Review - Nutcracker: Journey To Candyland by Tony Bertauski @tonybertauski

I feel compelled to share that by purchasing the book, you have donated 10% of the profits to Ben’s friends. Ben, not Tony’s son but another lost soul with the same name, had many friends and they started a community program after his death. I found this so amazing, I had to share. It is obvious he impacted many lives and will be sorely missed.

https://www.bensfriendshope.com

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Every time I crack open a Claus novel by Tony Bertauski, I know I am going on a magical adventure. Nutcracker is the eleventh novel in this stand alone series and is just as entertaining as the past novels I have read.

After the death of their parents, Marie and her brother, Fritz, are taken in by her Aunt and Uncle. Vern has many personalities, but Rinks has only one, and it’s not a pleasant one. She wants….everything and doesn’t care much what she has to do to get it.

This wonderfully fun fantasy of magic and childish delight is fraught with sadness and it comes through in Tony Bertauski’s writing. I love that he made me try to put myself into Rinks shoes and see why she was so unhappy and vindictive, trying to see her life from her perspective, try to walk a mile in her shoes, to empathize with Marie and Fritz with their loss. Marie tamps down her sadness over the loss of their parents and Fritz no longer speaks.

Marie and Fritz find the gift, after a visit to their Godfather, and their adventure into Candyland begins. Is it a dream? Another one of their Godfather’s inventions? I love the creativity involved in the creatures and action that takes place. It is so hard for me to describe what happens inside Candyland without spoiling it, so I will leave it to you to find out for yourself

I always wonder how an author comes up with such a fantastical story and I can only attribute it to their vivid imagination. Their ability to open their mind and let the magic begin is a gift to us readers. The best thing is that I end the book with a smile on my face.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos — 4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

The 11th standalone novel in the Claus Universe.

Once upon a time, there was a toy store filled with magical playthings and fantastical stories. But not anymore. That was a long time ago.

When Marie arrived, the place was cobwebs and empty shelves. Little dry pellets covered the floor. Aunt Rinks called them dirt balls. They weren’t dirt balls.

The place didn’t feel like Christmas. Nothing did anymore. What Marie wanted, she couldn’t possibly have. A leaky air mattress and a self-absorbed aunt was all she got. But Christmas wasn’t about what you wanted; it was about what you needed. Godfather told her that. That was when he told her the tale of the nutcracker.

“You must find the princess,” he told Marie. “She’s been waiting for you.”

It was a story, nothing more. Marie didn’t believe in fairy tales or Christmas spirit anymore. Certainly didn’t believe in a wooden soldier and a cursed princess who needed saving. Until she discovered the gift.

Marie and her brother, Fritz, find a small box hidden in the old toy store. When they open it, the real journey begins. Marie discovers the nutcracker is more than just a silly toy. The princess isn’t a metaphor. The nutcracker shows Marie a truth hidden inside her.

They’ll have to hurry to save the princess. When Aunt Rinks finds the gift, she aims to take everything they’ve discovered for herself, to leave Marie and Fritz with nothing and the princess still cursed. The journey, however, isn’t a game. It will reveal Marie’s true nature.

What happens next is not what anyone wanted for Christmas.

Genre: Action and Adventure, Childrens, Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction Teen and Young Adult
452 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication November 1, 2023
Series: Claus Universe #11

ABOUT TONY BERTAUSKI

Get my books FREE. Tell me where to send them at http://bertauski.com

My grandpa never graduated high school. He retired from a steel mill in the mid-70s. He was uneducated, but he was a voracious reader. I remember going through his bookshelves of paperback sci-fi novels, smelling musty old paper, pulling Piers Anthony and Isaac Asimov off shelf and promising to bring them back. I was fascinated by robots that could think and act like people. What happened when they died?

I’ve written textbooks on landscape design, but that was straightforward, informational writing; the kind of stuff that helps most people get to sleep. I’ve also been writing a gardening column with a humorous slant. That takes a little more finesse, but still informational for the most part.

I’m a cynical reader. I demand the writer sweep me into his/her story and carry me to the end. I’d rather sail a boat than climb a mountain. That’s the sort of stuff I wanted to write, not the assigned reading we used to get in high school. I wanted to create stories that kept you up late.

Fiction, GOOD fiction, is hard to write. Having a story unfold inside your head is an experience different than reading. You connect with characters in a deeper, more meaningful way. You feel them, empathize with them, cheer for them and even mourn. The challenge is to get the reader to experience the same thing, even if it’s only a fraction of what the writer feels. Not so easy.

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