Sunday, September 20, 2015

Rules for Stealing Stars by Corey Ann Haydu

Remember the Grimm fairytale about the Twelve Dancing Princesses?  This story is lightly based on that tale with a touch of Narnia, too.  It's all pure fantasy.

Katherine Tegen Books and Edelweiss gave me the opportunity to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published September 29th, so you don't have long to wait to grab a copy.

This story, in a way, is a new fairy tale.  It's the story of a man and woman and their four children.  Dad teaches in the local college about fairy tales.  Mom seems to be going mad and drinks a bit too much wine.  The twins are the oldest and do everything together.  Marla is the middle girl and Mom doesn't seem to like her much.  Priscilla (Silly) is the youngest and they are all to take care of her.

When they move into the old family home, their mother suddenly blocks them from her sewing room.  Even more strangely, she keeps sitting in closets.  The girls spend their time trying to stay out of her way and being very careful what they say.  Dad lives in his own little world.

Then they discover the wonder of the closets in that house.  They're magical.  You can go to other worlds, see answers to your questions or just enjoy the safety of the night sky and the stars.  There's also one that is bad.  It takes from you instead of giving.

The girls use the closets as an escape pod from their mother's moods and angry words.  They learn why she is the way she is.  They learn, by accident, just what might help.  They also learn to draw together and be a family, not just pieces of a family.  It's not a happy ever after ending but there's potential for one.  And that's what really matters.

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