Slippers of Pearl (Tales of a Cobbler Mage #1) by Danyelle Leafty
Series: Tales of a Cobbler Mage #1
Published On: July 6, 2012
Genres: Fairy Tale, Middle Grade, Retelling
Source: Purchased
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The Short, Sweet, and Spoiler-Free Blurb:
Shoes, unlike magic, are predictable. They don’t change shape, bite, or alter a person’s destiny. And that’s just how Faryn likes it. But his Uncle Harvey has a bad habit of dying. While inconvenient, this hasn’t ever been a problem until now. Thanks to an evil witch and a poisoned apple turnover, Harvey is dead again—permanently this time. As his uncle’s heir, Faryn has to give up shoemaking in order to accept and refine his magic. Magic he never wanted.
Slippers of Pearl is an interesting twist and original take on the fairy-tale The Princess Who Couldn’t Laugh. I thought the story was very imaginative and the writing was cute and witty (though there were more comparisons in this book than I think it really needed). I liked that the house the main character, Faryn, lived in was alive in a adorable and charming way. The story felt kind of like The Hobbit because Faryn goes on different adventures involving magic shoes, runaway pigs, and trying getting a girl to laugh to lift a curse. My only complaint about this book was that unlike Bilob who is on all these adventures to get somewhere, there was no overall story line connecting all the side quests in Slippers of Pearl. Still, the author put a lot of detail in the story that made it very rich and entertaining to me.
Overall, it’s a good coming of age story with a lot of funny moments and a good message. It was pretty entertaining for me as an adult, but I think kids would really dig this story.
Content Rating: Everyone
About Danyelle Leafty
Danyelle Leafty writes upper MG and YA fantasy, and is the author of THE FAIRY GODMOTHER DILEMMA series. Danyelle has always loved fairy tales, and prefers stories where someone gets eaten, or at the very least, transmogrified. In her spare time, she collects dragons, talking frogs, and fairy godmothers. She also collects books, and one day hopes to make a house out of them. She enjoys learning languages, fiddling with her harp, and perfecting the fine art of mothering.
