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C.P Hoff

Canterberry Tales (The Happy Valley Chronicles) Paperback – April 7, 2021

by C.P Hoff (Author)

7 ratings

Book 1 of 3: The Happy Valley Chronicles

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Chapter books for a woman of a certain age… sit back and remember the girl you were. From a mix of quirky characters, sixties nostalgia, and deadpan humor emerges Celia Canterberry. A precocious seven-year-old you won't soon forget.

Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books of 2021

The combination of warm nostalgia and a sharp, modern sensibility is perfectly managed
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Celia Canterberry had no idea she was famous. Abandoned by her parents at birth and raised by her beloved Nan, the spirited seven-year-old much prefers the company of Huckleberry Finn, Victor Frankenstein, and Captain Ahab to the people of her snooty small town. But when she’s babysat by her next-door neighbor, the precocious child is shocked to learn what her grandmother won’t tell her: She’s the subject of a satirical local comic strip.

Exploring a past at once foreign and familiar, the whip-smart little girl begins to realize why everyone treats her oddly. And as she seeks to understand her strange start in life, Celia’s absentee parents return, planning to take her from the only family she’s ever known.

Will this unruly youngster thwart the schemes of awful adults?

Canterberry Tales is the laugh-out-loud first book in The Happy Valley Chronicles humorous women’s fiction series. If you like delightfully quirky characters, Sixties nostalgia, and sharp, modern sensibility, then you’ll love C.P. Hoff’s outrageous adventure.

Buy Canterberry Tales to pull up a chair by the fireside today!

Print length

288 pages
Language

English
Publication date

April 7, 2021
Reading age

13 - 18 years
Dimensions

5.25 x 0.72 x 8 inches
ISBN-10

0981221556
ISBN-13

978-0981221557
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Geoffrey Chaucer
2,108
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Geraldine McCaughrean
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Editorial Reviews

Review

...Hoff is always ready with well-executed humor: "[Nan] never wears her teeth when she's gardening," Celia tells Old Lady Griggs at one point. "She thinks it's best not to let the plants know her true intentions." The combination of warm nostalgia and a sharp, modern sensibility is perfectly managed, and the promise of future volumes will please readers who want to spend more time in Happy Valley.
A well-crafted tale of a precocious child. ----Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Black Crow Books (April 7, 2021)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0981221556
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0981221557
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 13 - 18 years
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.7 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 0.72 x 8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,454,198 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #9,451 in Small Town & Rural Fiction (Books)
- #22,630 in Humorous Fiction
- #35,450 in Family Life Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
7 ratings

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C.P Hoff

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C.P. Hoff lives in southern Alberta with her husband, and children. She has written for the local paper, which might be impressive if she lived in New York, and if anyone read the local paper. Hoff is a founding member of WordBridge – Lethbridge Writers’ Conference.

Her first novel, A Town Called Forget, was longlisted for the Stephen Leacock Medal For humour. Her second novel, West of Ireland, received a Kirkus star and was featured in Kirkus Best Indie Fiction & Literature 2020. Her third book, Canterberry Tales, also received a Kirkus star.

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5 out of 5

7 global ratings

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S. Dyck

A wonderful novel written by C.P. Hoff who truly is a gifted talent!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 14, 2021

A finely crafted story that pulled me in from the very first page. Celia is a child that I couldn’t help but fall in love with, have compassion for, and root for. She is full of quick wit, curiosity, cleverness, and oh so inquisitive! Taking me on an emotional journey so hilariously funny that I went from tears of laughter, to pulling on my heartstrings with anger and pity, bringing tears of heartbreak. The characters are peculiar and bizarre with all their crazy antics! The illustrations by Michelle Froese allow you to delve even further into the characters of the story. It is an amazing tale of a community that surrounds the life of one little girl, to protect and shield her from her family history, and those that could hurt and harm. Strength, courage, resilience, love, the ties that bind human connections. The charm of nostalgia and compelling intrigue, with humour right to the last page, makes this book a must read!

Helpful

Jennifer Lieberman

Endearingly Entertaining

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 21, 2021

C.P. Hoff's "Canterberry Tales" transports the audience to the quaint complicated town of Happy Valley in a 'simple time' of the 1960's. Celia is being raised by her grandmother and has never met her biological parents, nor does she know anything of her controversial and unsavoury beginnings...and why she is looked down upon by the 'proper members of society', until a nosey neighbour swears her to secrecy and spills the beans. Celia is as curious and quirky as little girls come - rescuing worms from mud puddles and Frankenstein walking down the sidewalk in her pinchy Sunday shoes. Her vivid imagination gives her Nan a run for her money and you can't help but fall in love with her spirit. This book is so imaginative and enjoyable and quite unique, a true hidden gem. I couldn't recommend it more, go grab you copy!

