Thorn author Intisar Khanani By Intisar Khanani
This was my first book in so many ways - the first novel I ever drafted, the first novel I took through the revisioning process (omg 16 drafts noooooo), the first book I indie published, and my first traditionally published book. It is very much the book of my heart.
It's also Not Your Traditional YA Fairy Tale. If you are looking for a kick-butt heroine who takes names, this is not the book for you. I wrote this story for myself, because I am not a kick-butt heroine, and if it came down to that, I would most certainly not save the day. But I truly believe that regular girls can save the day--girls who have seen the worst of humanity, who have faced sorrow and fear and hopelessness and were pretty sure they didn't have what it would take, and yet kept on going. Honestly, those are the girls I put my trust in.
This book has a down-to-earth, uncertain heroine who grows into herself; it has men who can't be trusted, and some who can, and some you might not be able to tell the difference between. It has trauma and animal death and violence against women and the very hard work of surviving abuse. It's not a pretty book by any means, and if you find any of these topics triggering, please proceed with caution.
But it also has a lot of beauty. It's about growing into yourself, and breaking your silence, and finding your own power. It's a little bit about justice, and a lot about compassion. It's got found family and moments of joy and a heckuva lot of hope. And it has a girl who saves the day by being herself, wholly and truly, and rocks her world through her own quiet strength and kindness.
Thank you for reading. I hope you love Alyrra as much as I do. Thorn author Intisar Khanani
The Written Review
Just released my Top 10 Books from 2020 BookTube Video - now that you know this one made the list, click the link to find the rest!
Princess Alyrra spent her life balanced on the precipice of fear - her brother finds joy in being cruel and her mother could care less.
“We all need our quiet, I think. We all have our unspoken wishes, hopes we cannot mention, choices we may yet regret.”
Her greatest wish is to fade into the background and live her life outside the shadow of her family.
Then one day, a neighboring king visits their small kingdom and with him comes the proposal of the young Prince Kestrin.
With her mother and brother remaining to rule over their kingdom...Alyrra knows this is her only chance to find her own life.
“. . . I've found that acting when you are afraid is the greatest sign of courage there is.”On the way to her betrothed, a sorceress curses Alyrra - forcing her to swap bodies with Valka (a noblewoman in her kingdom that absolutely hates Alyrra).
While Valka stumbles her way through the difficult role of princess, Alyrra sinks into her new identity as royal goose girl...though the prince seems a bit suspicious of her intentions.
At first, Alyrra couldn't be happier with her new role but this new perspective allows her to see the ugliness of the kingdom in a way she never would have from the palace.
Will Alyrra keep her head down and accept the status quo? Or should she dig deep and learn to speak up?
“Which of us has not made mistakes when faced with more than we can handle?”
The Goose Girl is one of my favorite childhood books and let me tell you - this version of it was stunning.
I am a huuuuuge fan of fairytale rewrites and this one was no exception.
I loved Alyrra's character - her grit and determination was inspiring. Her cleverness and wit made me love her.
I adored the way Alyrra and the prince circled each other - their relationship was such a slow burn but at the same time, I wouldn't change a thing.
Every time the two of them danced on page - it made my heart happy. And the big reveal? It had me grinning like no tomorrow.
The plot to this one was lonnnng. The book itself was over 500 pages and yet, there wasn't a thing I would cut.
There's so much that happened in this book and the plot itself was paced just perfectly for the 500 pages.
All in all, I am overwhelmingly happy that this is the start to a series. I cannot WAIT for the next one!
A huge thank you to Anela Deen and Intisar Khanani for sending me a free copy in exchange for an honest review
Other booktube videos involving this gorgeous book!
YouTube | Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Snapchat @miranda_reads Thorn author Intisar Khanani A fairy tale re-telling of the Goose Girl. I'm very pleasantly surprised at how good this book was.
I did a little Video Review for this gorgeous little book!
