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Princess Alyrra has always longed to escape the confines of her royal life, the contempt of the court, and her abusive family. When she becomes betrothed to the prince of a powerful neighboring kingdom, she journeys to his land hoping for a better future. Yet she’s afraid she has traded one life of imprisonment for another.
When a powerful sorceress robs Alyrra along the road, Alyrra finds herself suddenly bereft of her identity and role as princess, and she seizes the opportunity to start a new life for herself as a goose girl. But a chance encounter reveals that Prince Kestrin is not what Alyrra expected. The kingdom is full of people enduring pain and hardships, and the sorceress herself is determined to make Kestrin suffer. Alyrra cannot remain the goose girl forever when she knows she could make a true difference — for the first time in her life — as the princess.
The fate of a kingdom is at stake, and Alyrra must decide who she is, who she will be, and what she stands for.
I was not expecting to be so utterly captivated by this story. Thorn is brimming with classic fairy tale faeries and curses mixed with darker undertones of royalty that refuse to acknowledge the darker parts of the kingdom, the nature of justice, and the effects of revenge.
It was clear to see Alyrra suffers from abuse in the story. The scars she carries are visible and affect her as a character. They are addressed and not present simply for the sake of tragic backstory. In a way, that shapes her into the hardworking, loyal, and endlessly kind person she is. Her power comes through friendships, alliances and her empathy, and it was nice to see a heroine who possesses such strength without being a sword-wielding warrior.
Another point in this story’s favor is the romance. Instead of following the insta-love pattern, it is realistic and slow, and the characters show commendable restraint and respect for the other person.
Overall, Thorn is a whimsical and deeply thoughtful Goose Girl retelling full of high emotion that addresses sharp truths and profound issues in beautiful prose. At its heart, it’s a tale about forgiveness, self-worth and strength of character.
(A couple of other Goose Girl retellings reviewed here on Rated Reads: The Secret Princess and Bloodleaf)
Rated: Moderate, for harsh topics such as abuse, rape, and the nature of justice. There are around 7 uses of mild language and 3 uses of the name of Deity. Violence is high, sometimes detailed, and a strong part of the story. Alyrra comes from a verbally and physically abusive family, though the worst of the abuse is just alluded to. An animal companion is pointlessly killed. Mentions are made of beheadings and hangings. In a vision, a character witnesses a woman being tortured, her hands impaled, belly slashed, and left to die while her daughter watched. A character is gouged by a beast. A woman is executed by hanging. A woman is found brutally attacked, raped, and beaten and later dies from her injuries. The bodies of rapists are hung, and the aftermath is witnessed by the main character. A girl is attacked and struck. Royal guards (in a skewed sense of justice) refuse to offer aid, leaving characters to seek out “thieves” who act as justice seekers for the city.
