The Winter Freak Show

The Winter Freak Show: A Penny Dreadful Review

            A boy called Toby escapes the cruelties of the Workhouse and nearly freezes to death on the December streets of London. He is rescued by the proprieter of a Freak Show so fantastical that is must be magic. Every year, the Winter Freak Show travels the world, entertaining children and families with incredible feats. They end their tour in London. This year, though, something is different. Someone is kidnapping children, and suspicion falls on the freak show’s proprietor, Nicko.

            The Winter Freak Show is a fun little Christmas adventure by Daniel Parsons. It’s an excellent choice for readers of chapter books, though I wish it had some illustrations. Some parts of the adventure I felt needed some elaboration, and some parts were so sweet and poignant I almost cried.

            Overall, I would give The Winter Freak Show three gears out of five and a round of applause. According to the cover, it is the first in a series entitled Twisted Christmas. I would love to find out what happens to Toby in book two!

            The Winter Freak Show is put out by the whimsically named Onion Custard Publishing and is available in select stores and online (of course).

Your Correspondent From The Bookstore,

Penny J. Merriweather