Karina’s Silver Shoes
Denise Marques Leitao
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Publisher: Sparkly Wave
Date of Publication: Sept 8th, 2017
ISBN: 9781775063711
Number of pages: 250
She’s got the fate of a kingdom in her hands—or rather, in her shoes.
When two princesses ask Karina to
go to Whyland, a kingdom in a parallel dimension,
to destroy her fascinating
and potentially evil silver shoes, of course Karina accepts.
Who would refuse a
free trip to an alternate world?
Advised by a wise master and threatened
by a beautiful stepmother, Karina goes on a journey
with a princess to defeat a
powerful witch. But Whyland is nothing like she expected.
Karina finds herself
stuck in a kingdom she doesn’t understand,
with no clue on who to trust. Before
saving anyone, she’d better save herself—
if she figures out how.
From
Brazilian / Canadian writer Denise Marques Leitao
comes Karina’s Silver Shoes,
a teen parody of fantasy and fairy-tale tropes
with many female characters,
friendships between girls and women,
and some subtle romance.
If
you like to read about strong girls and women,
you’ve found your book.
Excerpt
Karina just
stared in amazement. After the so-called genie,
now it was time for two
princesses. Special shoes can really make one feel
important. In the dim glow,
all she could see was their shapes, their dresses and their dark hair. The
situation was too strange to be real, but too real to be a dream. She didn’t
know what to make of this visit, and had no idea
where that light was coming
from. She looked around puzzled.
“What’s with the
orange glow?”
The room fell
dark.
“What orange
glow?” a voice asked in the darkness.
Some nerve these
girls had. The light from the window would have been enough to make shapes
distinguishable in the dark, but not right after a light had been turned off.
Still, Karina knew her room well enough to walk up to the switch on the wall, almost
stumbling on the older girl on her way, who let out a gasp.
Now clearly
visible for the first time, the girls were simply two normal looking teenagers.
They had the same very dark brown hair, but looked different. The older girl,
Cayla, who seemed to be about fifteen or sixteen, had sharp facial features and
her dress was actually yellow. In a plain blue dress, not green, Ayanna had a
pleasant round face with bright eyes. She seemed to be around twelve.
“What are you
doing here?” Karina asked.
Ayanna jumped
ahead and started apologizing, talking fast, “We’re really sorry, we didn’t
mean to disturb you, it’s important, we need your help, it’s the sh—”
“Pssst,” Cayla
interrupted.
“Let her talk,” Karina said.
But the younger
girl just looked down and remained silent.
“Continue,”
Karina urged.
“Right.” Ayanna
looked at her sister, who nodded, then took a deep breath and started,
“Sometime ago, a day or two, the witch came here.” She talked fast, almost
stumbling on her own words as she went. “We think she came here, to this room,
and talked to you. We think she wanted her shoes, we think you still have them,
and if she gets them, it is bad, like, really bad, the end of the world.” Then
she breathed again.
End of the
world? Witch? A day before? That was not making much sense. The girl’s fear and
urgency were probably contagious, because Karina started feeling a chill in her
stomach as she sat on her bed.
Cayla crouched
in front of Karina looking right in her eyes, and asked, “Do you still have the
shoes?”
“Yes.” It was no
occasion for lies. “But, no. I mean, the only visit I received was tonight, and
she didn’t seem to be a witch. I mean, I don’t know, but still, it was a little
less than an hour ago, not yesterday.”
Ayanna whispered
to her sister, “The time difference, it’s greater than Odell thought.”
“Yes,” Cayla
replied and turned to Karina. “So you’re saying she came tonight?”
“Yes. But, I’m
not really sure she’s this witch you are talking about. She seemed really
nice.”
Ayanna rolled
her eyes. “She had to seem nice! She’s cunning.”
“We followed her
path to get here, so we know it was her,” Cayla said. “Was she really
convincing?”
Spot on. Karina
nodded. She remembered with embarrassment her delight at the opportunity of
making a wish. But one thing bewildered her. “If she’s evil, why didn’t she
take the shoes?”
and raised in Brazil. When she’s not creating worlds and characters, she’s
discussing the meaning of the Universe with her son, writing unintellectual
poetry, podcasting about popular culture, or teaching. She lives in Montreal, Canada,
and has a Master’s in English Literature.
discussing the meaning of the Universe with her son, writing unintellectual
poetry, podcasting about popular culture, or teaching. She lives in Montreal, Canada,
and has a Master’s in English Literature.
To learn more about Denise, get
news, bonus materials and preview chapters, visit http://denisemarquesleitao.com
news, bonus materials and preview chapters, visit http://denisemarquesleitao.com
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