Book Review: Juniper & Thorn

Reid, Ava. Juniper & Thorn. Harper Voyager, an Imprint of HarperCollins, NYC: 2022.

I thank Goodreads and Harper Voyager for this Advanced Readers Copy.

CW: Bulimia. Abusive, controlling, and misogynistic father. Gaslighting. Bully of a sister. WTF sexual assault approved by her evil father while he looks on. Gruesome, graphic violence. Cannibalism.

This novel is often enchanting and beautiful and feels like a fairy tale. That’s fitting, since it’s based on the grim Grimm tale “The Juniper Tree.”

My favorite aspect of the book is the garden and the plants and otherworldly entities in it — that’s whimsical and surreal. Plus the property is set apart from the rest of the city/society, kind of like an enchanted… or cursed… castle. I also like the monster under the bed.

The monster’s death is gruesome and horrifying. Of course, traditional fairy tales are gruesome, too.

Sometimes the book is grim and dark and disturbing, and I want the POS wizard father fed to a dragon (especially the end of chapter 7).

I like the whimsical witch name Titka Whiskers.

WTF — I wrote the above comments before reaching page 173 (chapter 9), in which the doctor is sexually assaulting the protagonist right in front of her father, and her…