A review by roshreviews
The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams by Victoria Williamson
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.