A Tangle of Knots

A Tangle of Knots written by Lisa Graff is a mysterious puzzle with just a touch of magic that is told in multiple viewpoints.  The reader is introduced to 11-year-old Cady, an orphan with a special Talent for baking (especially cakes).  She soon becomes mixed up in a lost luggage emporium, a peanut butter factory, the possibility of a new family, and a family that is looking for their own Talents.  Throw in a Talent stealer and you’ve got a mystery, action-packed novel just waiting to be read.

I really enjoy stories when they are told by multiple viewpoints, but an author has to be very careful in order to make each voice unique and distinctive to the character.  I think Graff was able to do just that.  With nine characters telling the story, I thought it might get a little confusing, but each chapter was very clearly told my a specific character and the story flowed very smoothly.  The other part of this story that I truly enjoyed was that each part of the story was woven together in the end like a beautiful blanket.  The story has an underlying theme of fate and how fate can affect a person’s like and interconnect people together.  And that’s just what happened in A Tangle of Knots, the characters’ stories are woven together because of certain choices that were made.

Overall, this was a fun story with just enough magic to make you wonder.  Perfect for middle school girls searching for something that makes them special!  Check out the author’s website for other books she’s written!

Title: A Tangle of Knots
Author: Lisa Graff
Publisher: Philomel Books
Publication Date: 2013
Page Number: 230 pgs.