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I absolutely loved Liesl and Po, which was also written by Oliver and is middle grade fantasy as well. It was one of my favorite books from last year and one I highly recommend. I unfortunately can't say the same about "The Spindlers."

There were some highly quotable passages from this book that I truly loved, but I just didn't find that level of emotion sustained throughout. It felt like Oliver was trying to create the sort of charming creepiness that authors like Roald Dahl are known for, but More...

WOO! Another awesome MG from Lauren Oliver, this one with an adventure more action-packed than her lyrical (and my favorite) "Liesl and Po". I'll be writing up a full review for it in the fall, but for anyone wondering whether or not "The Spindlers" is worth piling on top of their already mountainous TBR piles, I've got a list of selling points for you. (Gotta love lists!)

You will LOVE "The Spindlers" if you love...:

-Alice and Wonderland, The Redwall series, Roald Dahl (particularly "The Witche More...

I'm in love with Lauren Oliver's writing all over again. Before I Fall and Delirium showed us that she can write emotional, heartwrenching novels. I haven't read Liesl & Po yet (where have I been?), but Spindlers has shown me that she can write magical fantasies that will capture the heart and inner child of middle-grade readers everywhere.

As I've mentioned in some past reviews, I'm an older sister myself, and I can easily relate to Liza. Yes, siblings get in fights, but they're your best fr More...

The Spindlers is yet another beautifully written book from Lauren Oliver. A kind of Alice in Wonderland tale, The Spindlers follows Liza in her search for her little brother's soul in the dark underground world of Below. She meets a rat named Mirabella, troglods, nids, nocturni, and many other magical and mysterious creatures in her quest. In the end she must face the Spindlers' nests and the horrible Queen on her own, but discovers too that even in the darkest places you will find hope and help More...

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Lauren Oliver is a truly talented writer, be it in the young-adult field, or when writing for a younger audience, like here in The Spindlers. I was impressed with Before I Fall, and I am even more so after reading this richly imaginative, darkly creepy, and thoroughly lovely middle-grade novel. I'm in my twenties and I loved every page - I can't imagine what this book would have meant to me had I read it when I was at the age of the intended audienc More...

The first thing I noticed when I opened The Spindlers was the dedication: To Patrick, of course - And to my sister, who has rescued me many times from the dark, and for whom I would gladly go Below. Hmm… I thought as I began to read... “One night when Liza went to bed, Patrick was her chubby, stubby, candy-grubbing and pancake loving younger brother, who irritated and amused her both, and the next morning , when she woke up, he was not.”

A few sentences later I read: The fake-Patrick picked up hi More...

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales.

Quick & Dirty: Very cute middle-grade fantasy with a fun story, good adventure and interesting characters.

Opening Sentence: One night when Liza went to bed, Patrick was her chubby, stubby, candy-grubbing and pancake- loving younger brother, who irritated her and amused her both, and the next morning, when she woke up, he was not.

The Review:

Liza loves her younger brother Patrick even though most of the time he is a pain. He is her playmate and best friend More...

4th&up
Liza is a girl with a very active imagination- much to her parents’ despair- but even she could never have predicted the journey she’d have to undertake when she realizes that she is the only one who can rescue her brother’s soul from the evil spider-like creatures called Spindlers.
All told, this is a solid fantasy adventure that will likely be well received by the young readers it is geared towards. The opening hook is a good one, there are plenty of thrills, and the climax is susp More...

Grades 4-7: a pleasant fantasy story, but nowhere near as engaging and graceful as Oliver's Liesl and Po. When Liza realizes that her brother has been switched with an imposter, she knows immediately what has happened. Her babysitter used to tell her and Patrick about the spindlers, spider-like creatures that can steal your soul. When Liza cannot convince her parents that the Patrick-imposter is not her real brother, she decides that she will search out the spindlers herself and get her real bro More...

Liza woke up one morning and discovered that her brother Patrick was no longer himself. He looked the same, had the same memories, and to everyone else seems the same, but something is definitely off with him. Liza is the only one who realizes the Spindlers have taken his soul and put one of their own in his place. To save Patrick's soul, Liza takes a broom (because Spindlers are afraid of them) and goes Below, a world beyond her own full of magical creatures, talking rats, glow worms that light More...

