Straw Into Gold

Written by Gary D. Schmidt

Two boys must solve a deadly riddle or face execution.

3.7 Goodreads · 997 ratings

176 pages· 50,088 words· Est. 7 hour read· 800L

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Bookroo's summary

Tousle and Innes have seven days to solve a deadly riddle or die. Pursued by the king's enemies and a mysterious figure, they seek the banished queen's help. As secrets unravel, Tousle discovers his own hidden past, while Innes, despite his blindness, senses truths beyond sight. Can they uncover the truth before time runs out, or will the shadows of Rumpelstiltskin's tale claim them?

From the publisher

What fills a hand fuller than a skein of gold? By order of the king, two boys, Tousle and Innes, must find the answer to this puzzling riddle within seven days or be killed. A former nursemaid to the queen’s child tells the boys that the banished queen may have the answer they seek. Danger presents itself at every turn, for the boys are pursued by the Great Barons, who are secretly plotting against the king. Another pursuer, the greedy King’s Grip, reveals a strange story of a little man who once spun straw into gold of incredible beauty for the queen but then disappeared with her firstborn son. Tousle realizes that the man he calls Da is the strange little man and, even more amazing, that he himself may be the lost prince. Or could it be Innes, who although cruelly blinded can hear the music of the dawn?This skillful blend of fantasy and adventure reveals what might have happened before the queen makes her third and last guess and the story of Rumpelstiltskin–as we know it–ends.

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