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chicklet

This is a helluva good book!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 5, 2021

Never have I ever encountered such a rollercoaster ride as I did with Canterberry Tales! Celia is, for a better choice of words, the voice in my head. The voice in my head as a child of 7, the voice in my head as an adult of 56! She is a witty, and sometimes (more than not) sarcastic…sassy. You love her from the very beginning. She sees the world as many, if not all, of us have. I have never laughed out loud while reading ANY book as I did this!! To pick one quote from this book would be impossible. C.P. Hoff has an innate gift to delve into what we all thought as a child and deliver with…impeccable accuracy! I can’t wait until the next instalment!
Such a gifted writer!

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Anthony Avina

A well-balanced, engaging, and driven narrative...

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 15, 2021

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

A truly well-written and engaging story, the author draws the reader in with colorful characters and brilliantly dry humor that immediately sets the tone for the story. The characters are vibrant and really stand out, balanced between the young protagonist Celia’s perspective and the sometimes harsh yet often true reality.

What really stands out in this narrative is the balance between character growth and story. Often times one aspect of a novel like this will overtake the other, but the author has found the perfect amount of character development to help elevate the overall story and theme of this novel. The humor does a great job of highlighting the lengths those in Celia’s life have gone to in order to both protect her from the truth of her origins and then to finally reveal them to her and her inquisitive mind.

A well-balanced, engaging, and driven narrative, author C.P. Hoff’s “Canterberry Tales” is a must-read novel. The inclusion of story elements like Celia’s local comic strip brought to mind visions of a little Dennis the Menace style story, while the balance of humor and emotional storytelling really brought the reader into the narrative, identifying and even becoming emotionally invested in Celia’s story as time went on. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!

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Helpful

Grady Harp

‘Whole pages were devoted to you and your inauspicious birth’

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 2, 2021

Canadian author C.P. Hoff steps away from writing for newspapers into the arena of Novels. On her website she defines her series The Picaresque Narratives as ‘Downton Abbey for the Undiscriminating Reader.’ Her novels to date - WEST OF IRELAND, A TOWN CALLED FORGET, and now CANTERBERRY TALES. She is a founding member of WordBridge-Lethbridge Writers’ Conference.

Enhanced by the illustrations of Michelle Froese, Hoff’s flowing style attracts attention immediately, and the first character we encounter is Celia Canterberry as she describes herself (!) – ‘I had an unusual birthing, more so than any other kid in Happy Valley, but I had competition. On the first day of Grade One, Leonard Hoopenmire said he was born on the hottest day ever recorded in the history of recording hottest days. Bartholomew Dankworth bragged that he was born eleven months after his father died; his mother called it delayed gratification. According to Griggs, though, I surpassed them all, and unlike Leonard and Bartholomew, she’s known to be reliable. At the Sunday School Picnic, The Ladies of the Perpetual Indigence Society talked abut her dependability. Mrs. Whitford, easily recognized by her beehive hairdo and permanently puckered lips, dipped her spice cake into her black tea and said, “If you want to spread an unpleasantry around, Griggs is the man to do it,” I wanted to tell her Griggs wasn’t a man but knew she’d box my ears for eavesdropping….’ In that brief glimpse, Hoff manages to define a character, set an atmosphere, and give a hint of the story to come.

Explaining the content of this keenly crafted novel, the author’s summary is tightly drawn: ‘Pull up your knee socks and buckle your pinchy shoes, your childhood is calling. Celia Canterberry, a precocious seven-year-old, hell bent on saving earthworms, is about to drag you down memory lane and remind you what it was like to look at a careworn world with wide-eyed bemusement. Now take a deep breath. Smell that? Nostalgia. Celia flits through the streets of Happy Valley to her Nan’s chagrin, causing havoc wherever she goes. She’s so infamous, she’s got her own comic strip in the local paper, and Old Lady Griggs, her babysitter, is only too happy to read it with her. But what Celia secretly wants to know is where she came from. You see, Celia was abandoned at the hospital by her should-have-been parents, and her Nan won’t explain how or why… ’

Hoff’s gift of polished prose and superb dry humor make this a book impossible to resist. She just gets better with every novel she pens. No wonder she is winning awards! Highly recommended for that breath of fresh air we all need so desperately. Very highly recommended. Grady Harp, May 21

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Top reviews from other countries

Ally

Love you this book

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on October 13, 2022

Verified Purchase

This is my absolutely favorite book. C.P. Hoff is hilarious. This book will take you on a journey and you will laugh so hard (perhaps peeing your pants if you happen to be a woman of a certain age).

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Canterberry Tales (The Happy Valley Chronicles) Paperback – April 7, 2021

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