Spin
by Rebecca Caprara
Atheneum, 2023. 393 pages.
Review written April 11, 2023, from a library book.
I did it again! I checked out a book from a list of young adult debut novels — but forgot to check the flap copy until I was halfway through the book. It turns out, it is not the author’s first book, only her first young adult book. So it is not, in fact, eligible for the Morris Award. (Those have to be the author’s first traditionally published book, period.) Although I don’t feel like I have time to read books that are not eligible, by that time I was fully invested and wanted to finish the story. So all’s well that ends well. I’m glad I got to read this book.
Spin is a novel in verse about Arachne, the mortal girl who was an expert weaver and got turned into a spider by Athena because she dared to boast that she was a better weaver than Athena — or that’s how the myth goes. In this book, Arachne gives us her real story.
It turns out that after many unanswered prayers, Arachne lost respect for the gods. And her mother told her stories of gods taking advantage of and raping human women. As Arachne practiced and built her skill, she dared to tell those stories in her tapestries.
So these aren’t simply verses about a mythical tale, but also a story of standing up to the patriarchy and daring to challenge those who oppressed the vulnerable. The writing is indeed poetry, weaving pictures with words.
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