I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the GOBLIN MARKET by Diane Zahler Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!
Diane grew up reading children's books and never wanted to do anything but write them. Now she’s the author of six middle-grade fantasy novels and a historical novel, DAUGHTER OF THE
WHITE ROSE.
She lives in the country with her husband and slightly neurotic dog in what is aptly nicknamed the Bug House. Visit her website at www.dianezahler.com.
Title: GOBLIN MARKET
Author: Diane Zahler
Pub. Date: August 16, 2022
Publisher: Holiday House
Formats: Hardcover, eBook
Pages: 256
Lizzie and Minka are sisters, but they’re nothing alike: Minka is outgoing and cheerful, while Lizzie is shy and sensitive. Nothing much ever happens in their sleepy village—there are fields to tend, clothes to mend, and weekly trips to the market, predictable as the turning of the seasons. Lizzie likes it that way. It’s safe. It’s comfortable. She hopes nothing will ever change.
But one day, Minka meets a boy.
A boy who gives her a plum to eat.
He is charming. He is handsome. He tells her that she’s special. He tells her no one understands her like he does—not her parents, not her friends, not even Lizzie. He tells her she should come away with him, into the darkness, into the forest. . . .
Minka has been bewitched and ensnared by a zdusze—a goblin. His plum was poison, his words are poison, and strange things begin to happen. Trees bleed, winds howl, a terrible sickness descends on Minka, and deep in the woods, in a place beyond sunshine, beyond reality, a wedding table has been laid. . . .
To save her sister, Lizzie will have to find courage she never knew she had—courage to confront the impossible—and enter into a world of dreams, danger, and death.
Rich world-building inspired by both Polish folklore and the poetry of Christina Rossetti combines with a tender sister story in this thrilling novel from Diane Zahler.
"A girl at market. A boy with fruit. A girl who gives the boy something of value. a girl praying and weakening, failing and sleeping. A girl disappearing, or dying."
I was five-years-old when Labyrinth released, so I wasn't quite old enough, but years down the line it became one of my favorite movies of all time. Ever since, I have been obsessed with anything having to do with goblins, especially The Goblin Market poem and any books inspired by it. Suffice it to say, I jumped at the chance to read this.
Lizzie is younger than her sister, Minka. Maybe not as pretty or talented (according to herself) and perhaps a bit more shy and introverted. Nonetheless, she loves her sister and would do anything for her, so when Minka suddenly becomes ill, she follows the clues that lead her to a strange boy in the weekly market who may or may not be what he appears. Lizzie must overcome everything to save her sister.
Lizzie is a determined and fierce heroine who overcomes her own worries to step outside her home to save her sister. Her love for her family far surpasses her fears. Another remarkable thing about her is that she is a syntesthetes, a person who can see colors in music or words among other things.
This is a middle-grade book, so it is not too violent and gory, which is perfect for younger viewers. I'd even say it teaches young people not to give your love and trust to someone so easily, which is a key theme in a lot of fairytales.
I am happy to include this book on my shelf with other Goblin Market retellings.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Week One:
8/8/2022
Excerpt
8/8/2022
IG Review
8/9/2022
Review/IG Post
8/9/2022
Review/IG Post
8/10/2022
Review
8/10/2022
IG Post
8/11/2022
Excerpt/IG Post
8/11/2022
Excerpt/IG Post
8/12/2022
Excerpt/IG Post
8/12/2022
IG Post
Week Two:
8/15/2022
Review
8/15/2022
Review
8/16/2022
Review/IG Post
8/16/2022
Review/IG Post
8/17/2022
IG Review
8/17/2022
Review/IG Post
8/18/2022
Review/IG Post
8/18/2022
IG Review
8/19/2022
IG Review
8/19/2022
Review/IG Post
