Has anyone read The Candymakers?
It looks like a riff on the premise of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and as it's by Wendy Mass, I'm inclined to trust that it's a GOOD riff, and not a DERIVATIVE riff.
Anyway, it's $1.99 today, and I figure that I'd buy anything else by Wendy Mass for $2, so here I go... CLICK.
haven't read it but my daughter LOVED LOVED LOVED it. it's her go-to birthday gift for all her friends who like to read.
Posted by: marjorie | 03 April 2013 at 08:34 AM
This sounds like so much fun. Off to request it from the library . . .
Posted by: Eliza | 03 April 2013 at 10:58 AM
@marjorie: EXCELLENT. I'm glad I bought it, then!
@Eliza: Keep me posted!
Posted by: Leila | 03 April 2013 at 02:47 PM
Just popped back in to let you know that I read The Candymakers and thought it was a fun read. A lovely story about friendship - misunderstandings that can end a friendship, betrayal, making friends, how to open up and trust, letting your guard down. I think it'll be a great summer read for young readers. I just checked and almost all of my library's 25 copies are checked out currently. So, looks like it's popular.
Re Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - there is a contest and it takes place in a candy factory but that's really the extent to which the stories overlap. I didn't find The Candymakers derivative. It's more a mystery, a story of friendship, and following your passion. I love that each kid in the story approaches the problems differently and each one of their skills is valued and necessary for the final solution. There isn't the creepy/menacing vibe that Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has, which some may view as a plus or a minus.
A plus for me is that it contains one of my favorite literary devices - the unreliable narrator. (Don't think this is a spoiler as there are several narrators and I'm telling which one(s) unreliable.)
Posted by: Eliza | 07 June 2013 at 07:25 PM
Excellent! Glad I bought it... now I just need to find the time to read it! :P
Posted by: Leila | 11 June 2013 at 03:02 PM