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The Anti-Book
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Name of This Book Is Secret comes a darkly funny story about a boy who wants the world to disappear. This fantastical quest for comfort and belonging was called “a surprisingly powerful, formula-breaking coming-of-age story” by the New York Times.Mickey is angry all the 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 "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 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. From Raphael Simon (a.k.a. beloved author Pseudonymous Bosch!) comes this Phantom Tollbooth for today's generation—a fantastical quest for comfort and belonging that will resonate with many, many readers.
320 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 6, 2021
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2436 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 108 reviews
December 29, 2021
Mikey processes his feelings about his parents divorce, bullying, and more things that frustrate him about life when he finds himself in a fantastical alternate universe with places named after rhyming feelings; mad, bad, sad, and glad.
Fans of Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There or The Lost Track of Time may enjoy this. Or those who are looking for stories with characters that cannot seem to catch a break.
Fans of Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There or The Lost Track of Time may enjoy this. Or those who are looking for stories with characters that cannot seem to catch a break.
May 13, 2021
Cute book, with a fantastical world! One of those ‘be careful what you wish for’ especially if you wish for everything and everyone to go away.
Jorjeana Marie did a great job at the narration she had a lot of different voices and accents that she did masterfully!
I will be buying this one for the library!
3 ½ stars
I received this book from PRH Audio’s Volumes App for a fair and honest review
Jorjeana Marie did a great job at the narration she had a lot of different voices and accents that she did masterfully!
I will be buying this one for the library!
3 ½ stars
I received this book from PRH Audio’s Volumes App for a fair and honest review
October 18, 2021
Don't bother!
First, from just coming from a readers perspective, this book was so boring and not interesting at all. I really enjoy "be careful what you wish for" type stories, but this was just way too ridiculous. This is certainly not a kids book. It's not violent and there's no profanity, but there is a lot of crude language and ideas that should be presented to a much older audience. The way the book was written just gave me a bunch of anxiety. It's chaotic and everything is moving so fast. The nicknames are annoying. It's so repetitive. It felt like a kid wrote this book. There's no depth to this book and I'm not sure what the exact message is, either. I guess it tells kids to be appreciative, express your feelings, and find the silver-lining. I don't know.
Now from a critical perspective. This book has one of the most WTF intros I've ever read. So we know that the parents of the main character, Mickey, get a divorce (it says so in the side panel), but the reasons for the divorce? Oh my. The dad leaves the mom and ends up with another woman, which means he was probably having an affair. Meanwhile, the mom leaves the dad to be with another WOMAN. Really? It's one thing to have parents who divorce for whatever reasons (husband isn't present, no compatibility, wife doesn't help support the family, etc.) but to hint at the father for having an affair with another woman and to have a parent become gay and leave? If my wife came to me and said she wanted to leave me for another woman, that would destroy me. I can't imagine what that would do to a kid. What the heck?! I understand that the author is also gay, so it makes sense for the writing to reflect his background, but again, this is a kids book. Not only that, but the ending is soooo forced. Throughout the book, you get a sense the Mickey is probably gay, which is fine. He hates it when his sisters boyfriend called him "gay" as an insult. By the end of the book, we literally have 2 pages dedicated to Mickey coming out as gay. It would have been okay if it was just a subtle nod, but oh my gosh, it was thrown in our faces.
Mickey's sister, Alice, asks him, "Are you... gay?" And Mickey says no, but he really means yes, but just not as the insult term. Mickey later says, "It's my thing... Same if I am bi or trans or just... whatever I am."
Seriously? Bi? Trans? And then Alice goes on this whole thing about, "Oh, please, please be gay!"
She hopes Mickey is gay so they can become social media influencers, do makeovers, and move to L.A. to get sponsors. What a way to exploit your brother for your own selfish desires.
I finished this book in a day and half. I was done with it after the first 20 chapters. I really had to force myself to finish it. It was that bad. I would never allow my kids to read this and it only makes me think of the types of progressive books authors are making for our kids these days.
First, from just coming from a readers perspective, this book was so boring and not interesting at all. I really enjoy "be careful what you wish for" type stories, but this was just way too ridiculous. This is certainly not a kids book. It's not violent and there's no profanity, but there is a lot of crude language and ideas that should be presented to a much older audience. The way the book was written just gave me a bunch of anxiety. It's chaotic and everything is moving so fast. The nicknames are annoying. It's so repetitive. It felt like a kid wrote this book. There's no depth to this book and I'm not sure what the exact message is, either. I guess it tells kids to be appreciative, express your feelings, and find the silver-lining. I don't know.
