Spoiler-Free Review: A Magical Venice Story: The Girl of Glass by Holly Webb Title: A Magical Venice Story: The Girl of Glass Author: Holly Webb Release Date: 9th March 2017 Synopsis: An enchanting tale of magic, friendship and adventure for readers aged 9 and up - from bestselling author, Holly Webb. Mariana lives with her family on the Venetian island of Murano - famed for its artists who create masterpieces from glass. But when Mariana's little sister, Eliza, dies their father decides to use his glassmaking skill - and a dash of magic - to create a girl of glass in Eliza's image. The remarkable glass doll, who sings, dances and talks, draws attention wherever she goes, and soon Mariana is famous for having the magical glass sister. But as the glass girl takes on more and more of Eliza's personality, Mariana begins to suspect that there is more than just magic at play. Could the girl of glass be her sister's ghost made real? The Magical Venice books are all share the same beautiful setting, but can be read as standalone stories. Review *I was sent a copy of this book in trade for an honest review via Netgalley* I started a Netgalley account about a month ago as I realised just how many books I was missing out on receiving an e-arc for. I decided to just have a look through and request one or two books to get me started. This came up on the section about books in genres that you like (something like that anyway),so I decided to have a look. I just want to say that the cover is gorgeous! Though the cover was what I was first attracted to, after reading the synopsis I was even more intrigued. Long story short, I requested this book and got a ebook copy for review. I was excited to read it but I thought I'd try and read and review nearer to the release date, but instead I'm writing this before we're halfway through February. Here's a quick rundown of the plot. Mariana's little sister, Eliza, is ill and has been for quite a while. Mariana's stepmother is always sending her to buy different cures for her for Eliza to try, but none of them ever seem to work. One day Eliza passes away and the family is deep down in grief, especially the stepmother who used to spend all of her time caring for Eliza. The father, an amazing glassworker, decides to catch Eliza's last breath and create a glass look-alike doll to help cheer the stepmother up. However, when he puts Eliza's last breath into the doll, it comes alive and things don't go to plan... I loved this book! I was happy to see that it did have things in it that people do have to go through in real life because as it is a middle-grade/childrens book, I wasn't expecting it to. It featured a grieving family and how grief can make you do different things and how people react differently to someone dying. Another big part of the story was magic and thinking about it now, it still excites me. The different things and types of magic in this book are so exciting and almost feel real when you're reading about them. I loved how Mariana was always chasing after magic and was always fighting to prove her father wrong and that she could and would do magic. One of my favourite things about this book is the beautiful relationship between Mariana and both Eliza and doll Eliza. It shows just how strong a bond can be between siblings (sisters in this case) and how unique that bond can be. I loved how Mariana was always doing her best and fighting for her sister. Another thing that I loved was the impact doll Eliza had on Mariana's life and ughhh it was just such a good book! The different aspects of the story worked very well together (family, magic, grief etc) and I think the way they were combined was really clever. I loved the storyline and there wasn't a dull moment. Overall, I really loved this book and would definitely recommend it to children, but also to anyone. As a teenager, I really enjoyed it and loved the magical aspects and I think anyone would be able to get at least a tiny bit of enjoyment out of this book. Rate - 4.5/5 GR - I can't seem to find the book on Goodreads yet, but I will link it when I'm able to find it. BD - https://www.bookdepository.com/The-Girl-of-Glass-Book-4-Holly-Webb/9781408327685 BYE!
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AuthorHello and welcome to Books With Beth! I'm Beth and on this blog I share a mix of all my bookish thoughts through reviews, book tours and hauls. Have fun! Categories
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