By Tessa Pulyer Posted on

The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams by Victoria Williamson #UltimateBlogTour #TheWriteReads #BookReview #MGFantasy

Thank you to The Write Reads for my spot on this blog tour.

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.

A magical tale of intrigue and adventure from award-winning children’s author Victoria Williamson.

Buy links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon IN

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

I received a free digital copy of this book from The Write Reads and the publisher to read and review.

What’s it about (in a nutshell):

The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams by Victoria Williamson is a dark and quirky fairytale for the middle grades’ reader.

My Reading Experience:

I absolutely adored the Grimm-ness of The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams. It’s dark, scary, and dangerous with ugly troll-like creatures and masked creatures and children made from sacks, called sack babies, that are recycled when they turn ten. Even the illustrations are dark, scary, and detailed. And it has lovable characters within this grim world.

I also was struck by the incredible level of creativity of this story that is about the love of found family, the importance of acceptance, and people’s greed at the expense of others. Initially, it was almost too creative in that it took me a bit to understand what was happening. I didn’t feel introduced into this fantasy world; instead, I was thrown into it and left to find my way around.

Lastly, I loved the mystery and how it all played out. I could never have begun to solve it alone, but there is no fooling the brave little Florizel, and I loved that. Plus, the resolution was just right and sent all the good messages any adult would want it to.

Characters:

Florizel is an eleven-year-old girl rented by Gammer Oakenshaw and brought to Witchetty Hollow, where she is encouraged to dumb down herself in school so her Gammer can keep affording her. 

She is an incredibly bright child who can see what’s going on well before anyone else realizes anything is wrong. She also has a great heart, as seen in her friendship with Burble, a ten-year-old sack child who doesn’t want to be recycled, has run away from the home that bought him, and has enrolled himself in school with Florizel.

Narration & Pacing:

I read The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams quickly, as an adult reader. I can see where it would be one that an age-appropriate reader willingly consumes in a timeline of their choosing based on their typical reading speed.

The narration is done in the third person. Primarily it is focused on Florizel, the main character. Still, it does break away occasionally for a more omniscient view. The narration felt typical of a fairy tale and worked well to help readers understand what they read.

Setting:

The setting is a dark little village called Witchetty Hollow, inhabited by dour adults and rented children who are encouraged to pretend they are dumb so that their rental cost will not increase. For such a short book, there is genuinely fantastic world-building in ways that will be important to the middle grades’ reader. The atmosphere is palpable in its dark quirkiness and settles over everything from page one.

Mood:

  • Adventurous
  • Dark
  • Mysterious

Read if you like:

  • Fairy Tales
  • Books appropriate for ages 10 and up
  • Creative and mysterious tales

Overall Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Originality8
Writing Quality10
Pace6
Character Development8
‘Couldn’t Put It Down’-ness6
Setting10
All scores, except the overall rating, are on a scale of 1-10. The overall rating is converted to the standard 5-point system.

13 Replies to “The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams by Victoria Williamson #UltimateBlogTour #TheWriteReads #BookReview #MGFantasy”

  4. energyrae says:

    This sounds awesome, I’m regretting not signing up for this one. Great review!

    Liked by 1 person

  6. Teri Polen says:

    I chuckled at the idea of rented and recycled children, lol. Love this cover, and it sounds like something I’d definitely read. Bet Florizel didn’t dumb herself down for long.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Carla says:

    This is a very intriguing story. Renting children is definitely a different plot, and recycled ones? Great review, Tessa.

    Liked by 1 person

      1. Carla says:

        Oh, that is interesting, Tessa. Yes, the original Grimm tales were quite gruesome and not what you would read to little kids.

        Liked by 1 person

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