3.5 stars
Princess Alyrra has never played well at being princess. She just wants to do her own thing and let her abusive brother and cold mother do as they want, as long as she escapes their clutches.
A traveling King shows up at the palace and makes an offer for Alyrra's hand in marriage to his son Prince Kestrin.
Alyrra doesn't have a bunch of choices. Stay and face more abuse at the hands of her family or take that chance and go to another kingdom where she might get into something worse. Her mother of course thinks it's a perfect arrangement so she sends Alyrra off.
On the way they stop at a river to wash and Alyrra's handmaiden shows her true colors and with the help of a Fare Folk she assumes Alyrra's identity and Alyrra becomes the hand maiden.
Upon arrival at the palace Alyrra becomes the castle's goose girl. She works the geese and shovels poop to tide her days. She actually is okay with the switch because it gives her a chance to start her life anew.
Plus she has her horse, who talks with her about her choices.
Alyrra as a heroine is just about perfect. She doesn't have that milkshake that brings all the boys to the yard, she is strong but willing to bend, she doesn't attention whore...and get this NO INSTA_LOVE!
Thorn author Intisar Khanani Actual rating: 4.5 Stars
I received this ARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
This book was first published in 2012 as an indie book and it is being republished now by HarperTeen because an editor fell in love with it after reading the book. And I can see the reason why.
This book has a slow start, that much I can say. So I didn't notice for a while that I came to love the story and much of its characters. I only did after I got to the middle part.
The story is so mesmerizing and at times heartbreaking. It is more than a simple coming-of-age story. It is about knowing yourself, it is about trust, it is about deception, it is about revenge, it is about politicking, and most of all it is about learning that sense of justice is different for everyone. Moreover, it is about finding your path after a previously rendered road was taken away from you.
The protagonist, Alyrra, is written so magnificently. Although at first, she was described as somewhat a slow, shadow of a self, but other than that, she is caring, intelligent and had a high sense of justness. She had her doubts in her person but after a while, she came to believe in herself which magnanimously helped in the climax of the story.
Moreover, I loved the tandem between Alyrra and Kestrin. What they had is not an instant love between two people who are meant to be wed. They took their time to know each other and in turn trust each other. At the end of the book, Alyrra has not yet come to love Kestrin but is already furnishing the path to get there. And this is the kind of relationship that I love to read about: mutual respect and trust, not just about appearances.
This book is a retelling of the classic Goose Girl. Although I haven't read that particular book yet, I took the risk to read this before the classic. And I am glad that I did that, because this book left me enthralled and I'm sure that it will be one of my best reads this year. Hopefully.
Edit 16/01/2020
Even Ms. Intisar Khanani liked my review! I am so honored and thrilled! There's no doubt that I'm going to buy the book after its release. Thorn author Intisar Khanani This is delightfully whimsical and thoughtful Goose Girl retelling, a story that tells sharp truths in beautiful prose. I quickly loved Alyrra and her peaceful and contented personality, how she isn’t afraid of hardworking and she’s so loyal and endlessly kind. There are also faeries and curses, princes with secrets, and royalty that refuses to acknowledge the darker parts of its kingdom. I think it had quite a deft and well-said commentary on how women are subjected to violence and men look away.
An exceptionally crafted tale. Thorn author Intisar Khanani
An alternate cover edition can be found here.
For Princess Alyrra, choice is a luxury she’s never had … until she’s betrayed.
Princess Alyrra has never enjoyed the security or power of her rank. Between her family’s cruelty and the court’s contempt, she has spent her life in the shadows. Forced to marry a powerful foreign prince, Alyrra embarks on a journey to meet her betrothed with little hope for a better future.
