The Blue Shoe

The Blue Shoe: A Tale of Thievery, Villainy, Sorcery, and Shoes, by Roderick Townley
Juvenile Fiction, 2009

The town of Aplanap seems to be a perfect town. There are no beggars, and everyone seems to prosper from the tourism and the mild weather created by the protective shadow of Mount Xexnex. The town has plenty of problems, from its way of dealing with beggars (arrest them and ship them off to Mount Xexnex) to the mayor (pompous and sef-important witha wife who makes every tradesperson in town work for her for free). Hap is apprenticed to the shoemaker who makes a blue shoe covered in precious and semi-precious stones. But the shoe does not have a mate, and the mysterious owner never comes to pick it up. Hap, soon ends up in jail for trying to help a beggar and is shipped off to Mount Xexnax where the story unfolds.

The book moved along nicely and was a fun read, even if some of the bits were a little over the top as far as the fantasy part goes.

Grade: B
(Please note that this review was by Trackgeek.)