While I commend the author for giving the main character a nice unique name, I am not quite sure “Bitsy” was a choice I can connect to. When we finally met the villain of the story, they were defeated too easily and in the moment we had no idea how Bitsy knew what to do.

Bitsy, our “sleeping beauty”, is constantly referred to as plain or even unattractive in comparison to everyone in the kingdom. And, one day, Eshe foresees something terrifying: a world blanketed in creeping vines and a girl covered in thorns.The synopsis made me intrigued as, for one, I have never read a character having the name “Bitsy” before. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Because the story is meant to be potentially a ‘dream’ of Bitsy I did find that the disjointed and episodic style while it might have normally been odd worked when I kept this in mind. She knows multiple languages, can play instruments, and mocks the stupidity and absurd behaviors of other characters.

Further frustrations mounted as other characters that I thought were important lacked fleshing out and were never revisited. Initially, I thought it was because I was reading it while I was sick and just not in the right mood or headspace, but I looked at the other reviews and saw that, for once, I'm not in the minority opinion.The pages are adorned with illustrations and the stories so good you’ll want to read the book in one sitting. To be stuck only seeing everyone as she did meant I never had the opportunity to form opinions of them on my own. She has thoroughly enjoyed interpreting Dirk's absurd escapades with elaborate landscapes of the Darklands, classrooms of goblin school children and evil Headmasters. Bitsy’s thoughts, actions, and words were incredibly age appropriate for a shy teen, but difficult to muddle through from a reader’s perspective. His poetry books for children include Overheard in a Tower Block illustrated by Kate Milner and A Year of Nature Poems illustrated by Kelly Louise Judd.

Up to this point, the events of the narrative are not so far removed from more well-known versions of Sleeping Beauty (such as Perrault’s 1697 rendering), but then as the kingdom is covered with thorny rose tendrils, Eshe tries to put everything right, rather than waiting for a prince to come to the rescue. She attended Bryn Mawr College on full scholarship and later received her MFA from University of California, San Diego. Although I do really love the open ending and being able to kind of choose what happens next, the ending leaves much to be desired. So when she and her sisters are invited to the christening of the princess, she concocts a special spell for the baby.

And if you’re not beautiful or rich an could not afford Sapphire, you’re kicked out and sent to the mines to mine for this stuff. Bitsy as a main protagonist was fine but I didn’t particularly connect with her and I didn’t feel like the romance worked at all. She’s pretty much a spoiled brat, complaining about everything she must do as princess to a kingdom. The romance, interestingly characterized by an unlikable love interest, concludes abruptly, leaving readers wanting more closure. In addition to being poetic, the language is rich and includes challenging vocabulary Creeping Beauty would be an ideal way to explore aspects of critical literacy and in particular representation of women and the visibility of people of colour (in this version of ‘Sleeping Beauty’, the fairy godmothers are women of colour).

In the tradition of Sleeping Beauty, Bitsy falls into a slumber from which she cannot be awaken but, unbeknownst to her parents and all those around her she is living a new life in a new world, which involves facing numerous and significant challenges, including cannibalism, enslavement, and more. Luckily, there is some character growth, and the main plot goes through all her triumphs and pitfalls that keep the reader interested. It is quite a quick paced tale and the writing was easy to get into but I was hoping for more atmosphere in the sinister and cut throat land that Bitsy is transported to. On that basis, I would suggest it as a KS2 class reader or guided reading text, with opportunities to explore Coelho’s use of poetic devices as well as consider how layout affects reading. The problem here is that a poorly constructed world with nonexistent threats, gave no real weight to her supposed change, leaving her as she started -- as deep as a puddle.

Not to mention the plotline is so haphazard that it ends on a major cliffhanger (and bear in mind this book doesn't have a continuation, "The End" is written right there at the end, like in some Looney Tunes skit), and it all leaves you dissatisfied and confused.