A huge thank you to The Write Reads and the publisher for providing me with a free eBook in exchange for an honest review. Every time they announce a new tour, I know it’s going to be good. And The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams is no exception!
All opinions in this review are my own.
Eleven-year-old Florizel lives in Witchetty Hollow, a place ripped straight out your favourite trick-or-treat memories, and filled with all things strange and spooky. But the arrival of some curious visitors to their village may be the strangest thing she’s seen yet. And when the newcomers set up a brand new Daydream Delicatessen, things only start getting more and more concerning.
Soon, all the villagers start to abandon their jobs and lives, trading everything they have away at the new pawnshop for the chance to purchase another little daydream, even the rent needed to pay for their children. It isn’t long before Storkhouse Services begins to reclaim Florizel’s classmates, one by one. Something strange is happening in Witchetty Hollow, and Florizel is determined to figure it out.
Grimm fairy tales are always at their best when there’s just a touch of grim darkness to their narrative (sorry not sorry for that one), and The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams manages to capture that same, magical and damn near wicked feeling from the very start.
The setting was honestly the best part of the entire book, delivering a fun but wholly unique atmosphere with so many little, Halloweeny details that my inner trick-or-treater couldn’t possibly resist. There were also some honestly creepy moments as well, though it never goes too far into horror territory. That said, it definitely lends an air of mystery to the whole place that’s far more adult that you might expect. Between rented children, sack-babies who get recycled, and a child recollection service that makes a Dickensian orphanage sound like an absolutely charming alternative, there’s a surprisingly sinister undercurrent to this world that will absolutely enthrall young readers – and give older ones more than a little cause for concern.
Florizel was an excellent lead, managing to feel like a little girl and a capable protagonist all at once – and she needs to be in this world. She’s stuck playing a role, pretending to be a fool in school in order to keep her rent payments low, but it’s clear she’s very intelligent and hates being forced to limit herself. But she still manages to be kind and selfless, caring for the sack-boy Burble when no one else will bother, and wanting to save the people of the village in spite of the way they look down on her. It made me root for her tight from page one, and I spent the entire book eagerly awaiting the moment she gets to prove everyone wrong and save the day.
It’s also helped by the fact that she might be the only likeable person in all of Witchetty Hollow. Aside from being entirely too willing to trade away all their worldly goods and lose custody of their children just to chase a few dreams, they’re all incredibly mean and entirely too eager to follow a system that seems designed by a Disney villain to take advantage of the poor and solely profit the already wealthy.
There’s an allegory for capitalism in here, and it’s sweeter than any pastry.
The one part I was disappointed in was the ending, which essentially hands us the answers to all our questions in a convenient info-dump and wraps it up with a bow like a gift. I do understand that it’s meant for middle-grade readers, but there was so much lovely foreshadowing in earlier parts of the book that I was really looking forward to the moment we figured out the mystery with Florizel – and after so long being underestimated and looked over, that girl deserved more of a chance to shine!
But regardless of how we got to the ending destination, I’m not sorry I took the journey. This spooky atmosphere and unique world of Witchetty Hollow is it’s biggest draw, and middle school me would have been utterly enchanted – they have jack-o’-lanterns as lamps, people! Even (mostly) grown up me wishes there were more adventures in store for Florizel and Burble. There’s a unique and wonderful magic about the world Williamson has created here, and I wouldn’t be sorry to visit it again soon.
Until then, I’ll just enjoy my own daydreams – responsibly, of course. If you enjoy plucky heroines, and clever world building with the right touch of spooky, I’d recommend paying a visit to Witchetty Hollow as soon as possible. Once a huge thank you to the good people at The Write Reads for my ecopy of the book and my spot on The Ultimate Blog Tour.
The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams
by Victoria Williamson
Illustrated by James Brown
Rating: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
eBook, 214 pages
May 11, 2023
Published by Tiny Tree Books
Fantasy | Middle Grade | Witchy Vibes
About the Author
Victoria Williamson is an award-winning author who grew up in Scotland surrounded by hills, books, and an historical farm estate which inspired many of her early adventure stories and spooky tales. After studying Physics at the University of Glasgow, she set out on her own real-life adventures, which included teaching maths and science in Cameroon, training teachers in Malawi, teaching English in China and working with children with additional support needs in the UK. Victoria currently works part time writing KS2 books for the education company Twinkl and spends the rest of her time writing novels, and visiting schools, libraries and literary festivals to give author talks and run creative writing workshops.
Victoria’s previous novels include The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle, The Boy with the Butterfly Mind, Hag Storm, and War of the Wind. She has won the Bolton Children’s Fiction Award 2020/2021, The YA-aldi Glasgow Secondary School Libraries Book Award 2023, and has been shortlisted for the Week Junior Book Awards 2023, The Leeds Book Awards 2023, the Red Book Award 2023, the James Reckitt Hull Book Awards 2021, The Trinity School Book Awards 2021, and longlisted for the ABA South Coast Book Awards 2023, the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2020, and the Branford Boase Award 2019.
Her latest novel, The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams, is a middle grade fantasy inspired by classic folklore. Twenty percent of the author royalties for this book are donated to CharChar Literacy, an organisation working to improve children’s literacy levels in Malawi.
You can find out more about Victoria’s books, school visits and free resources for schools on her website: www.strangelymagical.com.
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I’m so curious about this book now. I must try it. I’ll add it to my TBR.
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I hope you like it!
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