125th out of 926 books
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5,295 voters
Spinners
by
Donna Jo Napoli (Goodreads Author),
Richard Tchen
This is the story of two spinners. The first honed his craft at a stolen wheel, crippling his leg, turning a room full of straw into a glittering dress for his beloved -- and losing her. The second steals moments to teach herself. Saskia is her name, and she grows up to be a master spinner. Nothing is beyond her -- until she, too, must spin straw into gold. And it is then...more
Paperback, 197 pages
Published
February 19th 2001
by Puffin
(first published August 1st 1999)
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Jun 15, 2010
Anki
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
status—borrowed,
fantasy
I expected something...different than I got with this book. I enjoyed the descriptions of the various yarns Saskia creates, and I felt that the authors did a good amount of research regarding spinning. I also found some of the twists they put into the story to be interesting. However, there were a few things that just didn't work for me.
I am not fond of the third person present tense as a point of view for literature in general. While it can be done well, it usually feels stilted and awkward. It...more
I am not fond of the third person present tense as a point of view for literature in general. While it can be done well, it usually feels stilted and awkward. It...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Sep 23, 2011
Lisa Rathbun
added it
*Some spoilers* The book surprisingly opens with a young couple who've just made love. While I was initially surprised by this scene in a YA book, I soon realized that it wasn't just gratuitous; there was purpose and intention behind it.
Many fairy-tale retellings use the tale only as a starting point, taking the story in unexpected directions. In Spinners , Napoli actually ends up staying very close to the real tale, and therein is my disappointment. She crafts characters that you learn to car...more
Many fairy-tale retellings use the tale only as a starting point, taking the story in unexpected directions. In Spinners , Napoli actually ends up staying very close to the real tale, and therein is my disappointment. She crafts characters that you learn to car...more
Oh why oh why do Napoli's dust jacket descriptions make her books so enticing? The story contained in this was much different than what I expected and I really liked the middle of the book otherwise I loathed it. First off I don't get why Napoli uses such short sentances as they read choppily and frustrate me (something a book should never do IMO). Secondly the only character I truly liked through most of it was Saskia. Napoli did excellent job with the spinning terminology which suprised me (I'...more
Donna Jo Napoli's adaptation of Rumpelstiltskin, Spinners, is written for the young adult reader. Although Napoli has written many versions of traditional literature, I felt that her take on Rumpelstiltskin was weak and left much to be desired. The story is told six parts, beginning with a love story of a spinner and a beautiful woman that also spins and ending with the known Rumpelstiltskin guess my name in three night's try episode. The main characters are all interconnected through familial r...more
Feb 07, 2013
Leah
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Folk tale lovers
Recommended to Leah by:
Librarians
Shelves:
favorite-novels
As a young reader I was always actively looking for new novels to dive into, but this novel is one of the many I’ve read that I have never forgotten. Napoli gives a unique and interesting view into the old myth Rumpelstiltskin. The characters are fleshed out into complex and interesting people that made me care about them, most shockingly the ability to make me care about the villain as well as the hero. This novel, although read more than 9 years ago, still makes my heart tingle when I think a...more
Audrey Byrnes-Tolley's review:
The rumpled man was once able to spin straw into gold--but this gift took everything else he had. Saskia uses her gift for spinning to provide for herself and her father. When Saskia's father boasts to the king that she can spin straw into gold, the circumstances bring the rumpled man to her dungeon. Will the complicated secrets that tie them together save her or kill them both?
This unusual retelling of the Rumplestiltzkin story is written from the point of view o...more
The rumpled man was once able to spin straw into gold--but this gift took everything else he had. Saskia uses her gift for spinning to provide for herself and her father. When Saskia's father boasts to the king that she can spin straw into gold, the circumstances bring the rumpled man to her dungeon. Will the complicated secrets that tie them together save her or kill them both?
