Joanne Harris

The Lollipop Shoes

'A DELICIOUS URBAN FAIRYTALE, WHERE KILLER SHOES AND AZTEC MYTHS BATTLE IT OUT WITH TRUE LOVE AND THE SEDUCTIVE POWER OF CHOCOLATE' Daily Mail 'Who died?' I said. 'Or is it a secret?' 'My mother, Vianne Rocher.' Seeking refuge and anonymity in the cobbled streets of Montmartre, Yanne and her two daughters live peacefully, if not happily, above their little chocolate shop. Nothing unusual marks them out; no red sachets hang by the door.The wind has stopped - at least for a while. Then into their lives blows Zozie de l'Alba, the lady with the lollipop shoes,ruthless, devious and seductive. With everything she loves at stake, Yanne must face a difficult choice; to flee, as she has done so many times before, or to confront her most dangerous enemy... Herself. For all those who loved Chocolat - the second Vianne Rocher novel.

The Lollipop Shoes (Chocolat 2)

Nona G

Oh wow, this book is amazing. If possible, even more so than Chocolat, the first novel in the Vianne Rocher series. I keep being amazed by Joanne Harris, this amazing storyteller that I have just discovered, but whom I've already placed high up there, on the shelf of my favorite authors.

The Lollipop Shoes picks up four years after the events in Chocolat, with a different Vianne, one who thinks to live a simple and "normal" life is what it's best for her and her children - Anouk and Rosette. But it's never the way you wish, especially when you have to face your worst fears and the past comes back to haunt you.

The story is told from the point of view of three characters - Vianne, now a single mother of two, trying to make a living in Paris and to give Anouk what she had never had as a child; Anouk herself, now on the verge of adolescence, rebelling against normalcy and in search of adventure, unhappy of what her mother has become; and Zozie, a new character, a flamboyant young woman with red "lollipop" shoes, whose specialty is to stir up trouble.

It seems that the story is unfolding slowly and I got a bit impatient for it to actually begin, but Joanne Harris is such a great writer that I enjoyed the first chapters, which allowed me to get to know a whole different Vianne, not to mention Anouk as a slightly rebellious preteen that so reminded me of me at that age (without all the magic, of course).

But as the story progresses and the rhythm increases, the book becomes impossible to be put down. It's a thrill to see everything from three different points of view, to get to know the characters so well, to find out all of their desires, secrets, and passions. And as we move towards the end, the rhythm increases more and more, live a rollercoaster, towards an ending that is both a little bit predictable (in a good way) and full of surprises.

This is one of those books that leave you completely satisfied, on all planes - exquisite writing, great story, well-built characters that don't fail to surprise and never disappoint, and magic - so much magic! I can't wait to start the next book in the series!