A massive thank you to The Write Reads for including me on the tour for The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams by Victoria Williamson!
The Blurb:
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, it seems the daydream confection and cheap sack children are the best things that could have happened to the poor folk of the Hollow – after all, who has the money to rent their child from Storkhouse Services these days? But after a few weeks, Florizel starts to notice something odd happening to the adults of the town. First, they seem dreamy, then they lose all interest in their jobs and families. Soon they’re trading all their worldly goods in the newly-opened Pawnshop for money to buy daydreams. With no money for rent payments, the children of Witchetty Hollow are being reclaimed by Storkhouse Services at an alarming rate. Florizel needs to act.
The Review
I really enjoyed this quick read! The language was great, and I loved how Victoria Williamson changed words, like numbers, to give it that extra fantastical feel. The characters were really interesting. I loved reading about Florizel and Burble, and Gammer Oakenshaw! I think the premise of this book was great as well, especially the sack children. I automatically thought of the film 9 when I read the description of Burble! I think that this book, for me, felt a little short at 214 pages, and I would have loved for the story to be longer, and to explore more of the factory, the town, goings on with the Gobebelinos. Nevertheless I enjoyed the way this story progressed and the way everything concluded. There was a fairly large cast of characters for such a small book, as Florizel encounters a lot of children and adults in the village. I think if the book had been longer these characters could have been explored more. Overall I gave this book 3.5/5 stars. I really enjoyed it, but think that there could have been a bit more to it in the end. Thank you for having me on another tour Dave!
Thoughts of the Reader 