#Review: A Heart for Copper by Sharon Lynn Fisher - 3.5 Wine Glasses

Title: A Heart for Copper
Author: Sharon Lynn Fisher
Format: Kindle Edition, 67 pages
Published: May 9th 2014 by SilkWords LLC
ASINB:00LDYFKQ6
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N
Reviewer: Linda
Source: Netgalley
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Wine Glasses

An automaton created by an inventor's son, Copper has finally been given a heart by her young master. Her choice of whether to keep the key or give it to him will determine what happens next in this "pick your path" steampunk fairy tale. 

Will she join his family in their English country manor, where she'll be forced to consider the question of whether she's really human? Or will she search out the quirky alchemist responsible for giving her life? Will her master hold onto her heart, or will she be tempted by the charms of an automaton man? 

Linda's Thoughts:
He held out the pendant in the palm of his hand.
"Happy birthday, Copper," he whispered.

A HEART FOR COPPER by Sharon Lynn Fisher is a quick, cute and fun steampunk fairy tale which features an automaton named Copper who comes alive thanks to her brilliantly talented master, William. This is not a normal linear book. In A HEART FOR COPPER, the reader gets to choose their own adventures as the story progresses from an assortment of what-if scenarios. At the end of each chapter, I made a choice and then the story would continue based upon what I'd chosen. I was so fascinated with the different possibilities that I had to go back and run though them all. I am happy to report that it was very easy to manipulate through all the choices.  This is Copper's story. 

Copper is a doll crafted of cloth, metal and wires who is gifted with a life-giving heart on her birthday by Will. Copper is an astute character with an innocent, questioning nature. She's a bit overwhelmed by the enormity of it all but certainly eager to explore the world. 

Will is the mastermind behind Copper. He's in the story at the beginning and, then it's the reader's choice as to whether he remains in Copper's life. Will has always liked to be alone, but not lonely. Copper and Will's faithful canine, Dutch, have been his only friends as he grew up in Starley Manor tinkering with things just like his father. The society in which they live discourages quickening, also known as clockwork magic, and, if discovered, the retribution could be severe.

When all is said and done, the big question is what will Copper do? Will she decide to stay with Will or will she leave him to join a contingent of other automatons in the Clockwork Forest? As Hephaestus, who leads the automated menagerie in the Forest says: "The answer's in the question, child."

Following please find a few of my favorite quotes:

I have a heart-shaped hole. Like an empty bird's next, it rests among marigold-hued ruffles above the topmost hook of my corset.
The hole was not left by something removed, but for something anticipated.
---

He led me outside, and we encountered a monster. A gargantuan oak tree, like the illustrations in Master's fat books of fairy tales. I stepped close to the massive roots and sank in a poof of silken skirts, picking up shiny, capped acorns and rolling them between my fingers. Master had brought me things from outside, of course. I'd seen acorn, but never tree. Rose, but never bush. Feather, but never sparrow.
---

"It was only later I began to think of bringing you to lie. It's forbidden, of course. To breathe life into machines. We've lost the knowledge anyway. Erased along with post-Newtonian physics. But the ancient methods...those cannot be rooted out. Alchemy. Sorcery. Clockwork magic. I thought there might be a way."

I found this to be a well-written, uniquely entertaining tale which brought back memories of reading books like this as a child. Of course, I preferred some paths more than others. But I really enjoyed the choices and corresponding stories. If you, too, enjoyed these types of stories as a child or if you would like to try a choose-your-own-adventure story now, I would highly recommend that you pick up A HEART FOR COPPER!