FORTUNE'S MAGIC FARM by Suzanne SelforsIndieBound Description:
This story takes place in the dark, dank village of Runny Cove. There, orphan Isabelle works her fingers to the bone at the Magnificently Supreme Umbrella Factory, struggling to support herself and her Grandma Maxine. That is, until Isabelle discovers that she has inherited Fortune's Farm, the last place on earth where magic grows. Now Isabelle must use the magic to save the people of Runny Cove without spilling the secret of Fortune's Farm to the world-or worse, to the greedy factory owner, Mr. Supreme, who wants to exploit the magical fruit for his own selfish purposes.
My Thoughts:
This book was so much fun. It reminds me a bit of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with the stark contrast of the dreariness of Isabelle's life in the beginning to life at Fortune's Farm. And, like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory it also made me hungry, though this made me crave fruit instead of chocolate--which is comparatively healthy, so I was very grateful (maybe it can be used in coordination with healthy eating!). The book went too fast, I wanted more adventures when I got to the end of the book, so I will have to cross my fingers for a sequel.
My solitary quibble is that the cover is not indicative of the book at all. I mean it is nice and colorful...but Isabelle has green hair in the book, it's part of the magic and a fairly big plot point...and this girl has brown! That bugs me. So instead of looking at the cover, I think you should watch this book trailer of it instead. It'll give you a much better idea of the inside!