Now from a critical perspective. This book has one of the most WTF intros I've ever read. So we know that the parents of the main character, Mickey, get a divorce (it says so in the side panel), but the reasons for the divorce? Oh my. The dad leaves the mom and ends up with another woman, which means he was probably having an affair. Meanwhile, the mom leaves the dad to be with another WOMAN. Really? It's one thing to have parents who divorce for whatever reasons (husband isn't present, no compatibility, wife doesn't help support the family, etc.) but to hint at the father for having an affair with another woman and to have a parent become gay and leave? If my wife came to me and said she wanted to leave me for another woman, that would destroy me. I can't imagine what that would do to a kid. What the heck?! I understand that the author is also gay, so it makes sense for the writing to reflect his background, but again, this is a kids book. Not only that, but the ending is soooo forced. Throughout the book, you get a sense the Mickey is probably gay, which is fine. He hates it when his sisters boyfriend called him "gay" as an insult. By the end of the book, we literally have 2 pages dedicated to Mickey coming out as gay. It would have been okay if it was just a subtle nod, but oh my gosh, it was thrown in our faces.
Mickey's sister, Alice, asks him, "Are you... gay?" And Mickey says no, but he really means yes, but just not as the insult term. Mickey later says, "It's my thing... Same if I am bi or trans or just... whatever I am."
Seriously? Bi? Trans? And then Alice goes on this whole thing about, "Oh, please, please be gay!"
She hopes Mickey is gay so they can become social media influencers, do makeovers, and move to L.A. to get sponsors. What a way to exploit your brother for your own selfish desires.
I finished this book in a day and half. I was done with it after the first 20 chapters. I really had to force myself to finish it. It was that bad. I would never allow my kids to read this and it only makes me think of the types of progressive books authors are making for our kids these days.
March 7, 2024
I had such a fun time reading this book! It’s written in such a way that the kid would actually enjoy all the childish jokes and expressions kids this age realistically use when they tend to talk a lot playing around with words and phrases.
It’s the story of Mickey who’s just so angry with everything! His parents just divorced without giving him a clue, his sister has a boyfriend who he obviously doesn’t like and everything starts disappearing once he buys a book using it to make things disappear he doesn’t want in his life. But did he acted too soon?
In order to get everything precious to him back, he has to go through an unrealistic journey opposite to the world he knows. His sister appears in this world but she’s not who she actually is in the real world. There’s animals who speaks to him. He has got lots to figure out. Well, I would totally suggest you to read this adventurous fun book with the kid and help Mickey get back his loved ones, back to the world he truly belongs in.
The writing is so much fun and I just love the illustrations!
It’s the story of Mickey who’s just so angry with everything! His parents just divorced without giving him a clue, his sister has a boyfriend who he obviously doesn’t like and everything starts disappearing once he buys a book using it to make things disappear he doesn’t want in his life. But did he acted too soon?
In order to get everything precious to him back, he has to go through an unrealistic journey opposite to the world he knows. His sister appears in this world but she’s not who she actually is in the real world. There’s animals who speaks to him. He has got lots to figure out. Well, I would totally suggest you to read this adventurous fun book with the kid and help Mickey get back his loved ones, back to the world he truly belongs in.
The writing is so much fun and I just love the illustrations!
January 27, 2022
12 year old boy feels estranged from his family after his parents divorce. He becomes angry and begins acting out. His solution is to write everything he hates into an Anti-Book that he sends away for in the mail from a bubble gum company ad. Chaos, humor, and understanding result.
Note: Storyline includes children’s confusion about their gender identity.
