"For Milo, everything's a bore. When a tollbooth mysteriously appears in his room, he drives through only because he's got nothing better to do. But on the other side, things seem different. Milo visits the island of conclusions (you get there by jumping), learns about time from a ticking watchdog named Tock, and , even embarks on a quest to rescue Rhyme and Reason! Somewhere along the way, Milo realizes something astonishing. Life is far from dull. In fact, it's exciting beyond his wildest dreams!" (description from book cover)
Overall Rating: ***** (out of five)
Strengths:
- Story. The idea of a mysterious package showing up in a boy's room to try and drag him into an appreciation for life is just fun. I can think of times when life has gotten into a rut of repetition that a surprise trip to a magic land would have been in order.
- Wordplay. In terms of clever character names and witty references, Norton Juster is Jasper Fforde for kids (without all the literary allusions). With characters like Short Shrift, Faintly Macabre, and Kakofonous A. Dischord.
- Heavyhandedness. The allegorical nature of the story can some times lead to a lack of subtlety in the message of the story. After all, Milo is on a hunt for Rhyme and Reason. I think it comes off as clever, but it might annoy some people.