This is exactly the kind of book I would have loved when I was around nine or ten. Quirky characters, lots of adventure and peril. Mean baddies. A subterranean world with magic and mysterious happenings.

The plot was very straight-forward through most of the book--a quest to rescue Liza's brother's soul as she travels through strange and dangerous places "Below" with a talking and oddly-dressed rat--but there were a few surprising and clever twists. I found the climax particularly well-written fo More...

Take one part Breadcrumbs by Anna Ursu, one part Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins, a smidgen of Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo, and a whole lot of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, and you'll find yourself in the middle of The Spindlers by Lauren Oliver. Liza is a girl who is certain that her brother's soul has been stolen in the night by the Spindlers, a spider like creature with human hands who search for souls unaware and "drop down from the ceiling on their glistening webs o More...

I decided I wanted to read The Spindlers by Lauren Oliver on the basis of the first line: "One night when Liza went to bed, Patrick was her chubby, stubby, candy-grubbing and pancake-loving younger brother, who irritated and amused her both, and the next morning, when she woke up, he was not." I was drawn to the way the line captures the ups and downs of the sibling relationship: impossible and irreplaceable at once. The book did not disappoint in that regard. Patrick is not present through much More...

1. I loved all of the magical creatures and how they fit into the underworld and how they related to the world above. The explanation of the lumpen was so neat and original. They are geniuses but they just can't talk to share the information. I also loved the nocturni and the troglods.
2. This book reminds of a small scale Lord of the Rings adventure. The character goes from one mishap after another always just missing disaster. Magical creatures help them along the way in both books.
3. This bo More...

MY THOUGHTS
LOVED IT

Liza's baby sitter, Anna, has told her tales about the Spindlers, spider-like creatures that live below and steal the souls of unsuspecting children which they feast on. She knows the telltale signs, such as not acting normal, which in her little brother's case means brushing his teeth without complaint, going to bed without an argument and just generally behaving. So when these things start happening, she knows without a doubt that Patrick's soul has been stolen. Much like Al More...

Liza wakes one morning with the realization that the spindlers have taken the soul of her little brother Patrick. Being a brave and plucky girl she decides to go find her brother's soul armed only with a broom. She goes Below and runs straight away into a rat who wears makeup and a wig called Mirabella. Mirabella also is carrying a grudge. " And is it natural, the rat thundered, quivering with rage, for some to be cuddled and coddled and hugged, while others are hated and hunted and hurt, becaus More...

I will be the first to admit that while I can appreciate middle grade novels, they’ve never really been something I was overly curious about. It wasn’t until my 11-year-old cousin started asking me for book recommendations this summer that I truly started considered reading and reviewing them. Before this, I would constantly recommend books to her older sister (who was 19), but a lot of those aren’t exactly something I wanted a kid to read. I decided to give Lauren Oliver a go because I adored h More...

"There's lots of magic everywhere, you know." So says Liza, the protagonist of this fairy/folktale which includes just about every fairy/folktale trope out there. If it were for an adult, I would say that Oliver was being campy, but as this is for kids, it's really a great way to introduce them to the genre. If a kid hasn't read a lot of fairy tales, he/she will learn all of the elements; if the kid is well read, he/she will recognize them as familiar friends.

Wizard of Oz is in here, as is Alice More...

The Spindlers is yet another beautifully written book from Lauren Oliver. A kind of Alice in Wonderland tale, The Spindlers follows Liza in her search for her little brother's soul in the dark underground world of Below. She meets a rat named Mirabella, troglods, nids, nocturni, and many other magical and mysterious creatures in her quest. In the end she must face the Spindlers' nests and the horrible Queen on her own, but discovers too that even in the darkest places you will find hope and help More...

