avoraciousreader68's review
medium-paced
4.0
Book source ~ TWR Tour
Witchetty Hollow. How cool of a name is that for a small weird village in the middle of pretty much nothing? Well, there are other weird little villages around, but this story takes place in Witchetty Hollow. Because that is where 11-yr-old Florizel lives with her gammer. She’s not really Florizel’s grandma though. The children in Witchetty Hollow are rented from Storkhouse Services. When the grown ups can’t pay the rent the children get reclaimed. Yikes. Anyway, at the start of the tale there’s a new store in town, the Daydream Delicatessen and it’s soon followed by the Pawnshop. But also, a sack-baby factory has opened. Things are about to get weirder in Witchetty Hollow. I just like saying Witchetty Hollow. Can you tell?
What a strange and wonderful story this is! Adults get all whackadoodle and a kid has to save the day. The world is super creative, the plot fantastical (well, it is a middle grade fantasy after all), and you can’t help but root for Flori to win the day and save everyone, including her new friend, the sack-child named Burble. Sack-baby, sack-child, rented kids. What the heckin? LOL This is some imaginative stuff and a highly enjoyable read.
If you’ve ever read Lemony Snicket or The Beast and the Bethany then this book is right up your middle grade fantasy alley.
roshreviews's review
4.25
In a Nutshell: A captivating dark fantasy for middle graders. Memorable protagonist and hair-raising adventures. I’d have devoured this in one go in my childhood!
Story Synopsis:
Witchetty Hollow is an unusual village where people cannot have kids and hence rent them through Storkhouse Services. One such rented child is eleven-year-old Florizel, who lives with the poor but loving Gammer Oakenshaw.
One night, as Florizel is rushing home, she runs into some strange visitors, the Gobbelino siblings. She soon discovers that the trio has come to open a Daydream Delicatessen and a sack-baby factory. While both the establishments come as novel concepts to the villagers, it is soon clear that there is something fishy going on. It is now up to clever Florizel, along with her whimsical sack-baby companion named Burble, to save the day.
The story comes to us from the third person perspective of Florizel.
The plot had all the ingredients I would have relished in my childhood – magic, adventure, danger, quirky situations, villainous villains, and a brave (female) protagonist.
As a dark fantasy, this provides chills and thrills in the right places. The daydream delicatessen begins innocently but soon enters ominous territory, adding to the perilous feel. The titular pawnshop also has an important role to play, but as it appears much later in the story, I won’t spoil your fun by revealing how it functions.
Florizel is an amazing lead character. She finds herself in some tough spots at times, with only her courage and her brains to help her out, but she keeps her wits every time and doesn’t rely on instinct alone – a quality so important for kids to imbibe. I couldn’t help feel sorry for her as she struggled with proving her supposed ineptitude just to stay with her Gammer Oakenshaw. Her friendship with Burble develops organically through the plot, rather than the two bonding instantly over being the outcasts of the class.
There are plenty of other interesting characters, with one of the most endearing being the ‘sack boy’ Burble. I don’t want to reveal too much about him, but suffice to say, he is the heart of the book. It took me a while to remember the myriad characters, but going with the flow helped a lot. Some characters resort to extreme bullying, so please take note of that in case your child is sensitive about the topic.
The village setting adds to the charm, as such a plot could only work in a quaint English village reminiscent of Enid Blyton’s stories. The author makes excellent use of the atmosphere to heighten the impact of the Gobbelinos and their menacing plans.
As an adult reader, I could see a few situations where the going is too hurried or exaggerated. However, I am sure I would not have noticed those issues as a middle-grader, so I’ll let the teeny plot holes slide. The only concern I had was the use of Dahl-esque spellings in numbers. I get how bizarre words sometimes add to the enjoyment in MG fiction, but seeing the children use strange numbers such as twixty-five and severity-two was odd, especially as some number names were genuine and some, inventive.
Other than that, no complaints. This is a fast-paced read with many captivating moments and a great ending. It took me some time to get into a reading groove, but once the book got going, it did get going! The presence of some amazing B&W illustrations scattered through the book heightens the creepiness.
All in all, this imaginative read has plenty going for it. It ought to keep most fantasy-loving middle-graders happy with its sticky situations and wild adventures. Definitely recommended.
4.25 stars.
My thanks to TheWriteReads for a complimentary copy of “The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
Story Synopsis:
Witchetty Hollow is an unusual village where people cannot have kids and hence rent them through Storkhouse Services. One such rented child is eleven-year-old Florizel, who lives with the poor but loving Gammer Oakenshaw.
