The Crimson Thread

Goodreads Synopsis:    Once upon a Time" Is Timeless

The year is 1880, and Bertie, having just arrived in New York with her family, is grateful to be given work as a seamstress in the home of textile tycoon J.P. Wellington. When the Wellington family fortune is threatened, Bertie's father boasts that Bertie will save the business, that she is so skillful she can "practically spin straw into gold."

Amazingly, in the course of one night, Bertie creates exquisite evening gowns—with the help of Ray Stalls, a man from her tenement who uses an old spinning wheel to create dresses that are woven with crimson thread and look as though they are spun with real gold. Indebted to Ray, Bertie asks how she can repay him. When Ray asks for her firstborn child, Bertie agrees, never dreaming that he is serious…

My Thoughts:

-    This was a really good re-telling of Rumplestiltskin.  I love how the name gets thrown in at the end too.  It was really clever.

-    I really liked that this took place in the late 1800s.  It was a nice change from typical Fairy Tale Re-Tellings.  

-    I also liked that the story was about an immigrant family from Ireland.  I'm sure a lot of families have similar stories to Bertie's.

-    Bertie was SO blind!!  There were several clues to tell her that James was rat!!!

-    This is another Fairy Tale that doesn't get redone a lot.  I wish it did!

-    I really enjoyed Bertie's journey.  Her life had vast changes in the up and down.  I was so happy with her ending though!  I'm glad we found out what happened to the rest of her family as well.

-    I loved the descriptions of the dresses!  It was so easy and clear for me to picture.

-    This is one of the better Once Upon Time books.