Liza notices one morning that her brother, Patrick isn’t her brother. He’s too quiet, too perfect and too nice; Patrick’s soul was taken by the Spindlers. If Liza wants her brother Patrick back and she will go great lengths to get him.
Liza sets for an incredibly brave journey down to the basement, through a hole in the wall and is faced with large rats, glow worms and other magical mysterious creatures. Liza meets a not so sane rat named Mirabelle, and the two set on the journey for Patrick’s s More...

3.5 stars.

To say the truth, I'm a teeny-weeny bit disappointed in The Spindlers.

Lauren Oliver's books have always had the beautiful, touching words and the incredible, magical world-building and this is no exception. I loved everything in it - the nids, the nocturni (Awwww.), Mirabella, the troglods, the scawgs and even the spindlers. I especially love Patrick even though he only appeared in the end and most of the time we can only know him through Liza's fond memories of him. And her way with w More...

In comparison to Oliver's other middle grade novel, Liesl and Po, I feel like the Spindlers just didn't come out as well. It could be the difference between listening to Liesl on audio and reading the paper book of Spindlers, but I felt like the writing was much more clunky, fading in and out of the cadence that makes Liesl so endearing. Spindlers is also much more predictable than Liesl- the storyline seems a bit like a traditional changeling story set in Gregor the Overlander's Underland altho More...

Another great book by Lauren Oliver. I really enjoyed Leisel & Po and was excited when I learned about The Spindlers through GoodReads First Read (giveaway) program.

I really enjoyed this book and will be recommending it to MG readers at the library where I work. I think that it would be a great book to read aloud to children 8+. I was so interested in learning more about an audio version that I did a little internet research and found that Simon Vance is the narrator for the audio book and More...

Lauren Oliver delivers a dreadfully mystical tale of magic and wonder. Middle grade reader's, are bound to fall in love with the magical creepy wonders and adventures. The enchanted tale that Oliver spins is intriguing and captivating. An age old tale of conquering fears to save the one you love, is what brings this whole world to life and propels the story into motion. The Spindler's is an amazingly well developed and imaginative world that anyone young or old could dive into and get lost with More...

Liza wakes up one morning to discover that her little brother has been stolen away and replaced by a sinister, dead-eyed clone. Naturally, her parents, preoccupied with matters financial, notice nothing. It's up to Liza to go Below and rescue Patrick from the Spindlers, a race of awesomely creepy spider-like beings, before they devour his soul. Along the way, she is helped and hindered by various bizarre beasties.

Sound familiar? Yeah, it's basically Coraline in the Labyrinth Wonderland. The "goi More...

Liza wakes up one more and realizes her little brother, Patrick, has been taken by the Spindlers. Her parents think Patrick is the same as he always way, but Liza knows that his soul has been taken away. Liza must journey under the ground and confront the Spindlers to try and win back Patrick's soul.

It fell flat. I could definitely feel the Coraline vibe going on. I could tell that's what the intention was. The world of adults doesn't understand Liza. They are disconnected from the real world an More...

One morning, Liza's brother Patrick is different. Her mother and her father don't notice anything, but Liza is certain that the Spindlers, wicked spider-creatures who live underground, have stolen her brother's soul. While Patrick may annoy her, Liza will do anything to get him back. Liza braves darkness and things that go bump in the night to journey below. There she meets Mirabella, a rat who prefers clothes, who agrees to guide Liza to the Spindler Queen. Readers will be amazed by the sights More...

Liza allowed herself to be pushed forward by the seething mass of spider-people. At the last second, she turned around. Mirabella was still standing, frozen, by the edge of the River of Knowledge, clutching her mirror.

When her younger brother seemed to have changed overnight and become a shell of his former self, Liza knows what happened to him. She knows from her babysitter's stories that the Spindlers have come for him, abducted his soul, and brought it back down to their underground lair. Th More...

When they were younger, Liza and Patrick's babysitter, Anna, told them stories about the various creatures that were largely unseen in the "real" world. The scariest of these were the spindlers---they would steal children and replace them with a sort of pod creature that looked and acted just like them---except the pod that replaced them was also full of spindler eggs. Eventually, though, the eggs would hatch and the creatures would scurry away. And the replacement pod thing would just vanish.

Li More...