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[description from Amazon]
When Toby breathes on Mama Inez's bird-shaped invitations, giving them the power to fly, plans for the Serendipity Market begin. Soon, eleven honored guests travel from afar and make their way to the storytellers' tent to share their stories. Each tale proves what Mama Inez knows—that magic is everywhere. Sometimes it shows itself subtly—a ray of sun glinting on a gold coin, or a girl picking a rose without getting pricked by the thorn—and sometimes it makes itself known with trumpets and fireworks. But when real magic is combined with the magic of storytelling, it can change the world.
This is a breathtaking debut novel written with elegance and grace.
Review:
This is a hard book to review, as it is not a "traditional" book. It's mostly made up of individual stories, but it's not an anthology. There is one plot line that brings all the storytellers together in the first place, but that plot line cannot stand on its own; it needs the stories. There are characters in each individual story, and in the bigger plot that encompasses the stories. Because of that, I really cannot review this book by talking about the character development or the plot.
The main story- the one that brings all the others together- is one that is interesting and deep. Mama Inez brings all the tellers together in order to show how powerful the magic of storytelling is, and how it can affect the world. Although the book could have gone deeper, Serendipity Market definitely achieved showing how powerful stories are- each tale has a bit of magic in it, and it's easy to see how each story has effected its teller.
The individual stories are mostly retellings, and each puts a unique twist on familiar and unfamiliar tales. Even familiar characters- Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk , for example, are given more life through the various stories. Despite the very little show time each character in the story is given, their personalities shine through and make them believable.
The constant shift from the first frame of the book to the second made the book a little...awkward, but that's easily overlooked because of how entertaining everything is.
Serendipity Market is a wonderfully written, unique book that I definitely recommend.
8/10
Links: Penny's site,blog/twitter
HarperTeen/Hardcover/$16.99/Amazon/B&N/Borders
2 comments:
I LOVED this book!!! :) My favorite story was the one the lizard told. Gosh it was so sad :(
Interesting sounding book. I am not sure I know what you mean by the first and second "frames" of the book. Great review, though!
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