National Book Award nominee!
The magic of Savvy meets the complexity of When You Reach Me in this "blithe magical puzzle." --The Wall Street Journal
Told in multiple viewpoints, A Tangle of Knots is a magnificent puzzle. In a slightly magical world where everyone has a Talent, eleven-year-old Cady is an orphan with a phenomenal Talent for cake baking. But little does she know that fate has set her on a journey from the moment she was born. And her destiny leads her to a mysterious address that houses a lost luggage emporium, an old recipe, a family of children searching for their own Talents, and a Talent Thief who will alter her life forever. However, these encounters hold the key to Cady's past and how she became an orphan. If she's lucky, fate may reunite her with her long-lost parent.
Lisa Graff adds a pinch of magic to a sharply crafted plot to create a novel that will have readers wondering about fate and the way we're all connected.
Praise for A TANGLE OF KNOTS
"Lisa Graff has created a beautiful world of deliciously interconnected stories that draw you in." --Abby West, Entertainment Weekly [A-]
* "Subtle and intricate, rich with humor and insight, this quietly magical adventure delights." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review
* "Combining the literary sensibility of E. B. White with the insouciance of Louis Sachar, Graff has written a tangle that should satisfy readers for years to come." --Booklist, starred review
"Graff’s story has a warmth and gentle humor that, along with the premise, calls to mind Ingrid Law’s Savvy." --Publishers Weekly
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
28 of 29 people found the following review helpful.
A tangled, magical story (involving lots of cake)
By Liviania
A TANGLE OF KNOTS is a story told in bits and pieces, where every little bit connects and creates a whole that is lovely and magical. What at first seems random is interconnected, people moving in and out of each other's lives in the most unexpected ways.Cady is an orphan with a Talent for baking cakes. That's talent with a capital T. The world of A TANGLE OF KNOTS is much like ours except for the fact that most people have Talents. It can take awhile to find yours, and it may not be impressive, but it's something special that you're very, very good at. Those who are Fair and have no Talent can still be successful, like the woman who owned the world's best peanut butter factory.Cady's gone an exceptionally long time without being adopted. Miss Mallory knows exactly who the perfect parents for her charges are, so the process is often quite quick. Then the perfect father walks into her life. A TANGLE OF KNOTS is told from many points of view and at first I disliked how short each chapter was. I felt like I would get a sense of the new narrator then be whisked away. Then I got into the rhythm of the story and liked how it alternated, every section slotting perfectly into place.Although A TANGLE OF KNOTS is a sort of gentle and innocent fantasy, it does have an excellent villain and some hints of darkness. The Owner is incredibly creepy, although his past does evoke some pity. The Talents, while treasured by their owners, can also be troublesome. One character found her Talent very late in life and misses the career she had as a Fair - the career she never would've advanced in because she wasn't Talented. The magic is joyous to the child characters, but the adult narrators have a more nuanced view.I think A TANGLE OF KNOTS will appeal to fans of Roald Dahl and Richard Peck. It has the same sense of wonder as Dahl and the warmth of Peck. It's domestic, but still contains an amazing adventure, a long-lost legacy, and a woman without words. Best of all, it contains recipes for Cady's mouthwatering cakes (and a pie).
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful.
Reading Angel Review
By Angela
A Tangle of Knots had a lot of great things going for it. I loved that the fantasy feel of it was still so steeped in reality. It was close to the magical realism that I love so much in Sarah Addison Allen's writing. Each person is just like you or me, except everyone has one thing in particular they are good at, a Talent. It can be something as amazing as floating instead of walking, or something as simple as being a great whistler. If they don't have a particular talent then they are called a "fair".A Tangle of Knots was told from multiple character point of views. As the story plays out we get to see how the fate of these characters are very carefully woven together like a knot. I think that the multiple point of views worked well for what the story wanted, my problem with it was that there were too many POVs for how short the book really was. Some of the characters just didn't feel as fleshed out, and some didn't even feel as needed for the story as others. Since there was so many character POV chapters thrown at you so quickly at the beginning, it was also difficult to keep up with who was who for awhile.A Tangle of Knots ended up being a fun tale of family, adventure, cakes, how fate knots us all together, and how life is what you make of what fate throws at you. While I had a few problems with some of the execution, A Tangle of Knots was a quick read that I still found to be an enjoyable way to spend my evening.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful.
Set a Timer to Remind Yourself to Breathe
By Amazon Customer
A Tangle of Knots is a beautiful tale, told from several different perspectives (hence the name). While I enjoy reading stories from multiple viewpoints, this one had a lot, so it took some brainpower on my part to keep up with who was who and how it all related. But, let me say, this doesn't disparage from the story at all. Once I got into the rhythm of the alternating perspectives, I started looking forward to seeing in what sort of mess I would find the next character. It was pure delight and I was sorry to see it end.And oh, what an ending. I haven't found many authors who "wrap up" a story as tightly and as wonderfully as this one. It is one of the best "feel good" ending I've ever read. My heart raced as the story rushed toward the climax. At times, I almost forgot to breathe.Though I'm not a fan of stories that involve "little girls" and "baking cakes" (and all that other froo-froo girly stuff), but I ate this story up! It stole my heart as readily as if Cady had baked it just for me.This scrumptious little story left me wanting seconds.