This unusual retelling of the Rumplestiltzkin story is written from the point of view o...more
I read this book while trapped waiting for medical procedures that were taking forever. I had just finished the horrible Hush by this author and and was horrified to find the only other book I had to read was another one by the same author. After reading Hush, by Donna Jo I would not choose another one by this author.
Like Hush, this book had so much going for it. The story of the two spinners, the father and the daughter was wonderful. But, just like the book Hush, the ending was crap. Too much...more
Like Hush, this book had so much going for it. The story of the two spinners, the father and the daughter was wonderful. But, just like the book Hush, the ending was crap. Too much...more
Have you ever wondered why Rumpelstiltskin is the way he is? Small, gnarled, deformed, and covetous of ladies' first born children? Have you ever asked yourself why that miller's daughter? What compelled Rumpelstiltskin to help her? Spinners answers all these questions and more about the traditional fairy tale. To discover the story behind the story, you'll have to read it.
What I thought: This is another fantastic fairy tale book by Donna Jo Napoli. Her expansion on the original tale is inspired...more
What I thought: This is another fantastic fairy tale book by Donna Jo Napoli. Her expansion on the original tale is inspired...more
I'm giving this four stars instead of three because I think those among my peers who enjoy fairytale retellings will enjoy Spinners, if only because it's rare to see Rumpelstiltskin retold. (Then again, I might have said the same thing about Wizard of Oz at one point and look what happened with that.)
My only complaint is how abrupt the ending was, and the only reason why I might have given this book three stars instead of four. The authors invested a lot of thought into the background story and...more
My only complaint is how abrupt the ending was, and the only reason why I might have given this book three stars instead of four. The authors invested a lot of thought into the background story and...more
About half-way through this book I realized I'd read it before. I remembered because I absolutely fell in love with the descriptions of the yarns that the spinners are spinning. This book made (makes) me want to go out and buy a spinning wheel and learn how to spin wildflowers into yarn.
Sadly, I'd forgotten how the book ended so I read through to the end, only to remember how much I can't stand the way the book ends. I won't give any spoilers, but I just find the ending terribly and unsatisfying...more
Sadly, I'd forgotten how the book ended so I read through to the end, only to remember how much I can't stand the way the book ends. I won't give any spoilers, but I just find the ending terribly and unsatisfying...more
This is a magnificent, if more adult, re-telling of the story of Rumpelstiltskin. It encompasses everything love, pride, magic, greed, revenge. It is the story of two spinners; one a man crippled by love and the other the daughter he has never met. It tells how they eventually meet and how things don't turn out as either hopes. It certainly does not have a happily-ever-after ending; the ending leaves you wondering what becomes of both spinners and how love could have gone so wrong. A wonderful h...more
Once more Donna Jo takes on a fairy tale and fleshes it out, capturing the deep emotions and reasoning of the characters. This time the story is about Rumpelstiltskin, the little imp from the fairy tale that spins straw into gold in exchange for the miller's daughter's child (a recurring situation in many fairy tales). However this is not the central theme of the story. Instead the author settles for one far more subtle though of greater importance: the name of a person.
"What's in a name?" Wrote...more
"What's in a name?" Wrote...more
Aug 27, 2012
Oksana *Bookaholic*
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people who like bad endings
Recommended to Oksana by:
goodreads
Wow. REALLY??? The beginning was a little foggy, but after a chapter or two I didn't care because I was so entranced. Well. So.... (LOTS OF SPOILERS HERE!!!), Rumpelstiltskin did it with a really pretty woman who married this other old guy. So, a daughter was born. But it wasn't the old guy's. It was Rumpelstiltskin's (but no one knew). Anyway, the pretty woman dies in childbirth. The daughter is "raised" by her drunk father, and she usually has to make sure that they have food on the table. One...more
I really liked this fairy tale retelling of the Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale because its tells about how
Rumpelstiltskin became Rumpelstiltskin. He wasn't always a deformed little man who just spun straw into gold and tried to take the Queen's baby.
