As you may know, I am a huge fan of decent middle grade fiction and although I’m not a huge fantasy fan I love a book that’s a little bit other worldly or with magical elements. The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams sounded right up my street, so when the tour invitation came in from Dave at The Write Reads I jumped at the chance to read it. Who could resist a story set somewhere called Witchetty Hollow? Many thanks to Dave for my spot on the tour and thanks to Noly (@theartsyreader) for the banner. I read a gifted E-Arc in returnfor an honest review (full disclosure – I don’t get on well with ebooks and when my tablet broke I almost didn’t bother, but I had a quick look at it on my phone and HAD to keep reading!).
My thoughts
In the opening scene we find eleven year old Florizel out in the woods collecting mushrooms when she is startled by a crash. What happens next is the start of a big changes for the town of Witchetty Hollow and and adventure for Florizel! The story was really easy to get into and I flew through the 214 pages. Flori is a fabulous main character – serious, determined, kind and incredibly brave. She loves her Gammer Oakenshield but resents having to purposely do badly at school in order to keep her rent down. Hang on, rent? Oh yes, all the children are rented from Storkhouse Services since the chemicals in the water rendered most people unable to have children. The rich are lucky enough to but their children, but the poor often have them reclaimed and the poorest still must make do with sack babies…oh, what’s a sack baby? You had better read the book and find out! Florizel makes friends with one though, a sack boy called Burble, who has escaped recycling. Burble is such a joyous character and represents that wonderful innocence that is so quickly washed away in many children. Flori and Burble’s friendship isn’t always plain sailing but it drives the story and adds a lot of humour into the book. Despite being short there’s a lot of detail in the book – it’s fast paced and some bits could have been fleshed out more, but it works. There’s lots of lovely silliness in the book – playful language, sticky situations and delightful delicacies (frogspawn sandwiches anyone?), but there’s a deeper, darker undertone. There are themes of greed, environmental damage and pollution, societal breakdown, poverty and capitalism as well as inclusivity, equality and diversity and kindness. The idea behind the Gobbelino Corporation’s endeavours is cleverly thought out. There are some slightly gruesome bits but they are written in a very clever, fun way.
I think this book works on many levels – on the face of it it’s a fun adventure story with a positive ending, a plucky young heroine, friendship, found family and baddies who get their comeuppance. It’s easy to read and will undoubtedly delight most readers. It can also be read at a deeper level to reveal the themes and underlying messages and as such I think it would suit a fairly wide age range. I feel it would make a great class reading book and I can also see it working really well as a film. It’s really well written and the illustrations perfectly capture the characters and the setting. I will be buying a physical copy to read with my daughter and I highly recommend it. I’d love to read more from the author. Please read her bio below to find out about the amazing work she does and the charity she supports.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
About the book
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.
Purchase link
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:
Green Reads Books 
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