63. Spindle's End by Robin McKinley

I would proably have read this book just because the cove is so pretty, but I have also liked other books written by this author.  Spindle's End is a twist of the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty but it does follow the original story quite closely.  Princess baby is born, naming ceremony is held and gifts given by all the fairies until the evil, unvited fairy shows up to curse the baby with death by finger prick on spindle at the age of twenty-one.  During the resulting chaos, the baby is given to Katriona, a fairy from a faroff corner of the kingdom.  She takes the baby home and raises her until her twenty-first birthday.  The twist is that Rosie, the princess in disguise is not at all like a princess and doesn't know her royal heritage at all.  She has the gift of animal-speak and uses that gift to work with the local black smith and to cure the local animals.  The story ends with a confrontation at the 21st birthday party and then taking on the evil fairy to wake all those asleep in the castle.  It was a fun story and well-written.  I enjoyed the departures from the original and the surprise ending.  Rating:  4.5