Review: Thorn by Intisar Khanani

Book: Thorn (Dauntless Path Book 1)
Author: Intisar Khanani
Published: March 2020
Trope: Goose Girl Retelling, Identity Theft with a Twist
Rating: 8 of 10 / Recommended

Thorn has been getting a lot of blogger attention lately, even though released much earlier. When I realized it was a cozy Goose Girl retelling, I knew I had to give it a try. I liked it exceedingly, but Thorn also turned out to be quite unusual.

The Plot:

Alyrra gets betrothed to a prince from the powerful empire of Menaiya, sight-unseen. She welcomes it because it would help her escape her abusive family. But then her jealous companion, Valka, makes an alliance with a wicked sorceress and swaps their bodies. Overnight, Valka becomes Princess To-be-Queen, and Alyrra gets shunted off to mind the geese. The spell prevents Alyrra — who takes on the name “Thorn” — from speaking her truth. But even if she did speak up, who would believe Thorn?

My Thoughts:

What really makes Thorn so different is that she genuinely doesn’t want to get her identity back. She has a poor opinion of palace life and court intrigue, and thinks that life as the Goose Girl is so much easier. She also distrusts her betrothed, Kestrel — so she really has no motivation to seize back her identity. This is probably the first book I ever came across that subverts the identity theft trope so neatly on its head.

Thorn finds protection in her friendship with a talking wild horse, other peasant folk in the royal keep, and a band of Robin Hood-like thieves. But these turn out to be paltry comforts, because Valka (and the sorceress) are now at the helm. When you allow the villains to take over without resistance, you also subject yourself to their mercy.

So, Thorn realizes that she cannot really escape her true “identity” and its attached duties. There’s some “with great power comes great responsibility” theme going on, but it’s handled well. You have to take accountability for the life you were born into, no matter how tough the costs, even if you’ve been given an out.

The other thing that makes Thorn so different is that it’s NOT a romance between Alyrra and Kestrel. There is too much deceit woven between them to allow room for trust. Kestrel has many secrets up his sleeve, most of them tied to his long family feud with the sorceress in question. Alyrra, who suffered much from a broken childhood, also has her own personal impediments to opening up. Both Kestrel and Alyrra are aware of this, and that’s so unusual in a YA book.

There are some loose threads in the tale. I would have liked to know more about Alyrra’s family, and their involvement in the body swap curse. Kestrel’s father, the King, seems quite ruthless and a sorcerer in secret, so that’s another puzzle. Then there are some veiled messages on forgiving the enemy, which I felt were a bit contradictory. But this is a series, so perhaps some of the next books will clear up some of the cobwebs.

In the meantime, recommended if you’re looking for a quick fix for the reading blues or if you like folktale retellings!