Story spinners
Kennedy and Devon have a sister problem. Two sister problems, in fact. First, they have to share a room and they have absolutely 
nothing in common. Second, their arguments are exacerbated by the lack of sleep caused by yet a THIRD sister, baby Eve, joining them in their room. Their fights increase until they accidentally break the TV and are doomed to a device-less existence until they can get along. First, they need to get some sleep – which means they have to get Eve to sleep. Which means they have to…. cooperate. Kennedy begins telling a fairy tale, but Devon insists on joining in and Kennedy’s perfect fairy tale is soon invaded by pirates, spiders, and axes. Will the sisters ever learn to work together?
In her debut graphic novel, Federman moves easily between the viewpoints of the two sisters, keeping their voices clearly differentiated with colored speech bubbles as well as exaggerating their different personalities. Kennedy wins math trophies and loves romantic fairy tales – she’s the older sister, slim with a neatly done braid of black hair – and her character Princess Sparklepuff is a typical princess with a lovely mass of curly red hair. Devon, on the other hand, is a short, chunky girl with a messy head of hair, pet tarantula, and a penchant for pirate pantaloons. She insists on introducing a crew of lady pirates, a tall Asian woman, slim Black girl with braids, and a short, chunky blonde with her curly hair in pigtails and a love of axes.
Watched by baby Eve, the two sisters fight, argue, and finally learn to communicate as they work through their story, eventually discovering their enjoy creating stories together and compromising in their stories and in their shared room. The story is humorous and relatable, up to the small house where the three girls share a room and their limited access to devices. There are some stereotypes shown in the parents, with the mom checking on the girls and the dad worrying about “my tv,” and the mom enforcing the discipline. As an adult, I also question why two young girls are being sleep-deprived by the baby, even if they do have very limited space in their home. However, I really appreciated how Kennedy’s obsession with a stereotypical “happily-ever-after” fairy tale, where the princess is rescued and gets married, was handled. Although Devon makes fun of it, her interests being more in the real of a kind of goth-style pirate adventure, Kennedy isn’t dismissed in the story as a whole. Rather, she’s gently guided into realizing there are a whole lot more options outside her narrow formula and it’s more interesting to explore other endings.
Story Spinners
By Cassandra Federman
Simon & Schuster Aladdin, 2025
ISBN: 9781665918237
Company Age Rating:Â Matheson Memorial Library (public library, open to the public since June 2020)
NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11)
