Book Review: The Purloined Boy

The Purloined Boy

Mortimus Clay

Finster Press

249 pages

Where do all those children on the milk cartons go?

Such is the initial question that is quickly answered in The Purloined Boy.  I found the premise to be fascinating; kids are stolen away in the night by bogeymen who take them to a place called Superbia, where they are raised as feed for the bogeymen.  The kids in Superbia don’t know why they are there or how they got there—for the most part, no one questions it.  But Trevor Upjohn has been having dreams about his former life and has started questioning if he will ever be able to the place called “home”.

Fortunately for Trevor, he is able to escape Superbia.  Unfortunately, getting home is not as easy as one might think.  Trevor is able to escape the bogeys with the help of a speaking mouse, named Zephyr.  Zephyr was probably the most enjoyable character for me (if a mouse can be considered a character!).  Who doesn’t enjoy a talking mouse, after all.  There was also Maggie and her grandfather Epictetus, the wise ones in the story who worked to help save all the kids of Superbia.

Some tidbits about this book that make it stand out: It is the first book in the Weirdling cycle.  It has an absolutely gorgeous cover.  The author of the book is, supposedly, dead.  All the above factors seem perfect for middle grade kids, in my assumption.  Add to that the fantasy aspect and it seems somewhat akin to Harry Potter.  On the other hand, I think the tongue in cheek way the book is marketed can really speak to adults.  My favorite was the blurb on the back of the book:

“Splendid! Plato Meets Poe! Mortimus has outdone himself.” Charles Dickens in The Dead Author’s Review (5 stars)*
*It’s a joke. If you don’t get it, please don’t buy this book!

I can’t say I was completely bowled over by The Purloined Boy.  There was one point midway through that really failed to engage me.  However, I imagine it is one of those books that my boyfriend’s daughter Ally may like—she will be ten years old next month and although I feel like she may be a little young to truly enjoy this book, I plan on giving it to her in a year or two to read.  I think with the way the books is written and the age of the main characters, the book is probably more geared to tweens.

Other reviews:

Bart’s Bookshelf

Karin’s Book Nook

Fyrefly’s Book Blog

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