But powerful men have powerful enemies—and now, so does Alyrra. Betrayed during a magical attack, her identity is switched with another woman’s, giving Alyrra the first choice she’s ever had: to start a new life for herself or fight for a prince she’s never met. But Alyrra soon finds that Prince Kestrin is not at all what she expected. While walking away will cost Kestrin his life, returning to the court may cost Alyrra her own. As Alyrra is coming to realize, sometime the hardest choice means learning to trust herself. Thorn author Intisar Khanani
Thorn 99-cent Sale For A Cause -
All proceeds from this sale will go towards helping a good friend cover the cost of international adoption of a pair of biological brothers with Saethre-Chotzen Syndrome--a condition that results in brain damage unless treated in the first year. Evan (age 7) and Raymond (age 9) were each given up at birth, and were unable to receive treatment for their condition.
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(I was given this book for free on a read-to-review basis as part of the ‘Thorn’ Blog tour.)
I have to start this review by saying that this book really surprised me, mostly because the blurb is actually a terrible description of this book, and the actual story is totally different to what you expect having read the blurb!
Alyrra is a 15-year-old princess. Her father is dead, her mother is unkind to her, and her brother basically tortures her for fun.
One day a king visits, and Alyrra is told that he has come to seek her hand in marriage to his son. Her mother thinks that the king is a good ally, and so Alyrra accepts the proposal when it is put to her, as that is what her mother tells her to do.
Alyrra sets off on her way to her betrothed’s kingdom, taking with her a maid and a girl called Valka. Valka is the daughter of a member of her mother’s court, but she is in disgrace so they basically send her off with Alyrra to get rid of her.
Half-way along their journey, Alyrra goes off to wash at a stream and Valka follows her. Once by the water a woman appears who Alyrra recognises as a sorceress. The woman casts a spell, and suddenly Alyrra is Valka, and Valka is Alyrra. Valka now feels that she has got her due – she is now princess, while she sends Alyrra off to work as a goose girl once they make it to their new home.
While Valka feels that she has beaten Alyrra, Alyrra is secretly pleased by the swap; now she can do with her life as she pleases, rather than being forced to be a princess and to be a member of the court. The only problem is that the prince, who Alyrra was to marry, seems to realise that something is wrong with Valka and Alyrra, and pays more attention to the real Alyrra than she would like.
Now that she is starting a new life, Alyrra changes her name from Valka to Thoreena, which is shortened to Thorn. Thorn makes a life for herself in the stables and small town, while Valka as the princess is disliked.
The sorceress has not finished her trouble making though, and her next target is Kestrin (the prince). Can Thorn stand by while the sorceress kills Kestrin, or will she find a way to solve this whole mess, and save herself in the process?
As I said I was really surprised by this book, the blurb mentions nothing about the whole body-swap thing, which is one of the main parts of the storyline! I was quite shocked when this happened as I obviously wasn’t expecting it!
Thorn/Alyrra was a very quiet girl, but had strongly held beliefs. Her mother said that her strength was her silence, which showed how little her mother really knew her, as Thorn was actually the one to speak out when she saw injustices being done, and even labelled herself as ‘too honest’. I really liked Thorn for exactly that reason, she just couldn’t sit by while bad things were happening, she took it upon herself to try and right wrongs no matter what the consequences to herself.
I thought that Thorn’s reaction to her body swap experience was a bit of an odd one, but it did actually fit with her character – she’s rarely complained about anything unless it was to aid someone else. I’m sure most of us would have thrown an absolute fit if a similar thing happened to us, but she just took it in her stride, and actually seemed to only see the advantages to swap!
Thorn’s life was not easy by a long shot, and there were several points in this book where the things that happened to her were just so awful that I cried. Throughout it all though she stayed strong and did her best and always looked out for others.
As surprised as I was by this book, I was also surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Thorn was just such a loveable character, and the storyline was full of twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. From the very beginning, Thorn captured my attention and held it, and I couldn’t help but love this book.
9 out of 10.
(Book length: 4116 kindle locations) Thorn author Intisar Khanani I’m so pissed off! I wanted to get the BEAUTIFUL special edition from a book box in December but no… they had to go and do that to the talking horse who/whom was the coolest!!