In this story Rumpelstiltskin, is known throughout the book as the spinner. As the story begins the reader learns that the spinner was once a young man who was in love. He was a tailor and made his living weaving and fixing clothes. The young woman the...more
Rumpelstiltskin became Rumpelstiltskin. He wasn't always a deformed little man who just spun straw into gold and tried to take the Queen's baby.
In this story Rumpelstiltskin, is known throughout the book as the spinner. As the story begins the reader learns that the spinner was once a young man who was in love. He was a tailor and made his living weaving and fixing clothes. The young woman the...more
Oct 30, 2012
Melissa Bashardoust
added it
I remember reading this in my early teens and finding it pretty intense and disturbing, so naturally, I loved it. I think Donna Jo Napoli's retellings were the first time I started seeing the darkness in fairy tales, so I do have a strong nostalgic attachment to this book. Upon rereading it, I didn't find Spinners quite as breathlessly intense as the first time, but I've read a lot of things since then, so perhaps that's only to be expected.
Even so, I still really like this book, because it ref...more
Even so, I still really like this book, because it ref...more
This week when I went to the library I found so many books I wanted to read, that I couldn’t get them all out! I have already finished the first, Spinners by Donna Jo Napoli and Richard Tchen. It is a re-telling of the story of Rumpelstiltskin that is both humanizing and a little magical too.
Rumpelstiltskin is the tale of a young peasant girl, a millers daughter who spins fine yarn. So fine that her father is always boasting of her. One day he goes too far and boasts that she could spin straw in...more
Rumpelstiltskin is the tale of a young peasant girl, a millers daughter who spins fine yarn. So fine that her father is always boasting of her. One day he goes too far and boasts that she could spin straw in...more
I found this retelling of the Rumplestiltskin story to be very affecting and sort of sweet- but not squeaky clean sweet, which was lovely. I liked having the backstory of all the characters filled in. Napoli's version of those stories was believable in a fairy-tale context. I read an Advance Uncorrected Proof, so I am assuming that the errors in spelling were fixed by the time the final version was published.
If you like fairy tales with a small bit of sex and violence added, you might want to pi...more
If you like fairy tales with a small bit of sex and violence added, you might want to pi...more
I like retellings of fairy tales, but I have discovered that there's always something unsatisfying about the ones by Donna Jo Napoli. I think this is the third one of hers I've read. You'd think I'd learn. This book has an interesting twist on the story of
Rumplestiltskin, but in the end, it left me cold. If you want a version of that traditional tale, try Curse as Dark as Gold. I thought it was much, much better.
Rumplestiltskin, but in the end, it left me cold. If you want a version of that traditional tale, try Curse as Dark as Gold. I thought it was much, much better.
Dark retelling of Rumpelstiltskin. Rumpelstiltskin turns out to be a spindler who cripples himself spinning straw into gold for the woman he loves. His subsequent life is loveless and lonely, so the baby he later demands from the young queen is an attempt to fill the void in his life. Touching and moving story, but Napoli always sucks the magic out of fairy tales. This one is grimmer than Grim.
Aug 02, 2012
Lynette
added it
ATTENTION YOUNG READERS:
This book starts off with a sex scene. Like, all out, sex scene.
If you, like me highly disapprove/ do not read this kind of stuff, DO NOT read his book.
I must admit, I didn't finish it. Which is why I'm not rating it. I don't care how amazing the rest of the book is, I don't read this kind of stuff.
I'm 14, and I DON'T recommend this book.
This book starts off with a sex scene. Like, all out, sex scene.
If you, like me highly disapprove/ do not read this kind of stuff, DO NOT read his book.
I must admit, I didn't finish it. Which is why I'm not rating it. I don't care how amazing the rest of the book is, I don't read this kind of stuff.
I'm 14, and I DON'T recommend this book.
