Toby Alone
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5.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
Toby Lolness may be just one and a half millimeters tall, but he’s the most wanted person in his world—the world of the great oak Tree. Toby’s father has made a ground-breaking discovery: the Tree itself is alive, flowing with vital energy, and there may even be a world beyond it. Greedy developers itch to exploit this forbidden knowledge, risking permanent damage to their natural world. But Toby’s father has refused to reveal his findings, causing the family to be exiled to the lower branches and finally sentenced to death. Only Toby has managed to escape—but for how long? And how can he bear to leave his parents to their terrible fate?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The impressive debut novel from French playwright de Fombelle deftly weaves mature political commentary, broad humor and some subtle satire into a thoroughly enjoyable adventure. The people of the Tree are two millimeters tall or less, but their society mimics ours. Industrialists keep digging holes, politicians play dirty games and scientists conduct research to discover the nature of the world in which they live. Toby Lolness, the son of a renowned scientist, is forced to become a fugitive when his father's discoveries reveal the dangers presented by the continued development of the Tree. Toby's story is revealed in flashbacks as he runs from the cronies of Joe Mitch, a builder who has rapidly become a political powerhouse. Mitch's machinations have turned the Tree into a totalitarian society in which reading and writing are banned, and only Toby remains free to try to rescue his parents and bring down Mitch and his crew. It's hard not to see some of the book's antecedents the Borrowers, the Littles, etc. but de Fombelle has built a unique world with a fully developed social and political structure. Ages 9 up.
Customer Reviews
Best book
Like the best book I have ever read. You should read it.