The Anti-Book

<b>From the <i>New York Times </i>bestselling author of <i>The Name of This Book Is Secret </i>comes a darkly funny story about a boy who wants the world to disappear. This fantastical quest for comfort and belonging was called &#147;a surprisingly powerful formula-breaking coming-of-age story&#148; by the <i>New York Times.</i></b><br><br>Mickey is angry all the time: at his divorced parents at his sister and at his two new stepmoms both named Charlie. And so he can't resist the ad inside his pack of gum: Do you ever wish everyone would go away? Buy <i>The Anti-Book</i>! Satisfaction guaranteed. He orders the book but when it arrives it's blank&#151;except for one line of instruction: <i>To erase it write it</i>. He fills the pages with all the things and people he dislikes . . .<br> <br> Next thing he knows he's wandering an anti-world one in which everything and everyone familiar is gone. Or are they? His sister soon reappears--but she's only four inches tall. A tiny talking house with wings looks strangely familiar as does the mysterious half-invisible boy who seems to think that he and Mickey are best buds. The boy persuades Mickey to go find the Bubble Gum King&#151;the king who resides at the top of a mountain is the only one who might be able help Mickey fix the mess he's made.<br> <br> From Raphael Simon (a.k.a. beloved author Pseudonymous Bosch!) comes this <i>Phantom Tollbooth</i> for today's generation&#151;a fantastical quest for comfort and belonging that will resonate with many many readers.