The Miraculous Sweetmakers: The Frost Fair: The perfect illustrated children’s fantasy adventure

Product Information

I read this book as part of the blog tour hosted by The Write Reads. Special thanks to HarperCollinsChildren's Books for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is illustrated by Alex T Smith. I hadn’t heard of him prior to this year, but now I seem to be buying his books left, right and centre. Him and Christmas are just made to be together. In this story of hope and endurance, we follow a scientist and her team during their search for the elusive 'Giant Arctic Jellyfish'.What I loved about The Miraculous Sweetmaker is how although it is set in 1683 how relatable to today this story is. This is a tale of a young girl who has gone through such sadness in her life and is willing to do anything to make things better again. She is lonely and feels like she doesn’t have anyone until she meets Anne, the apothecary apprentice who has just moved in with her uncle. But soon the world of Father Winter threatens to claim everything she holds dear. Will they be able to solve the magical mysteries that surround them . . . ? This is such a brilliant book and what happens is so interesting. Thomasina’s family have never been able to get over the grief of losing Arthur and Thomasina finds herself talking to him everyday while her father hardly ever speaks to her except to tell her what to do, and her mother is so consumed by her grief that she’s moved into the attic room with Thomasina, never leaving the bed. Thomasina does her best to try and help her family with the business, even more so when a Frost Fair is set up on the frozen river Thames and she and her dad set up a stall there to sell gingerbread and other sweet treats.

A heartwarming, wintry treat of a read perfect to snuggle up with on cold, snowy days’ Hannah Gold, bestselling author of The Last Bear

Published

The other area where this book truly excels, and where it took me by surprise with the sheer amount of impact is that this story as full of magic and wonder and whimsy as it is, is also a complex, emotional exploration of grief and guilt, and how that experience can differ from person to person and how it can feed into other issues. Even from reading the blurb I hadn’t expected such a serious topic to be so central to the story, but I loved that it was, and I think it’s why this book will appeal to readers beyond the target middle grade audience. It’s also fantastic to see these topics being brought up for younger readers, and in such a way that it isn’t overwhelming and is balanced with warmth and understanding and acceptance. Not surprisingly, during Natasha’s childhood, she was encouraged to read and cites the Narnia series and anything by Jacqueline Wilson (‘I like the way she writes stories around powerful, emotional themes’) as some of her favourite books. Perhaps her own stories will one day be as revered. Hasting's descriptions in particular carry with them an elegance and easy sophistication that should set young minds alight. Here's an early example of a passage early on, setting the scene, that I found myself almost humming:

The characters are beautifully represented and the themes such as death, deception, mental illness, and asthma are handled with care and understanding. It is a touching story and will pull at your heartstrings. This is a book you will be invested in and one you won’t want to put down. This may be a bizarre thing to say but I really appreciated asthma being a big part of the book. A lot of books have illness in, but I’ve never seen asthma in one. I’ve been asthmatic since birth and I don’t think everyone realises just how serious it can be, so it was personally, a nice touch. The book's winter cold setting contrasts the warm, heartfelt message of this story. It's like a warm hug on a cold day. A winter-ful debut novel.As Thomasina continues to visit the Other Frost Fair she helps her father sell their sweets and biscuits on at the Thames Frost Fair, befriending Anne Hawke a young woman who has just moved to London with her uncle to open an apothecary. Anne dreams of opening her own shop and as their friendship grows the girls develop a business plan which combines both their talents; Anne’s apothecary skills and knowledge of herbs and Thomasina’s sweet making and baking. Together they make a range of medicinal sweets which they are given permission by Thomasina’s father and Anne’s uncle to sell at the Frost Faire once their normal duties are done. Their sweets sell incredibly well, and they start to develop more products.