And I just couldn’t get into the book and skimmed here and there and flopped on the floor!! Did I mention I’m pissed at not getting the special edition!! I’m on a budget and a broke chic anyway so, whatever!!!
Damn it!
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾 Thorn author Intisar Khanani I loved this book, absolutely loved it. It’s an object lesson for me, actually, in not pre-judging a book, because this one ticks so many of my ‘no’ boxes: it’s YA, it’s a fairy-tale retelling, it’s first person present tense (“I back away...”, “I gaze at him”), it’s more or less a romance, it’s about a princess who doesn’t quite fit in, it has villains with no redeeming characteristics. Had I known all that beforehand, I would never have touched it and I would have missed a lovely, lovely story. As it was, it popped up on a list of free books, I started reading the sample and just kept reading, couldn’t put it down, in fact.
For those who know their fairy tales, this is a reworking of the Goose Girl story. I didn’t know anything about it, so maybe I missed a few subtleties, but I felt it worked perfectly well without any prior knowledge, and apart from a few oddities (like the talking Horse!) there was nothing in there that couldn't be found in conventional fantasy. One of the great strengths of this book is that the characters all feel truly rounded, so even though they are fulfilling traditional roles (the princess, the prince, the witch and so on) they have great depth and believable personalities. The villains seem at first glance to be simplistically cruel and evil, but they all have enough backstory to make them credible, if not exactly sympathetic.
The magic in the book is quite powerful, but the fundamentals are explained clearly enough to be believable, even the talking Horse. The author has thought everything out very carefully, and it works so well that when the heroine is rescued by magical means, it makes perfect sense. Not that she has to be rescued very often, mostly she is perfectly resilient and self-sufficient, and manages to get herself out of trouble and help others as well. I liked, too, that the magic is simply an integral part of life, everyone accepts it and it’s properly regulated. Interestingly, there is also religion, never explained or central to the plot, but just there, as a natural and perfectly normal thing. There are also social customs which are alluded to without full explanations, like a system of debt between people (if someone helps you out, you owe them a debt of comparable value). At one point there’s a discussion of a gift, and whether it incurs an obligation (a debt) or whether it’s just a gift, freely given, and a decision is reached without any attempt to explain the ‘rules’ of such an arrangement to the reader. I rather like this relaxed attitude towards world-building. Some things just are, and don’t need to be elaborated.
The character of Alyssa, the princess, is central to the story, naturally, and the first person narration makes it imperative that she is both likeable and believable. I feel the author pulls this off magnificently. Of course Alyssa makes mistakes sometimes, but she copes well with the strange events which overtake her, and is strong-minded, caring and intelligent without ever turning into the tedious type of kickass female protagonist so often depicted in fantasy these days. On the contrary, she often feels overwhelmed and suffers a great deal, but she always tries to do the right thing, as far as she can. There is a certain amount of angsting, but it's actually understandable, given Alyssa's predicament.
The plot rattles along very nicely, with some unexpected twists and turns. There are villains, of course, so bad things happen, but there are also friends who help out from time to time, just as in real life. Also realistic is that physical encounters have physical effects - if you roll down a cliff, for instance, or get beaten up, there will be cuts and bruises, maybe even broken bones, and time needed to recover. The climax is a bit of a show-stopper, a wonderful outbreak of magical manipulation with everything at stake, and no real certainty of how things will go. And the author neatly side-steps the clichéd ending. It's a fairy story, so of course good triumphs over evil, but the way that is achieved is refreshingly different. And there's not the obvious happy ever after, either. Rather, there's an acknowledgement that a lot has happened and there are bound to be scars, and a tentative sense of moving forward.
This book surprised me. It may be YA, but it addresses some very profound issues, like the nature of justice, the corroding effect of revenge, questions of loyalty and trust and honesty, and the inner goodness (or not) of people, regardless of what they look like, or their rank. The romance element follows a traditional path but with great originality and commendable restraint. The writing style is eloquently literate, and I barely noticed the use of first person present tense. I had a very few minor quibbles - there were a few places early on where I wasn't clear about relationships or what exactly was happening - but nothing major enough to spoil my enjoyment. A terrific read. Five stars.