One night, as Florizel is rushing home, she runs into some strange visitors, the Gobbelino siblings. She soon discovers that the trio has come to open a Daydream Delicatessen and a sack-baby factory. While both the establishments come as novel concepts to the villagers, it is soon clear that there is something fishy going on. It is now up to clever Florizel, along with her whimsical sack-baby companion named Burble, to save the day.
The story comes to us from the third person perspective of Florizel.
The plot had all the ingredients I would have relished in my childhood – magic, adventure, danger, quirky situations, villainous villains, and a brave (female) protagonist.
As a dark fantasy, this provides chills and thrills in the right places. The daydream delicatessen begins innocently but soon enters ominous territory, adding to the perilous feel. The titular pawnshop also has an important role to play, but as it appears much later in the story, I won’t spoil your fun by revealing how it functions.
Florizel is an amazing lead character. She finds herself in some tough spots at times, with only her courage and her brains to help her out, but she keeps her wits every time and doesn’t rely on instinct alone – a quality so important for kids to imbibe. I couldn’t help feel sorry for her as she struggled with proving her supposed ineptitude just to stay with her Gammer Oakenshaw. Her friendship with Burble develops organically through the plot, rather than the two bonding instantly over being the outcasts of the class.
There are plenty of other interesting characters, with one of the most endearing being the ‘sack boy’ Burble. I don’t want to reveal too much about him, but suffice to say, he is the heart of the book. It took me a while to remember the myriad characters, but going with the flow helped a lot. Some characters resort to extreme bullying, so please take note of that in case your child is sensitive about the topic.
The village setting adds to the charm, as such a plot could only work in a quaint English village reminiscent of Enid Blyton’s stories. The author makes excellent use of the atmosphere to heighten the impact of the Gobbelinos and their menacing plans.
As an adult reader, I could see a few situations where the going is too hurried or exaggerated. However, I am sure I would not have noticed those issues as a middle-grader, so I’ll let the teeny plot holes slide. The only concern I had was the use of Dahl-esque spellings in numbers. I get how bizarre words sometimes add to the enjoyment in MG fiction, but seeing the children use strange numbers such as twixty-five and severity-two was odd, especially as some number names were genuine and some, inventive.
Other than that, no complaints. This is a fast-paced read with many captivating moments and a great ending. It took me some time to get into a reading groove, but once the book got going, it did get going! The presence of some amazing B&W illustrations scattered through the book heightens the creepiness.
All in all, this imaginative read has plenty going for it. It ought to keep most fantasy-loving middle-graders happy with its sticky situations and wild adventures. Definitely recommended.
4.25 stars.
My thanks to TheWriteReads for a complimentary copy of “The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
amothersmusings1's review
5.0
I sooo wish I’d had “The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams” to read when I was younger. I’d have relished this story with gusto and would have ensured my reading buddy’s knew all about it! I greedily devoured this now as an adult, reliving a past youth of fanciful tales of folklore and weird and wonderful fairytales. Aimed at an audience of 8 - 12 years olds (and young minded adults) - I would caution on too young a reader, as there are some tense and uncomfortable moments (as the story requires) but for me this all added to the brilliance of the story, by incorporating such anxious childish horror with an entertaining and emotional fun story.
I loved the characters especially the ‘sack boy’ Burble, who I related in my mind as a cross between Gollum, a Toy Story character and a cuddly teddy bear. The unique establishment of the ‘Daydream Delicatessen’ was a remarkable place, giving off vibes of ‘Hansel and Gretel’. The ‘StorkHouse Services’ were like child catchers, reclaiming children from families who could no longer pay rent for them.
The charcoal illustrations by James Brown throughout, were a perfect accompaniment to the story, which requires a vivid imagination in order to conjure the fantastical images and these really helped to clarify, exactly what the author intended for the reader to visualise.
It’s a very long time since I enjoyed such escapism, the author Victoria Williamson truly took me on a wild rollercoaster of an adventure in the village of ‘Witchetty Hollow’ and if you have kids suitable for the age of this book, I’d definitely recommend “The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams”, it’s a delightfully gothic and hugely atmospheric read, that for me isn’t anything else other than 5 stars!
#ThePawnshopOfStolenDreams - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
rina1986_reads's review
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
redheadread's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
tessa_talks_books's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
ticktockcrocky's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction
Minor: Body horror
10lewis2011's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
More...