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THE ANTI-BOOK

Rafi (Raphael) Simon

Lead title for DialBooks

With nods to The Phantom Tollbooth and Coraline, this darkly funny fantasy is a classic-in-the-making--the story of a boy who wants the world to disappear . . . and what happens when it does.

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 The Anti-Book! Satisfaction guaranteed." He orders the book, but when it arrives, it's blank--except for one line of instruction: To erase it, write it. He fills the pages with all the things and people he dislikes . . .

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--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.

Full of humor and surprise, and slyly meaningful, this is a Wizard of Oz for today's generation--a fantastical quest for comfort and belonging that will resonate with many, many readers.

Raphael Simon is an author who lives in Pasadena, CA, with his husband and twin daughters. He is definitely not the alter ego of infamously anonymous author Pseudonymous Bosch, writer of the New York Times bestselling Secret Series and the Bad Books.
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Published 2021-04-01 by Dial Books

Comments

A terrific Q&A with Raphael Simon in Publishers Weekly. Read more...

Lively interstitial illustrations show the White tween in both realistic and fantastical settings . . . Short sentences and a fast-moving plot will especially appeal to reluctant readers. A bubble-gum story disguising some real substance. -- Kirkus

Wildly original. Witty. Whimsical. This book is clever and full of good humor. Kids (and their parents) will love it. -- Holly Goldberg Sloan, author of Counting by 7s

Reminiscent of Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Mickey eventually comes to terms with his sexuality and his parents' divorce, ultimately achieving self-confidence. ... Highly recommended for libraries; the strange, fantastical nature of this book is a fresh and welcome remix of the coming-of-age genre. --School Library Journal, starred review

Simon offers wacky, inventive sidekicks and plenty of humor, but it's also weirdly refreshing to adventure with a grumpy protagonist truly wallowing in his misery. On the flip side, it's heartening to watch Mickey grow in self-love and self-awareness and ultimately realize that he has been papering over deeper emotions with surface complaints. A sweetly silly but satisfying concoction. -- Booklist

THE ANTI-BOOK is a very personal book in the author's carreer; the first to be published under his real name. It is based in part on his own difficult childhood experiences - and I recommend reading this affecting "post" he wrote about how he came to write this novel in particular and why he wrote it under his own name. Read more...

With this fast-paced, humorous adventure, Simon explores the complicated interplay of negative emotions as Mickey learns to confront his shifting 'states of mind' and cope with the world around him. --Publishers Weekly

This exciting, clever, and ultimately moving book deserves a place on the same shelf as our most beloved children's fantasies. -- Trenton Lee Stewart, author of The Mysterious Benedict Society

This book will move you, make you laugh, and change the way you think. A mind-bending experience, unlike anything you've ever read before. -- Adam Gidwitz, author of The Inquisitor's Tale