Thorn author Intisar Khanani This is how you survive: one breath to the next, refusing each thought as it comes to you. This is how you get through the worst of things.
Thorn by Intisar Khanani was originally independently published in 2012, and it is now being re-released by a publisher in 2020. I was lucky enough to score an ARC in exchange for an honest review, and I'm equally happy to be discussing the book today. Spoilers follow, as well as a discussion of abuse and sexual violence.
So What's It About? (from Goodreads)
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.
What I Thought
When I'm in the right mood, there is almost nothing that makes me happier than a good fairy tale retelling. There's just something so endlessly comforting and magical and timeless about them to me, and I'm delighted to report that Thorn is not just a good fairy tale retelling - it is an exceedingly thoughtful, graceful and deliberate one. The Goose Girl is not one of my favorite fairy tales, partially because it has so many moving parts that never quite gelled to me, but they are actually all integrated seamlessly here in one cohesive tale. Everything from the talking horse Falada (who is a wonderful character) to the queen's protective charm, the sentient wind and the princess telling the true story to the hearthstones is included here. And in the manner of the best retellings, there are new and unique elements as well, breathing fresh life into the story.
In some striking ways I think Thorn is really different from the YA fantasies that have been the most successful in recent years, and I found that to be incredibly refreshing. The romance here is almost entirely weighty, thoughtful conversations and slow-building trust and if I remember correctly, they don't even kiss at the end of the story. The villain is ultimately revealed to be a nuanced character who listens to reason, has clear motivations for her actions and displays compassion at the end of the day. And, similarly to the other stories I have read by Khanani, the protagonist is deeply concerned with matters of personal accountability and justice.
One of Thorn's biggest themes is the examination of violence against women. Alyrra comes from a background of abuse from her brother and experiences attempted sexual assault during the story. In addition, her friend Violet dies after an attack and sexual assault. Finally, the main villain's motivation stems from the way that her mother was viciously murdered by a member of the royal family. This is a LOT of violence, and by now you probably know the standards that I've developed for judging whether violence against women is used in a meaningful, feminist way or an exploitative one:
1) Does the book present trauma in a psychologically accurate way, providing insight into the lived reality of survivorhood?
In Thorn's case the answer is a resounding yes. I think Alyrra is an unbelievably well-written character in all regards, but in this regard especially, and I'm still puzzling over how Khanani pulled off what she did with such a delicate touch. We see Alyrra stuck in silence and shame and absolute disbelief in her own worth and efficacy. There is a huge shift in her behavior after Corbe's attack and we see her initial shock and the way that her symptoms increase afterwards. She experiences dissociation and intrusive memories and can only sleep when she is protected by Falada.
A few of her thought processes in particular struck me as viscerally realistic and relatable. She is initially deeply wary and mistrustful of Prince Kestrel because SCHEMAS - before she knows him as a person she just thinks of him as another prince and princes are dangerous:
Like my brother, he will either laugh at my anger or hold my impudence against me. I dare not answer him.
In addition, when she defends herself from Corbe's attack and hurts him her main thought after the attack is to blame herself - that she is just as bad as her abusive brother because she has hurt someone else just like he used to hurt her. I can't tell you how common this kind of thinking is in an abuse survivor. Finally, when she finally breaks her cycle of silence and tells her found family of fellow servants about Corbe's attack, the main thing that she feels afterwards is incredibly happy because someone believes her and cares about what has happened to her. To someone who hasn't experienced abuse this might seem like a really strange response to talking about being attacked but I immediately identified this as something that had happened in my own experience as well - there's nothing like the relief of finally being seen and being told that your experiences matter.
2) Does the book examine the patriarchal systems and beliefs that facilitate violence against women?
