Thornhedge

This was my first experience with Kingfisher and I definitely liked what I read. She was able to retell "Sleeping Beauty" in a really sweet way. With a shape-changing toad-fairy, and a doofy knight. I liked how this story just flowed, it didn't feel like it was forced to be told, but it was like an uninterrupted stream of words. It's a fast read, easily achievable in one day of reading. The characters were sort of pathetic at times, especially Toadling but it added to the charm of the book. Kingfisher talked about how she considered this novella to be sweet in nature, even with the bloodthirsty princess and violent scenes of animal violence. I agree with her, this is a story that tells of the good in people, that people strive to make other people better and to help when they make mistakes.

At least trying to make people who have no one feel loved is one of the great gifts of life.