By Victoria Williamson
Illustrated by James Brown
Publication date: 11/5/23
Publisher: Tiny Tree Books
SYNOPSIS
In a strange little village called Witchetty Hollow, eleven-year-old Florizel is the first to run into the curious visitors who’ve come to open a brand-new Daydream Delicatessen and sack-baby factory. At first, the poor folk of the Hollow are delighted – after all, who has the money to rent a real child from Storkhouse Services these days? But soon the daydreams turn sour. The Delicatessen’s products are expensive, and villagers trading their worldly goods in the newly-opened Pawnshop begin to disappear. With no money for rent payments, the real children of Witchetty Hollow are being reclaimed by Storkhouse Services at an alarming rate. Can Florizel and sack-boy Burble stop the daydream thieves’ evil business before it’s too late to save the Hollow?
MY REVIEW
Think Grimm’s Fairy Tales crossed with 10% Enid Blyton and you will be about there!
This is a dark and creepy fairy tail which I lapped up! It is the story of a small village where children have to be rented from a company, as babies are no longer born because of the polluted water. Florizel is one of the rented children, who must pretend to be a dunce at school or her rent will go up, her gamma won’t be able to afford to keep her and she will be taken away by the Child Collector (think the child catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!).
Florizel meets Burble, a sack boy made in the local factory, who, now that he is 10, was going to be recycled but escaped. Burble wants to go to school and learn things, but he only knows his alphabet as far as A, and can’t count. He is accident prone but just wants to help and be included. I adored him.
Between them, they uncover the dastardly doings of the Gobbelino family.
An enchanting read, set in a fantasy world for brave middle graders. I enjoyed the fact it was a child who led the way to save her village from the bad adults, having also eventually taken Burble under her wing.
It was quite a short read at just over 200 pages. I would have happily read twice the number of pages to have been immersed a little longer in that world and got to know more about the residents and the other sack children.
Thank you to John at The Write Reads for my E copy of the book and my spot on The Ultimate Blog Tour.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Victoria Williamson grew up in Glasgow, Scotland, and has worked as an educator in a number of different countries, including as an English teacher in China, a secondary science teacher in Cameroon, and a teacher trainer in Malawi.
As well as degrees in Physics and Mandarin Chinese, she has completed a Masters degree in Special Needs in Education. In the UK she works as a primary school special needs teacher, working with children with a range of additional support needs including Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Down Syndrome, physical disabilities and behavioural problems.
She is currently working as a full time writer of Middle Grade and YA contemporary fiction, science fiction and fantasy, with a focus on creating diverse characters reflecting the many cultural backgrounds and special needs of the children she has worked with, and building inclusive worlds where all children can see a reflection of themselves in heroic roles.
Victoria’s experiences teaching young children in a school with many families seeking asylum inspired her debut novel, The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle, an uplifting tale of redemption and unlikely friendship between Glaswegian bully Caylin and Syrian refugee Reema.
Twenty percent of her author royalties for The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle are donated to the Scottish Refugee Council.
You can find out more about Victoria’s books, school visits and upcoming events on her website: http://www.strangelymagical.com
Two Heads Are Better Than One 