I read this last year, and really enjoyed it (and the cover is pretty.. ooh shiny :p even though I shouldn't judge a book by its cover, it did made me pick it up..).
The story is well written and has a lot of twists, you never know what will happen next. And even though Lump was mean and selfish most of the time, I still felt for him (sometimes... I often wanted to slap him too :p). Falance the cat was my favorite I think (and how nice it sounds to have a bear for a nurse ^-^). There were also a lot of characters from other fairy tales that passed by which was quite fun.. but with a darker twist.. (Lump is also from a well known fairy tale, but I won't tell which.. if you read it you'll find out near the end :P)

From the back cover:
Lump, the ugliest boy in the world, is abandoned in the forest, where a witch takes him in. With a bear for a nanny, a genie as a servant and only a cat to talk to, the household is a strange one, but Lump grows up knowing nothing but love. Until one day he has to face the world - and meets rejection at every turn.
This is a story of Lump's difficult journey to adulthood, his craving for the magical powers of his mother and his search for acceptance, set in a world full of natural magic in delicate balance, where the slightest disturbance can be catastrophic.


Update 12 June 2011: Chosen by rureading from the second round of the YA VBB (hosted by Minerva101)

Travelling to rureading in Canada now, as part of the YA VBB.
Sorry for the delay (thought it would be better to wait till the postal strikes were over).
Hope you'll enjoy the book!

The book arrived today and I am looking forward to reading it. Thanks, Tsjara.

I really enjoyed this book. Well written with clever dialogue and an imaginative story with many twists. Falance was the highlight of the book.
Thanks again, Tsjara!

Took the book to the Calgary BC Meetup at the Joshua Tree Cafe today.

I picked this up at the Calgary Bookcrossing meeting today from rureading - I love fairy tales and rureading and I have similar tastes in books, so I am looking forward to reading this one

This book was really good! The writing was fluid and very readable, the story reads exactly like a fairy tale and, like rureading and Tsjara, Falance made the book for me - practical, sensible and sarcastic as all cats are :)

Thank you for sharing! I will pass this book along at the next Calgary Bookcrossing meeting.

Picked this up at May's meeting... Once again I came home with way too many books. This one may be sitting on my TBR shelf for awhile.

It took me awhile to get into this (the Witch's son drove me crazy) but after making it a ways into the book I was so happy that I had stuck it out. I love the reinterpretations of the different stories. This book could be considered a guilty pleasure so I am taking it to June's Guilty Pleasures themed meeting at Cravings. It is sure to find a new reader there.

Are you in the Calgary area and interested in meeting up with other Calgary BookCrossers? Please check out our facebook group, "BookCrossing Calgary" for details on how. Meeting are held on the second Saturday of every month starting at 11am. Location is unknown, please PM me for information. New Crossers are always welcome.

picked up at BC meeting

Nice enough story. Some parts are beautifully written.

But: Mixing in characters from different fairy tales... for no other reason than just to do it?
The wife is a bit too much to believe (blind girl cooking and sewing? hmmm...).

It is going back to Calgary BC group

This one came to me in a box of books. Thanks for sending them, it was super exciting to get it.

I will take this to the next meeting and see who wants it next.

Are you in the Calgary area and interested in meeting up with other Calgary BookCrossers? Please check out our facebook group, "BookCrossing Calgary" for details on how. Meeting are held on the second Saturday of every month starting at 11am. Location is unknown, please PM me for information. New Crossers are always welcome.

Taking this to the meetup

Picked up at the January meet-up of Calgary BookCrossers.

Thinking I was going to be clever, I downloaded a book with the same name, but by a Kelly Barnhill. Luckily I realized the synopsis didn't match, so I listened to the first and read the other.

This was an entertaining read and I, too, loved Falance the best!

Taken to the April meet-up of Calgary BookCrossers at Cravings Market Restaurant.

Picked this up at the BookCrossing meeting at Cravings.

Falance - definitely wonderful. Got a bit of a slow start but then engaged. enjoyed the fairy tales that leapt out and gave another perspective for them. Lump sure had many moments where it was hard to like him.

Bringing this book back to the November meetup at Cravings after attending the Remembrance Day Service at the Jubilee.

Book returned to me.