Gregory Maguire

Seven prehistoric spiders that had been trapped in ice for thousands of years bring excitement to rural Vermont and briefly unite two rival clubs at a local elementary school.

Seven Spiders Spinning

Kirsten Simkiss

Really, 2 stars is kind of generous, but I enjoyed it as a kid so I gave it the extra star up from the 1.5 stars I think it deserves. Plus, it has to be truly repulsive for me to give a book 1 star.

The plot of the story follows seven spiders, as the title of the book might indicate to you, that were frozen in the ice thousands of years ago during the ice age and defrosted in the modern era to haunt seven elementary school girls. Science proving this is impossible is, of course, ignored.

The characters are boring stereotypes of children and, one by one, these giant white spiders are crushed in various ways and killed, save for one that actually makes it to Harvard where it was originally headed for when it defrosted.

This book is irrational and scientifically impossible, but on the bright side there is diversity in it. I find that impressive in a cheap paperback children's book from the 90s.

On the whole, I would not recommend this book to others. Seriously, there are better books to read.

Seven Spiders Spinning

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