The Volume of Possible Endings: A Tale of Fontania

A Tale of Fontania #3

by Barbara Else

Dorrity is the only child in magic-free Owl Town. When she finds an enchanted book with dire predictions, she must face her enemies. And who is the strange boy who has appeared in the Beastly Dark?



This stand-alone pre-teen adventure/fantasy novel is the third book in the Tales of Fontania series of novels, following The Traveling Restaurant (which received a starred review in Kirkus: "A heaping plateful of adventure, spiced to perfection with dangers, deft humor and silly bits.") and The Queen and the Nobody Boy.



Filled with humor, action, adventure, and magic, this is a truly gripping read featuring a large and memorable cast of characters.

Genres: Fantasy, Adventure

270 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2015

About the author

Barbara Else is a playwright and fiction writer, and has also worked as a literary agent, editor and fiction consultant. Else won the Victoria University Writer’s Fellowship in 1999, and was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to literature in 2005.

Reviews

[William Ashton · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Volume of Possible Endings is the penultimate book in the Tales of Fontania series. It follows Dorrity, the sole child of Owl Town. She lives with her brothers, Birkett, Mike, and Yorky, but one day her brothers have to go away for a while. Several days later, Yorky arrives home by himself, with one of his arms turned into a wing, and Dorrity finds a strange child called Metalboy.

TVoPE is a pretty simple book, I really only read it because I didn't know what else to read, but it's a fun read.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a lot to like about this book, such as the originality of the tale and the likability of the main character, but the writing of this book also is quite headache-inducing. The writing doesn't quite have the humor or the elegance of a Dahl book, which it seems to want to be.

[Andréa]

Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I decided to read The Volume Of Possible Endings because I had read number 1,2, and 4 but missed this one. In this book I liked the way the author kept you guessing, for example she kept hinting the bear and the goat were Dorrity's brothers but she never straight out told you, keeping you guessing. What I didn't like was the way it ended, with metal boy sort of dying. I had hoped he would survive the story, and it was depressing to find he didn't. A character I found interesting was actually all three of Dorrity's brothers. I thought it was interesting that they first wanted to sell her, but instead risked their lives to save her. The text made me think deeply about how people's experiences affect them. Dorrity's brothers were at first mean and just out to earn money (this is revealed at the end of the book) but overtime grew to love Dorrity and looked after her like real brothers. If they hadn't had to look after Dorrity for so long they probably would never have grew as kind and brave as they became. An interesting quote from the text was; "Where's his second chance?" She whispered. "The dragon-eagle said bad magic would be reversed. He should still be alive. Metalboy was good magic." I think this quote shows that even though some people/things are like ' good magic ' they can't always be saved. Sometimes life is hard and very very unfair, but you just have to push through.
By sophie

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly satisfying adventure with a bit of magic and a lot of honourable good versus evil Well constructed and one has that great feeling that one is in the hands of a highly skilled author. We meet Dorrity, a 12 year old orphan , who has been adopted by 3 older men. ….. Now and again they mysteriously go on a journey deemed too dangerous for her. While they are off on their latest trip she stays with a neighbour and discovers a book there suggesting 5 possible scenarios that involve her life and the fate of others and she feels bound to bring about a positive result. She meets Metalboy and they assist each other in a dangerous quest. At times I wondered if there was meant to be a parallel with Dorothy and the Tin Man, bravery and ingenuity being such important factors in the story.
This book has been reviewed on bob’s blog and there are teaching notes here

http://www.geckopress.co.nz/Data/medi...
so I won’t go into too much detail.
Suitable for 10-12 year olds and a good read aloud for 9 year olds.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great, fast-paced, enjoyable tale set in the fantasy land of Fontania.
Else's writing is extremely accessible and relatable, while keeping some lovely lyrical descriptions in to give the reader the perfect understanding of what's happening and who these characters are, without any need to over-describe.
The main character, Dorrity, is likeable and smart, and the world - and other characters, and the dilemma facing Dorrity -:were great.
Towards the end of the book, in a scene of high adventure, the writing slowed down and got a bit too complicated for impatient me; I admit I did skim it a bit. Still wholly understandable, though.
And my final niggling annoyance is that the doll, after all, was not important.
Other than that, though - and hopefully I'll come back later and write a more coherent review - other than that, this book was great.
My first introduction to Fontania - although you can tell there's unspoken history there from previous books - and I've already got out another Fontania book from the library.
Looking forward to revisiting this world!

[Angela Oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable romp through Fontania, this time with a different twelve year old child (a girl) and a man made of metal.

Not really sure I understood the purpose of the actual Volume of Possible Endings - aside from offering spoilers for the lass's life, it didn't really contribute much to the plot.

[Tiffany · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately we didn't enjoy this third instalment as much as we did the first two.