Spindle - Hardcover

"This is an unexpected gem of a book about storytelling, magic, and relationships, and romance buffs in particular will find the conclusion immensely satisfying, as hard-won, gradual love has a chance to flourish once the wicked force has been defeated." "The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books""

Praise for A Thousand Nights "A story threaded with shimmering vibrance and beauty, "A Thousand Nights" will weave its spell over readers' hearts and leave them captivated long after the final tale has been told." "Alexandra Bracken, New York Times best-selling author of The Darkest Minds series""

* "Detailed and quiet, beautifully written with a literary rhythm that evokes a sense of oral tale-telling, this unexpected fantasy should not be missed." "Kirkus Reviews, starred review""

"A powerful read." "Publishers Weekly""

"This fantasy, rich with layers of legend and meaning, will captivate readers ready for an adventure. . . Johnston's writing is densely lyrical, evoking the legendary tales of "One Thousand and One Nights, "from which this story derives." "Booklist""

"The framework of 'Sleeping Beauty' plays out against a hot desert setting, with Yashaa playing the reluctant hero and Little Rose possessing far more agency, wit, and intelligence than is afforded to most fairy-tale princesses... Pleasing readers who would prefer their ever afters to be bittersweet."--The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Despite taking the perspective of Little Rose's potential savior, the story has a decidedly feminist slant, focusing on the princess's growth, power, autonomy, and eventual self-rescue... Hand this clever work to fans of the companion book."--School Library Journal

"The most powerful stories encompass a paradox. SPINDLE is both mythic and true, old beyond reckoning and dazzlingly, gloriously new. You've known this story all your life; you have never heard its like before. The Storyteller Queen lives, and her name is E. K. Johnston."--Rachel Hartman, New York Times best-selling author of Seraphina

"The most powerful stories encompass a paradox. Spindle is both mythic and true, old beyond reckoning and dazzlingly, gloriously new. You've known this story all your life; you have never heard its like before. The Storyteller Queen lives, and her name is E. K. Johnston."
-Rachel Hartman, New York Times best-selling author of Seraphina The world is made safe by a woman...but it is a very big world.

It has been generations since the Storyteller Queen drove the demon out of her husband and saved her country from fire and blood. Her family has prospered beyond the borders of their village, and two new kingdoms have sprouted on either side of the mountains where the demons are kept prisoner by bright iron, and by the creatures the Storyteller Queen made to keep them contained.

But the prison is crumbling. Through years of careful manipulation, a demon has regained her power. She has made one kingdom strong and brought the other to its knees, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. When a princess is born, the demon is ready with the final blow: a curse that will cost the princess her very soul, or force her to destroy her own people to save her life.

The threads of magic are tightly spun, binding princess and exiled spinners into a desperate plot to break the curse before the demon can become a queen of men. But the web of power is dangerously tangled--and they may not see the true pattern until it is unspooled.