling from such an emotional, gorgeous story.” — Roshani Chokshi, New York Times bestselling author of Aru Shah and the End of Time
“From its first words, The Land of Yesterday has the pure crystal ring of a classic, like The Little Prince or The Phantom Tollbooth—beautiful, unique, and shimmering with truth. It’s a balm for grief, and a bursting fantastical joy of a story.” — Laini Taylor, New York Times bestselling author of Strange the Dreamer Laini Taylor, New York Times bestselling author of Strange the Dreamer
“Richly imagined, creative, and entertaining.” — School Library Journal
A magnificent and fantastical journey expertly woven with magic, imagination, and hope. Reynolds gently draws the reader to a place where fragile dreams are realized, where broken hearts are made whole. Readers will be utterly captivated.
From its first words, The Land of Yesterday has the pure crystal ring of a classic, like The Little Prince or The Phantom Tollbooth—beautiful, unique, and shimmering with truth. It’s a balm for grief, and a bursting fantastical joy of a story.
With this haunting, wildly-imaginative, deeply-felt fairy tale, K.A. Reynolds proves to be a gifted dream spinner herself. A testament to the power of hope, determination, and of having a magical cat on your side.
Utterly thrilling and achingly poignant, The Spinner of Dreams positively brims with magic, mystery, and poetry. This is the kind of book I needed when I was eleven years old: the type that proves that girls can fight their demons and win.
Praise for The Land of Yesterday:“Told with riveting language, this is a poignant tale that will resonate with readers of all ages and leave them reeling from such an emotional, gorgeous story.
07/01/2019
Gr 7 Up—On the day Annalise Meriwether was born, 11 years ago, the town of Carriwitchet ceased to see sunlight and began to experience only terrible things. Coincidence? The town and Annalise blame it all on Annalise's two-sizes-too-big hand and the shattered black heart mark that radiates pain and fire. If Annalise is going to have any chance at a normal life with friends and rid herself of this curse, she must fight the Fate Spinner and find the Spinner of Dreams. Annalise, along with a supporting cast of dreamers, enter the Mazelands in an effort to find the Spinner of Dreams and have all of their dreams come true. However, the journey isn't easy and the many obstacles are dangerous. Adventurous readers of all ages will fall in love with this tale of hope, courage, and friendship. Readers who are looking for a nonromantic, quest-centric fantasy will appreciate the relationship that Annalise forges with Mister Edwards, a three-legged fox who guides and encourages Annalise as she follows her dream. VERDICT Highly recommended; a great title for middle grade book clubs and school and public libraries.—Maryjean Bakaletz, Morris County Library, Whippany, NJ
2019-05-08
"Cursed" Annalise journeys through a labyrinth to reverse it.
A fairy tale-esque preface chronicles the birth of twin princesses in the Mazelands: the hated, pale-skinned Fate Spinner and the beloved, dark-skinned Spinner of Dreams. The story proper opens with the birth of Annalise Meriwether. Her "cursed" left hand, twice as large as her right, bears a broken black heart—the Fate Spinner's mark—that occasionally shoots fire and is blamed for the town's persistent miseries. Though her parents are incredibly loving and supportive, the townsfolk are abusive. Understandably traumatized, Annalise uses such mechanisms as counting to cope. Refreshingly, Annalise's anxiety and coping strategies aren't portrayed as obstacles or deficits. Hoping for "a normal left hand," Annalise travels to the Mazelands to face the perils of the Fate Spinner's labyrinth—and her misbeliefs about herself and her "wicked" hand. The plot itself is labyrinthine and its exploration of fate uneven. Moreover, the Fate Spinner's evil comes across as simplistic, in contrast to the story's other, more fully developed villains. The tiresome convention that equates dark with evil is turned on its head with the Spinner sisters' skin colors, but most everything else, disappointingly, aligns with it. Annalise's mother has brown skin, but Annalise herself is described only as having straight black hair and purple eyes. Mental health resources are provided in the backmatter.
An interesting if imperfect story commendable for its portrayal of a protagonist suffering from anxiety and possibly PTSD. (author's note) (Fantasy. 10-14)
