Book Review: The Spindlers

The Spindlers

By: Lauren Oliver

Published by HarperCollins

Release Date: October 2, 2012

Genre: middle grades fantasy

256 pages 

Buy it on Amazon, IndieBound

 or Barnes and Noble
Source: kindly provided by publisher


My thoughts: 

It's helpful to change it up once in a while and try reading something different. This is why I picked up The Spindlers; I was ready to cleanse the palate, and I knew that this author's work would be fun, because I'd read her YA books.

Spindlers are spider-like creatures that live Below, but visit Above and take things. Most things that can't be found have been taken Below. One morning Liza wakes to find that her brother, Patrick, has been taken. Knowing that he must be retrieved and that the adults had other worries, she sets off.

Liza is aware of the dangers of spindlers, since she's been told about them by a friendly babysitter. She is quickly befriended by a rat named Mirabella, who serves as her guide through Below to the spindlers' nests. Liza quickly learns that spindlers are certainly not the only things of which she should be wary while traveling Below.

This book is perfectly appropriate for the intended audience- both in content, and in the pacing of the adventure story. Middle grades readers will love the rich fantasy aspects of the book, and even those who are reluctant readers will find themselves turning page after page. The description is full enough to make whole scenes pop to life, without being so thick that it slows down the action.

I have already recommended this book to a middle school librarian; I expect she'll find she needs more than one copy. I also anticipate that my own reluctant reader will get engrossed in this engaging, entertaining read. Prepare to get a copy to put in the hands of your own kiddo- and think about reading it together. This is a fun one that will promote some discussion that you won't want to miss. 

Summary from GoodReads:

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. In fact, he was quite, quite different.

When Liza’s brother, Patrick, changes overnight, Liza knows exactly what has happened: The spindlers have gotten to him and stolen his soul.

She knows, too, that she is the only one who can save him.

To rescue Patrick, Liza must go Below, armed with little more than her wits and a broom. There, she uncovers a vast world populated with talking rats, music-loving moles, greedy troglods, and overexcitable nids . . . as well as terrible dangers. But she will face her greatest challenge at the spindlers’ nests, where she encounters the evil queen and must pass a series of deadly tests—or else her soul, too, will remain Below forever.

From New York Times best-selling author Lauren Oliver comes a bewitching story about the reaches of loyalty, the meaning of love, and the enduring power of hope.