It is my pleasure to announce that today is my stop of the blog tour for this brilliant middle grade novel, The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams by Victoria Williamson.

Title: The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams

Written by: Victoria Williamson

Illustrated by: James Brown

Published by: Tiny Tree

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.

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

Review

The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams is a very clever story. The intricate world of Witchetty Hollow has been well-thought out and the dynamics of the town clearly constructed to steer the course of events for the whole story. Every detail is interconnected to produce a very elaborate poverty stricken world where our hero Florizel and her hilarious sidekick Burble the sack-boy, have to prevent the three scheming siblings: Grimalkin, Griselda and Grendel Gobbelino from completing their devious plan and ultimately save the village and all its inhabitants.

Florizel, has been rented by Gammer Oakenshaw for eleven years and has to pretend to be uneducated as the rent is determined by her test results at school. She lives with the constant fear that if she does well in her tests her rent will increase and Gammer Oakenshaw will not be able to afford her, so she will be reclaimed by the Storkhouse Child Collectors and re-issued to another family.

She befriends Burble, a sack-boy who has escaped from recollection by the Gobbelinos, when they arrive to set up business in Witchetty Hollow. Florizel and Burble’s relationship is brilliant and kept you turning the pages. Together they use their detective skills to solve the mystery of the Gobbelino Corporation and save the village.

I found the elaborate world building fascinating and it drew me in from the start. The complex connections between the daydream delicatessen, the sack-baby factory, the pawnshop, people going missing and the fact no real babies had been born for over ten years creating a vicious circle that only lines the Gobbelino siblings’ pockets, were well crafted, creating an eerie suspense to this mystery adventure.

The dark undercurrents of the Witchetty Hollow world are a direct reflection of society, highlighting how people are motivated by greed and a lust for wealth with no thought to the consequences of others.

On the whole, The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams, is an excellent, cinematic read with hints of Coraline by Neil Gaiman.

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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

I would like to thank The Write Reads for inviting me to take part in this tour. Thank you.