SERENDIPITY MARKET
by Penny Blubaugh
In this debut storytelling tour de force, Blubaugh repackages familiar folk- and fairy-tale themes with contemporary verve and wit. When the omniscient Mama Inez discovers “the spin of the world is off,” she invites special guests to the Serendipity Market to help her balance it with their fantastical stories. Speaking in the first-person, each guest tells a tale in which astute readers will recognize traditional characters and motifs, albeit with a modern twist or fresh perspective. Disenchanted coachman Lizard recounts the Cinderella story from his reptilian viewpoint. Traveler elves Naddie and Earl relate how they developed a symbiotic relationship with the village cobbler. Gay Prince Zola remembers finding his true love after a sleepless night on a pile of mattresses. Rosey tells how she barely escaped from a sexual predator en route to Gran’s house. These and other stories blend the magical and the mundane as well as the familiar and the foreign. Together they offer memorable storytellers, magical tales and marvelous language that should indeed help balance the world. (Fantasy. 12 & up)