Wednesday Review: The Real Boy

Hello, everybody!  Welcome to another edition of the Wednesday Review.  I'm reviewing another children's book today:

Introduction: The Real Boy is a middle grade book (approx ages 8-12) about a boy named Oscar who works as a shop boy for a famous young magician.  Oscar is a bit different from everyone else - he's shy and doesn't know how to interact with people socially, but he's good at his job working with the plants the magician uses.  But things begin to change - something is out there, leaving behind destruction wherever it goes.  With the magician gone traveling, Oscar is on his own, with only Callie the healer's apprentice to help him.  When children begin to fall mysteriously ill, Oscar discovers a secret that could destroy them all.


My Review:  This was an excellent book.  Author Anne Ursu portrays Oscar so well.  Unfortunately I can't say much about his character without giving away All The Things.

The story is very inventive, which I always like.  It's a nice fantasy book that takes a good look at magic and what it is and what it can be and how it should or should not be used - there are some real philosophical questions raised without slowing down the plot or feeling educational - they're woven neatly into the story.  It's a rich, rich tale with excellent characters.

This book is a great read.  It doesn't shy away from a little darkness in the plot here and there, but it's mostly a character story about Oscar, and he's a great character.  The book has some nice full page illustrations in it, and some good twists and turns in the plot.


Statistics:
Copyright: 2013
Publisher: Walden Pond Press
Length: 341 Pages
Genre/Age: Middle Grade

My rating: 5 stars