Again, the answer is yes here. We see this part of the story mostly with when Alyrra's friend Violet is killed. The book as a whole is deeply aware of class divides and the inordinate burden of violence and oppression that the poor people of any society face, and Khanani is very upfront about the way that justice for women is entirely a class-based affair:
Justice for the poor? He laughs, sitting back. There is justice for the rich here, and justice for the powerful. But for the rest of us, there is very little of anything.
The guards are entirely apathetic about the fate of poor women. Violet is victim-blamed for what she was wearing and the guards are more concerned with whether she belongs to another man than they are concerned with actually seeking out justice - whether a man's proprietary claim has been violated rather than whether a woman's body and mind have been violated. What's more, privileged (and well-meaning) noble men like Kestrel are unaware of the extent of violence that is happening to poor people, and Alyrra's class mobility as goose girl and lost princess allows her to experience all of this and be a bridge between worlds and a fighter for what is right.
Another thing that I really enjoyed was Alyrra's struggle with the notions of retribution vs. justice. She is initially disgraced at court because of her willingness to stand up for a servant girl unjustly accused of a crime, and this sets the tone for the rest of the story and her concern with standing up for what is right. At first she is glad to have the men who killed Violent killed in turn, but later in the story when she is confronting the Lady she is forced to look at what the unyielding quest for retribution and vengeance may do to a person, and decides that there are other ways of finding justice that may be more effective. She even fights for the girl who stole her identity to be saved from her horrific punishment, although she is not successful in this regard. At the end of the story she states that she is still unsure of what the right answer is and is still trying to figure out the right balance between mercy, justice, retribution and vengeance:
I don't know what justice really is, I tell him. But I am trying to get right what I can.
I'm right there with Alyrra in this regard.
Another interesting aspect of the book is the extent to which it is a story about the act of acculturating to a new society. It helps that it is a beautiful Middle East inspired world, and it's especially interesting that while Alyrra loves her new home she is still able to see its flaws and decides to fight to make it a better place.
Ultimately, it's the story of a girl who has been hurt learning to overcome her lack of belief in herself to realize that she deserves to exist in the world and can change that world for the better, while also learning that she is worthy of love and connection and kindness for the first time. That is a story that I will read over and over again. Thorn author Intisar Khanani Book 2 completed for #RamadanReadathon
i absolutely love the new and fresh take this book had to offer YA fantasy
- right from the start, i was entranced by the writing
- it's descriptive and lyrical and kept my interest even during the slower parts of the boko
- the main character was great. she was caring and kind and showed her power through friendships and alliances. i thought that was pretty cool to see her hold power in court without having to be a sword wielding warrior
- this is a retelling based off the story 'goose girl' but i have no idea what the goose girl story is and that just goes to show that this book can stand on it's own
- the conversations it brought on justice and revenge were really interesting
- this book got dark at some points so definitely be aware that there are themes of abuse and rape that a character suffers (and oh my god it made me want to cry 😭😭😭 it was heartbreaking to read those scenes and the character was such a precious doll and kfjdlafjla im so sad)
- the magic element of the story was really cool too
- i didn't entirely understand all the implications of the magic and how it worked so rip to me
- there are some really really lovely friendships in this book and i absolutely adored how the book took time to build those and show those trusting, tender moments with us
- the book was very slow burn, the romance is just a hint and holds more future implications than anything (my shipper heart was SCREAMING)
- also there's a magical talking horse and omg !!!!!!!!!! i loved him sm ???
- the main conflict resolution was a hit rushed in my opinion, i feel like it was solved relatively easily and while it was realistic in some ways, i was kind of confused how it just Happened
- overall though, i really thought this was a refreshing take on a fantasy story and i really like how it played out. i'm so interested in the next companion book i cant wait jfkljslfja
“We all need our quiet, I think. We all have our unspoken wishes, hopes we cannot mention, choices we may yet regret.” Thorn author Intisar Khanani