Creeping Beauty by Andrea Portes
Published by HarperTeen on August 22, 2023
ISBN: 0062422472
Pages: 336
Genres: Fantasy
Format: Fiction
Goodreads

In the retelling of the fairy tale classic, Creeping Beauty by Andrea Portes introduces us to Bitsy, who is most definitely not your typical princess. She is not beautiful or patient, but she is smart. She doesn’t believe in the class system, and prefers to either hang out with her servants, or read her books in peace. Having to do anything related to being the daughter of the king annoys her, especially having to spend time with the men her father wants to marry her off to. An attempt to flee from one such suitor leads her to a room in the castle she’s never seen before, complete with a spindle. She pricks her finger and finds herself waking up in an alternate world. This is where the story starts to fracture and the plot goes awry. The story line becomes hard to follow, the world building falls flat and we are introduced to ill defined characters who disappear without another mention. The book also flipped back and forth between reading as an adult book then back to juvenile fiction. This unfortunately isn’t anything I would spend any book budget money on.

 

Lee Remick, York Middle School, York