By Bianca Schulze, The Children’s Book Review
Published: November 27, 2011
It’s time to “adventure” into the holidays! After Nicole Kinder’s first taste of a magical candy cane, it seems the whole world becomes more colorful, more delicious, and more dangerous.
Reading level: Ages 8-14
Hardcover: 207 pages
Book overview: When winter arrives in the Austrian Alps, eleven-year-old Nicole Kinders is given a candy cane by the mysterious shopkeeper, Boznik, who tells her that the candy cane is magic. After her first taste, it seems the whole world becomes more colorful, more delicious, and more dangerous. A quarrel between students on the tram home from school leads Nicole to intervene, beginning a frightening series of events that threaten Nicole. She finds herself losing the joy of holiday preparations, and realizes that the vexing secret she keeps is influencing every part of her life. She finds no help from the magic candy cane, and decides she must return it to the shopkeeper.
About the author: Stephen V. Masse was born in Boston. He wrote his first practice novel at age 13, handwritten into a composition book. His children’s books are Shadow Stealer (Dillon Press, 1988) and Short Circus (Good Harbor Press, 2010). In addition, Masse wrote A Jolly Good Fellow, winner of the Silver Medal in the 2008 Independent Publisher Book Awards, as well as Honorable Mention in the 2008 New England Book Festival for best books of the holiday season.
For more information, visit: www.stephenvmasse.com