Carabas

Star Maker #1

by Sophie Masson

They hated her. She knew that. She could see it in their eyes, their twisted faces. When the people of her village discover Catou's unusual gifts, she is banished forever with only Frederic, the miller's son, as company. But now she is free to turn her gifts to her advantage. Before long, she and Frederic have found their path into the opulent Court of Tenebran, to its strange powers, its mysteries and its terrifying challenge...

Genres: Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Young Adult

169 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Born in Indonesia of French parents, Sophie Masson was sent to live with her paternal grandmother in Toulouse, France, when she was just a baby and lived there till she was nearly five, when her parents came back from Indonesia and took her to Australia. All the rest of her childhood, the family stayed in Australia, with frequent trips back to France, and this dual heritage underpins a good deal of Sophie's work.
Sophie's first book appeared in 1990 and since then she has published more than seventy books, for children, young adults and adults. Her books have been published in Australia, the USA, UK, France, Germany, Italy, and many other countries. She has also had many short stories and articles published in newspapers, magazines, and online journals.
Sophie holds a BA and M.Litt in French and English literature, and a PhD in Creative Practice. A former Chair of the Australian Society of Authors, she is the current Chair (2021) of the New England Writers' Centre and of the Small Press Network. She is also the President committee of the New England and North West sub-branch of the Children's Book Council of Australia, NSW branch.
Sophie has received several awards for her creative work, including the Patricia Wrightson Prize in the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, and the YA category of the Aurealis Awards. In 2019 she received an AM in the Order of Australia for her significant service to literature as an author, a publisher, and through service to literary organisations.
Sophie's website is at www.sophiemassonauthor.com
She has a writing blog at www.firebirdfeathers.com
Her You Tube channel, with trailers to many of her books, is at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWLa...
She is also a regular contributor to the popular authorship blog Writer Unboxed, www.writerunboxed.com

Reviews

[Angelika Belko · Rating 2 out of 5]

Arrrrgghhhhh... I thought I might like it. But for a classical retelling this was very tiresome to read. And it's not that long, only 167 pages. And I don't quite like the ending either... It was very strange. However, I do believe the writing style was decent, and maybe that alone forced be to finish this book.

[SBC · Rating 3 out of 5]

A retelling of Puss in Boots. The cat is a female shapeshifter.

[Claire · Rating 1 out of 5]

With enthusiastic jacket blurbs from both Lloyd Alexander and Philip Pullman, I had high hopes for this weird little Bookmobile find. Maybe it lost something in translation, but it was awfully disappointing. Most fairy-tale retellings flesh out the characters to make them more human and to increase our connection to them; this one made Puss in Boots more allegorical, preachy, stilted, and flat.

Its point was a Miltonic lesson about Satan lacking free will and therefore freedom despite his dynamism in comparison to people and God... straight from Paradise Lost, but without Milton's skill. Perhaps I don't have a strong enough appreciation of allegory. Either way, not a book that I would recommend to any young readers that I know.

[The Fairy Godmother]

Based on Puss in Boots.

[Katy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmm. Puss & Boots meets the Devil.
Read this because it was on the Endicott Mythic Fiction for YA and so many of the other titles I really enjoyed. Not sure about this one.