A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff

A Tangle of Knots, by Lisa Graff.  Philomel, 2013, 233 pages. 

Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12

Recommended for: ages 10-12 and up

Bottom Line: A Tangle of Knots light-heartedly takes up for middle-schoolers the serious question of whether fate or free will control our lives. A little of both, maybe?

The air was thick in the crowded bus depot, where an assortment of travelers are waiting to board a northbound bus.   One young man is bound for Poughkeepsie, New York, where he confidently expects to make his fortune.  His confidence is based upon a family legacy written on a piece of paper and slipped into the lining of his powder-blue St. Anthony’s suitcase: sturdy and well-loved, boxy and large as a small child, with worn corners and three small dimples near the left clasp.  Watch that suitcase, ladies and gentlemen: it will take a journey as tangled and unpredictable as most lives.  Eight characters take turns spinning out the story.  Some of them are more sympathetic than others, but all connect to each other in unexpected ways.  Blind fate is not the determinate factor, though, because many people in this word possess their own Talents (capitalized) wielded in pursuit of destiny—like the orphan Cady, whose Talent is to first to determine and then bake the perfect cake for each individual she meets.  Cady’s trip to the annual Sunshine Bake-Off in New York City forms the central story arc, wherein we discover not only her immediate future but also her past.

The mythological Fates were three sisters who spun, measured, and cut the thread of each person’s life.  Fate in this story is not a string-cutter but a knot-tie-er, whose Talent is not severing but connecting.  This is certainly a cozier view than those three merciless hags, but it’s still rather sterile: “It’s a funny thing, fate,” the man went on . . . “and in my experience, it rarely seems to give you exactly what you need at the exact moment that you need it.”  Funny, absent-minded old fate still grants most of the characters what they need by the end of the story—a conclusion that seemed to promise more than it delivered (to me, anyway).  The main theme (It’s the way we deal with what Fate hands us that defines who we are) gives an appearance of wisdom without the substance.  Still, it’s a likeable story with engaging characters and spectacular-sounding cake recipes.  (Do you have the nerve to try to garlic cake?)  I also like the way Cady’s Talent fails when she tries to bake a cake for herself, suggesting that our gifts succeed best when we use them for the benefit of others.

Cautions: Language (screwup is used once and damn kids twice, in the mouth of a very unsympathetic character)

Overall Rating: 3.75 (out of 5)

• Worldview/moral value: 3.5 (out of 5)
• Literary value: 4

Categories: Middle Grades, Philosophy, Magical Realism

middle grades, A Tangle of Knots, magical realism, Lisa Graff, Reading Level: Middle grades 10-12, Recommended for: ages 10-12 and up, cooking, philosophy, reformatted