Today I'm delighted to be sharing my thoughts on The Word-Keeper by Veronica del Valle. One of several bloggers to be participating in this Book Tour capably organised by Rachel @ Rachel's Random Resources, you can find the links to the other blogs below but if I may make a special mention of Gina @ Satisfaction For Insatiable Readers who, a follower of Pen and Paper and a FB friend of mine , is also featuring this book on her blog today.
What would happen if words disappeared forever?
Set in a whimsical town called Inkwell, a place with an ancient secret history, this fairytale-like
adventure will uncover the key to the power hidden within words.
The Word-Keeper is a tale about a savvy bookmark named Ben that unwillingly becomes an evil imp with only one objective: follow the orders of his master and destroy the words that live
inside books.
Only one girl can stop him. Her name is Florence Ibbot. She is eleven years old, oddly eloquent and a quiet observer of the world. But above all, Florence is a keen logophile and is willing to sacrifice everything to protect the words.
She sets out to discover who is behind all this. The journey will take her to the origins of writing and inspiration. But she’ll also have to face the most
treacherous adversary, Zyler, a ruthless sorceress whose sole mission is to ruin one of humankind’s most precious possessions: the gift of
language.
As the final battle approaches, Florence will have to learn how to wield words instead of the sword. Is Florence brave enough to become who she was born to be?
- Summary
One more day.
- First Sentence, Within The Walls Of Chapter One
- First Sentence, Within The Walls Of Chapter One
The sound of words together with the wombats' drums pierced through the sorceress and surrounded her like a thick barrier. It was deadlier than any bullet ever shot and stronger than any barricade ever made before that day.
- Memorable Moment
- Memorable Moment
MY THOUGHTS ... Wow! Considering this is marketed as being particularly suitable for pre- teenage readers it certainly has some universal themes; the relevance of the words we choose, the consideration of when and how we use them, the power they hold to do harm or good ... all of which it could be argued have never been more relevant a message (and not just to children) than it is today.
A modern day quest of a heroine out to save words. The 'normal every day' world and the magical co-existing side by side.
The Word-Keeper is the tale of Florence, a young girl who, on her annual visit to stay with her Grandpa Davey (a man with a thousand anecdotes and, perhaps more importantly, the proprietor of Inkwell's bookshop), is tasked with solving the puzzle of why exactly the words are disappearing from books.
Beautifully written; the message, that of the importance of words, not 'in your face' so to speak but woven into the very fabric of this hugely enjoyable story.
The use of different sized fonts, considered and put to good use. The use of tongue twisters such as the "Wood of Whispering Weeping Willows", fun. That there are the occasional bursts of poetry, inspired. And that's to say nothing of the creative use of black and white illustrations which includes some maps (one of which can be seen to the right).
With a cast that includes Ben (who stole my heart) who is a ... wait for it ... a (Go on! Guess), a, a bookmark come to life (I know! How wonderful is that) there's a motley bunch of characters for readers to get behind.
As for the setting, with its drumming Wombats, and pushy plum trees that talk about how plums are the best fruit in the world, well, Inkwell is nothing short of magical; the sort of place any child would want to grow up.
A modern day quest of a heroine out to save words. The 'normal every day' world and the magical co-existing side by side.
The Word-Keeper is the tale of Florence, a young girl who, on her annual visit to stay with her Grandpa Davey (a man with a thousand anecdotes and, perhaps more importantly, the proprietor of Inkwell's bookshop), is tasked with solving the puzzle of why exactly the words are disappearing from books.
Beautifully written; the message, that of the importance of words, not 'in your face' so to speak but woven into the very fabric of this hugely enjoyable story. The use of different sized fonts, considered and put to good use. The use of tongue twisters such as the "Wood of Whispering Weeping Willows", fun. That there are the occasional bursts of poetry, inspired. And that's to say nothing of the creative use of black and white illustrations which includes some maps (one of which can be seen to the right).
 |
| Ben the bookmark |
As for the setting, with its drumming Wombats, and pushy plum trees that talk about how plums are the best fruit in the world, well, Inkwell is nothing short of magical; the sort of place any child would want to grow up.
SUMMED UP IN A SENTENCE ... A book I'm sure my twelve year old self would have loved just as much but then a good story is good story no matter what your age.
ABOUT THE WORD-KEEPER ...
Genre: MG Fairytale-like fantasyPublication Date: 29th May 2019
Estimated Page Count - 175
Standalone Novel
PURCHASE LINKS FOR THE BOOK ...
AUTHOR BIO ... Veronica Del Valle grew up in Argentina, but life eventually led her to live in London, the city that was her home for many years.Veronica’s always had a fondness for words, language and the magic of storytelling. She has an MA in Creative Writing from Kingston University.
Veronica currently lives in Buenos Aires with her husband, Ale, and her daughter, Tomiko. She teaches creative writing at Universidad de San Andres and is a contributing editor and writer for one of Argentina’s leading news organizations.
When she’s not writing or teaching, she’s either a) meditating or b) enjoying life with her family (which, in a way, is another beautiful way to meditate.
The Word Keeper is the first novel she’s written.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS ...
Instagram ~ Website
BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE ...
23rd February
littlemissreader ~ Mum's Book Blast ~ Laura's Interests
24th February
Mai's Musings ~ Books and Bookends ~ Book After Book ~
25th February
Whispering Stories ~ Cherly M-M's Book Blog ~ donnasbookblog
26th February
Dash Fan Book Reviews ~ Splashes Into Books ~
B for bookreview
27th February
Felicity Grace Terry ~ Satisfaction For Insatiable Readers ~ The Magic Of Wor(l)ds
28th February
In de Boekenkast ~ Lauren's Literary Library ~ Book Craic
29th February
Hooked on Bookz ~ JBronder Book Reviews ~ Bookshine and Rainbows
12 comments:
This sounds really cute.
Oh it looks nice!
I think this looks and sounds delightful! I don't remember having options like this when I was a pre-teen.
Thank you so much, Felicity, for this lovely and honest review! I'm so glad you enjoyed The Word-Keeper!
I loved everything about this book -
The cover art is simple and eye-catching, which would appeal hugely to the target audience.
The premise about words and language disappearing definitely strikes a chord, in these times when children's ability to write using paper and pen is diminishing rapidly and the only language they use is that which they speak into their wrist to the phone built into their watch.
The notion of a bookmark coming to life adds a real fun element, you cunningly don't say whether he is out to help or hinder Florence though. As does the name of the town and the fact that Florence's Grandpa owns the town's bookshop.
This is a story I would have loved, but have to say, I think I would have been reading long before my teenage years, by which time I was thinking of laying aside my Enid Blyton teenage stories, for the adult shelves in the local library.
A brilliant debut novel and an excellent Blog Tour post, you definitely sold it to me :)
Yvonne
xx
I don't know why, but quite a few of your photos on this post are not showing. I'm not sure if that's just my computer or everyone is having this issue, but I thought I'd mention it to you.
Sounds wonderful. It also sounds very creative. You raise a good point about universal themes here.
Felicity,
This book sounds truly creative
and poetic. And I suspect that
I would appreciate it very much,
I will definitely add it to my list.
And thank you for your great review.
Raven
this sounds sooooo good
sherry @ fundinmental
I'm glad you enjoyed this one, it sounds like a great read.
Wonderful review as usual...for a book that was a wordy unique masterpiece of its own accord. So glad to have shared the tour date with you as well, my friend, and my utmost thanks for the shout out! ♡
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