Juniper and Thorn

A Novel

Hardcover

English language

Published April 16, 2022 by HarperCollins Publishers.

ISBN:
9780062973160

View on OpenLibrary

4 stars (4 reviews)

4 editions

Review of 'Juniper and Thorn' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This book was so weird. Haha. I think most readers are going to hate it. I kind of loved it though. I don’t think it’s really YA. It’s actually more like lit fic, and it reminds me of films and art I’ve seen that explore what it means to be a woman with elements that seem like they come from fairytales, but are so much weirder than that. This fits in with some of the weird horror we’ve been seeing lately, but it’s more of a romance than a horror, where the romance focuses more on partnership than lust or desire, although there’s plenty of that as well. I don’t think we have a category for this book, which means it’s going to be hard for it to find an audience. I for one found the experience of reading it to be strange but worthwhile.

Review of 'Juniper and Thorn' on 'Storygraph'

5 stars

JUNIPER &THORN is a story built on a complicated tangle of self harm and exploration as Marlinchen, now a young woman, finally starts to defy her controlling father’s dictates. Especially early on, she has a variety of maladaptive behaviors including but not limited to self harm, disordered eating, and intrusive thoughts (ranging from negative self-talk to hypersexual fantasies). These are symptoms of and reactions to the ongoing all-pervasive abusive atmosphere which consumed her childhood and is set to rob her of normal adulthood as well. She and her sisters live in fear of their father, but as he’s made himself the only allowable source of affection in their lives they are desperate to retain his favor. As he’s also a wizard he’s threatened their bodies and lives if they disobey him, and can back up his threats with intimations of what happened to their mother before them. He controls their …

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Jay

rated it

2 stars
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rated it

4 stars