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A review by shanaqui
The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Julie Leong's The Teller of Small Fortunes turned out to really hit the spot for me. It's cosy-ish fantasy, with mostly personal stakes (I won't say small stakes, because firstly one of the main characters faces a bunch of racism, secondly there's a child in potential peril who has definitely been lost by her parents, and there's other family stuff going on which is huge for the person in question). It's a bit of a found-family/ragtag band type story, as well, because Tao collects a (former) thief, a former soldier, a young baker and a cat, along the road.
I love that Tao's trying to tell "small" fortunes, as well, but it's clear that those aren't always small in impact: we're shown this early on when she reads Mash's fortune, and tells him that he'll give his daughter a kitten. Sure, it's a small moment, but not for Mash, who has lost his daughter and doesn't know if he'll ever see her again.
In the same way, Tao makes an outsize impact on her travelling companions, as they do on her. I don't want to say too much about the journey, because I enjoyed discovering it myself -- the small cosy moments, the moments of peril (because despite the overall cosiness of it, there are some of those), the camaraderie, and the bits of magic. There are some really touching moments, and they work even though I found them somewhat predictable.
I liked that it's self-contained, as well. Tao and her friends will undoubtedly continue to have small adventures as they travel, but their story is as complete as any stories get.
I love that Tao's trying to tell "small" fortunes, as well, but it's clear that those aren't always small in impact: we're shown this early on when she reads Mash's fortune, and tells him that he'll give his daughter a kitten. Sure, it's a small moment, but not for Mash, who has lost his daughter and doesn't know if he'll ever see her again.
In the same way, Tao makes an outsize impact on her travelling companions, as they do on her. I don't want to say too much about the journey, because I enjoyed discovering it myself -- the small cosy moments, the moments of peril (because despite the overall cosiness of it, there are some of those), the camaraderie, and the bits of magic. There are some really touching moments, and they work even though I found them somewhat predictable.
I liked that it's self-contained, as well. Tao and her friends will undoubtedly continue to have small adventures as they travel, but their story is as complete as any stories get.