“Waiting on Wednesday” is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine!
This week I’m waiting on…
Title The Toymaker’s Apprentice
Author Sherri L. Smith
Pages 400 Pages
Genre Middle Grade
Publisher G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
To Be Published October 13th, 2015
Find It On Goodreads
A gorgeously imagined Nutcracker retelling from an award-winning author making her middle-grade debut.
Stefan Drosselmeyer is a reluctant apprentice to his toymaker father until the day his world is turned upside down. His father is kidnapped and Stefan is enlisted by his mysterious cousin, Christian Drosselmeyer, to find a mythical nut to save a princess who has been turned into a wooden doll. Embarking on a wild adventure through Germany, Stefan must save Boldavia’s princess and his own father from the fanatical Mouse Queen and her seven-headed Mouse Prince, both of whom have sworn to destroy the Drosselmeyer family.
Based on the original inspiration for the Nutcracker ballet, Sherri L. Smith brings the Nutcracker Prince to life in this fascinating journey into a world of toymaking, magical curses, clockmaking guilds, talking mice and erudite squirrels.
Okay. I know what you’re thinking. “Really, Jen? A Christmas-themed book in July?” And to that I say: Yes. Really. Not only am I an unapologetic fan of the holiday no matter what time of year it might be, but I also believe a truly good book has no expiration date or ‘best by’ date, but can be celebrated all year ’round. And I have it on good authority that The Toymaker’s Apprentice is a great one. I was lucky enough to have a wonderful chat about middle grade literature with the always lovely Colleen Conway last week. In the midst of our discussion, Colleen had mentioned that Sherri L. Smith’s forthcoming publication, a Nutcracker re-telling told from the perspective of the Mouse King, was one of her most-anticipated titles for the fall. I was hooked. And really, after a single look at this cover and concept, how could you not be? Smith promises to make a beloved classic all her own in this 2015 middle grade release, and I for one could not be looking more forward to it.
8 Responses
Oh good choice. Looks to be an interesting read. My WoW features my favorite fictional detective in a roundabout way. Happy Reading.
Perpetual New Girl recently posted…‘Waiting On’ Wednesday #16: A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro
This book sounds amazing, and the pretty cover doesn’t hurt too! I hope you get to read this soon and happy reading! 🙂
Kim @ Divergent Gryffindor: BLOG || VLOG
Most recent post: Waiting on Wednesday
Very interesting middle grade novel. I will have to check it out.
Chioma recently posted…Waiting on Wednesday: Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
I’m a huge Christmas fan as well; it’s probably my favorite holiday besides Thanksgiving. This one sounds pretty good!
Krystianna @ Downright Dystopian
Krystianna @ Downright Dystopian recently posted…1989 Book Tag!
I haven’t heard of this, but I do like retellings, sounds like it might be good! Great choice. Check out mine in the link below!
Lisa Mandina (Lisa Loves Literature) recently posted…Waiting on Wednesday: Redemption (Mila 2.0 #3) by Debra Driza
Oh, I’m a sucker for anything related to The Nutcracker, honestly! It’s what drew me in when I first started reading the synopsis, but the unique angle the author is choosing to take sounds really interesting. I’ll be looking forward to checking it out!
Alexa S. recently posted…The Bourbon Kings – J.R. Ward
I’m the author of The Toymaker’s Apprentice and, Jen, I’m so glad to hear you are excited! For anyone shying away from a holiday tale, Toymaker is a Christmas book the way Shane Black movies are Christmas movies (Lethal Weapon, Iron Man 3). Christmas happens in the timeline, but the focus is the story is much bigger. It’s an adventure, above all, and was great fun to write. I hope you get your copy, soon!
I had no idea that Smith had a new book coming out. This one looks really fun. I don’t read a lot of Christmas themed books but I may need to give this one a try.
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