I just love having something to celebrate, and I recently came across a tale so enchanting I had to add it to my Sweet Reads list! leighheasley knows how to craft a compelling yarn, and according to the book's dedication & preface, this story is a tribute of sorts to the tiny town in Appalachia where she grew up, as well as to her parents, "who still tell the best stories".
According to Heasley, Appalachia is "...a strange and beautiful place, filled with ghosts and magic," but it's also been misunderstood and mislabelled as (from what I gathered reading the preface) a somewhat backwards community ignorant to the concerns of the (self-proclaimed) urban elite.
More than a tribute, the Seam Sorceress is a love letter to those who are small but mighty, underestimated but uber-talented, pocketbook-poor but spirit-rich. It's a celebration of the scrappy, the tenacious, the big hearted, the imaginative, the kind, but it's not at all sappy or trite. So yeah, I kind of fell in love with it. And here's the thing ... there are fey and a shape-shifting dog and modernized nursery rhyme characters ... so I was initially sceptical because SOME of those things have been done before, and (in this reader's opinion) they don't always work. Except they do work here, guys. They work hard.
The Seam Sorceress' homespun fey heroine, Tilly, her little sister Sprout and her magical mostly-dog Booger had this reader utterly charmed. Tilly and Sprout's mama is sick and they don't have two nickels to rub together for spell ingredients to make mama right again ... so Tilly and Booger set off into the big world to make some cash to cure her ma. Misadventure and curiosity ensue. That's the dryest, spoiler-free-ist explanation of the story, without any of the heart that leaps off these virtual pages.
In short, check it out. My only disappointment was the realization that this book isn't yet complete ... so now I'm caught up and have to wait for the next instalment. That crushed my binge-reading dreams, but I'll deal. Also ... @leaighheasley does her own artwork and it's super adorbs, BTW.
So hooray, another Sweet Read to celebrate! Stay tuned for another happy review when I find a new favourite.
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Sweet Reads: Celebrating Wattpad's Best
De TodoThere's a reason dessert is saved for last - it's a treat, a small gift, something to savour. In my opinion, that's what the books and stories featured in this happy review book are - treats to read, small literary gifts, delectable words to savour...