I liked this book a lot while I was reading it. It was well written, and captivating. I sympathized with both Rumplestiltskin and the Miller's Daughter, something that doesn't often happen. I really liked the character of the Miller's Daughter. This has never been a favorite fairy tale of mine, because all of the characters are weak and rather stupid. In this story however, there are many strong characters, all very well developed. I enjoyed it right up until the end. The last paragraph was weir...more
Donna Jo Napoli has a talent of taking a familar, but albeit short fairy tale and spinning it into an entire novel. And even though I know how the tale should end, I still hold my breath and read faster to see what will unravel.
Favorite quote: A name is a person, the spinner wants to say. A name is an emblem of worthyness.
Favorite quote: A name is a person, the spinner wants to say. A name is an emblem of worthyness.
The entire book built up back stories and relationships between characters in a sense and then at the end of the book just ended.
It did not satisfy what the relationships between the characters built up to. It felt like the ending was missing pages. The story should have continued and tied everything together!
It did not satisfy what the relationships between the characters built up to. It felt like the ending was missing pages. The story should have continued and tied everything together!
Spinners is a retelling of Rumpelstiltskin, and it's not for the faint of heart. I was expecting to be bored by the book because I know the story. However, the writing was hauntingly beautiful. The characters were cruel as well as kind. And the theme is timeless. I found myself transfixed by this magical tale.
I really did not enjoy this book and here is why. I recognize that it is a good story that will appeal to many people. A retelling of Rumpelstiltskin. However, I found Napoli's writing too bland and the story lacked any page-turning elements. The set-up was a little twisted, but this was almost completely lost in innuendo. None of the characters held names of their own, except the horrible nickname set upon the shriveled little man himself. And why this nickname was so horrible was lost on me, a...more
Themes: fairy tales, Rapunzel, spinning, family
Setting: small medieval town
I've heard recommendations of this retelling of Rapunzel. I usually like fairy tale retellings, but this one was a disappointment. It started off promising enough, but sort of lost steam and I never really got involved in the story. Saskia is the miller's daughter - or is she? When the miller becomes a drunk, she is forced to take care of her own future. She digs out her mother's spinning wheel and goes to work. So far, s...more
Setting: small medieval town
I've heard recommendations of this retelling of Rapunzel. I usually like fairy tale retellings, but this one was a disappointment. It started off promising enough, but sort of lost steam and I never really got involved in the story. Saskia is the miller's daughter - or is she? When the miller becomes a drunk, she is forced to take care of her own future. She digs out her mother's spinning wheel and goes to work. So far, s...more
A retelling of Rumpelstiltskin. My big gripe with this book is how dissatisfied I felt at the end. It isn't that I wanted a "happy" ending, necessarily, but I did want to feel like there was some kind of closure or purpose or . . . something. The story has a lot to recommend it: A unique spin (ha) on the tale, and some wonderfully creative pieces about what the miller's daughter spins on her spinning wheel. This was my favorite part of the book. I wish there had been more of this type of satisfy...more
I thought the language of this story was really beautiful and I loved the backstory! It was such an imaginative addition to the story and really made me love Rumplestiltskin all the more. I'm pretty happy with this retelling of the old folk tale. I really need to read some of Napoli's other retellings!
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Ending *Spoilers* | 1 | 7 | Oct 08, 2012 08:04am |
From her website:
Donna Jo Napoli is both a linguist and a writer of children's and YA fiction.
Donna Jo has five children. She dreams of moving to the woods and becoming a naturalist. She loves to garden and bake bread.
At various times her house and yard have been filled with dogs, cats, birds, and rabbits. For thirteen years she had a cat named Taxi, and liked to go outside and call, "Taxi!" to...more
More about Donna Jo Napoli...
Donna Jo Napoli is both a linguist and a writer of children's and YA fiction.
Donna Jo has five children. She dreams of moving to the woods and becoming a naturalist. She loves to garden and bake bread.
At various times her house and yard have been filled with dogs, cats, birds, and rabbits. For thirteen years she had a cat named Taxi, and liked to go outside and call, "Taxi!" to...more
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Dec 18, 2010 05:35pm