Tinsel by Sibéal Pounder
Published By: Bloomsbury
Released: 29th October 2020
CAWPILE Rating: 7.6 / 4 ★
I received this book free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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Synopsis
How did the world come to believe Santa Claus is a man? It’s all just a big misunderstanding! This tale of friendship, sleigh rides and two formidable girls is THE Christmas book of the year – a gloriously funny, festive adventure that will delight even the biggest Grinch.
Join Blanche Claus and her best friend Rinki for a funny festive sleigh ride you’ll never forget!
From Sibéal Pounder, bestselling author of the Witch Wars and Bad Mermaids series, this tale of friendship and mince-pie feasts is the perfect book to curl up with this winter. Funny, feminist and with a huge heart
Amy’s Thoughts
If you know me, you will know that I am huge Christmas lover and am always on the lookout for festive to books read in the run-up to my favourite holiday. When I heard about Tinsel I was automatically intrigued. A feminist tale about the girls who invented Christmas? Yes, please! After settling down with a cup of Christmas coffee, a candle and Christmas lights I got stuck into this book.
Tinsel follows Blanche Claus and her friend Rinki who after forming a strong friendship over a mince pie feast, are taken on an incredible adventure involving elves, reindeer, a giant tree, sleigh rides and friendship. With the world believing Santa Claus is a man, can Blanche, Rinki and their new friends prove that it was all just a misunderstanding and that, the girls in fact invented Christmas.
Tinsel was such a heartwarming, beautiful read that brought me such joy. From the very first page, you start to feel all warm, cosy and festive inside and are left longing for the feeling Christmas gives you. The setting of 1800’s London brings a historical element to the story, with just some magic added that I lapped up. The way the story is written brings the magic to life in such a colourful way, and I for one was left wishing for some of the very same magic to be brought into my life.
The story itself is complete bonkers but perfectly right for this type of book. You are taken on such an incredible adventure, and meet some wacky, but lovable characters along the way. I enjoyed being taken to the North Pole and meeting all of the Carols the best, and I must admit I found myself giggling at their antics. The little signs of Christmas traditions and myths that were scattered throughout the book brought a sense of uniqueness and I often found myself smiling at these little nods. Also, the way the story was trying to tell us that we’d got the myth of Santa Clause wrong completely stood out to me, and I adored it.
Blanche and Rinki were two girls who knew what they wanted and did everything they could to get it. At the start of the story, we saw Blanche wanting to prove that girls were just as able as boys, and we followed her on her journey to achieving that. Come to the end of the story and Blanche is a strong, fierce, determined young woman, that girls could look up too. Rinki was Blanche’s right-hand woman and a great friend. She helped Blanche achieve her ultimate goal, and brought the same amount of female power to the story as Blanche. Blanche and Rinki are true feminist icons for young girls everywhere.
Tinsel was a wondrous, imaginative, joyous read that had me feeling all cosy and incredibly festive. It’s a tale that, I believe will soon become a modern Christmas classic with children everywhere and one that I will be sure to revisit every year.
Amy's Bookish Life 