Note: Storyline includes children’s confusion about their gender identity.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 13, 2021
Organized cleverly with a Table of Discontents and titles such as ad, mad, rad, bad, etc., this book just might appeal to any disaffected youngster disenchanted with the way of the world. That seems particularly pertinent today with the pandemic now in its eighteenth month (and counting). All that was once normal and taken for granted is no longer so, and all that once seemed abnormal has become the norm. I appreciated the author mentioning this in his note. In the book Mickey has had it with just about everything. His parents have split up and are now romantically involved with new partners. His older sister Alice is now distant and more interested in spending time with her boyfriend, a bodybuilder and car fanatic whose favorite insult is to call Mickey or anything he likes to do "gay." School sucks for many reasons, and he doesn't even enjoy spending time with his dog, Noodles, because he hates picking up her poop. The only thing that brings him pleasure is chewing bubble gum and blowing huge bubbles. When he responds to an ad inside the wrapper of his gum, Mickey receives a coupon that allows him to get rid of anything or anyone that bothers him. To do so, he needs only to write those down. He does so, going a bit overboard, and wakes up to find that he's in a very different world. Gone are his parents, his sister, his house, his dog, even his school. When he has second thoughts about some of these missing persons, he ends up on a journey that takes him to some surprising places and leads to unexpected realizations. Everything ends up twisted around to mean the opposite in Orwellian fashion, and bad is good, and love is hate, and poor Mickey ends up quite confused at certain points along the way. Readers may feel the same way when they read some of the slogans that are great examples of doublespeak. No one's life can be perfect, but Mickey makes peace with his and finds moments of joy. This is a great answer to the notion of wishing that everyone would just go away and leave us alone. But oh, how dangerous that Anti-Book is. This one is filled with humor, suspense, and honesty as well as the acknowledgement that sometimes things are just tough.
January 20, 2022
This was a bunch of nonsense. I guess kids will like it. I could barely tolerate it. To me, Simon or (Pseudonymous Bosch) wrote an outline of an adventure and then just filled the story in with whatever silly thing he thought of. Honestly. The only part that I liked was Noodle being able to talk. That was humorous. The rest was just ridiculous.
April 30, 2021
Guest Review!
"The Anti-book is a really good book that takes place in the real world and the Anti-world. It's full of cool abstract things such as a dog who is a god, a water-up, a housefly and a bubblegum kingdom. The main character Mickey is complicated but has a very good imagination. People who like books with fantasy and creative concepts will like this book.
I think this book was really good and would like to read more books like this one. I would rate this book 9/10."
Disclaimer: This ARC was won in a Goodreads giveaway. This is the recipient's honest and voluntary review.
"The Anti-book is a really good book that takes place in the real world and the Anti-world. It's full of cool abstract things such as a dog who is a god, a water-up, a housefly and a bubblegum kingdom. The main character Mickey is complicated but has a very good imagination. People who like books with fantasy and creative concepts will like this book.
I think this book was really good and would like to read more books like this one. I would rate this book 9/10."
Disclaimer: This ARC was won in a Goodreads giveaway. This is the recipient's honest and voluntary review.
March 17, 2022
Loved this book. A great way to explore tough emotions. Reminiscent of the movie Inside Out. It’s a lot of fun but if you’re willing to look beneath the surface you’ll see the deeper meaning of the experiences Micky has in the Anti-world.
March 30, 2021
This is an MG book that seems to be an absurd, silly, and fun story on the surface, but really has more substance and depth to it going into how a pre-teen/young boy feels while going through some hard times in his life and figuring out how to cope and deal with it all.
If you've ever wanted to be alone and everyone to leave you alone because of being so angry and having so many emotions and things to deal with in life, then you'll likely be able to relate to the MC, Mickey, in this story. Mickey is angry and upset all the time lately because of everything happening with his parents getting divorced and feeling alone. He's also trying to process all his emotions and learn to love and accept himself.
Mickey wins a prize from a bubblegum wrapper and his prize is called The Anti-Book. After he gets this anti-book, he looks at it and discovers that the only instructions are to erase it and write it. He writes down everything he doesn't like or hates, and wishes were gone, and soon enough he finds himself in an anti-world.
In this new anti-world, everything he knows is gone because he erased it. After wandering for a little while though, he finds his tiny big sister, his big sister's boyfriend who is a car, a little flying house that seems familiar, and a mysterious somewhat invisible boy who talks him into going to find The Bubble Gum King at the top of the mountain to help him fix the mess he's made and get back to his normal world.
Mickey goes on a journey with his group to find The Bubble Gum King so he can find a way back home. On this journey, he learns more about the anti-world, the people in it, how it works and continues to learn how to process his emotions talking to his tiny big sister, a little flying house, and his dog. In the end, the somewhat invisible boy, Shadow, is identified, who he is and what his purpose is.
This is an MG read with a lot of depth to it in helping talk about some hard things and how it's okay to feel things and love and accept yourself.
I received this book from the North Texas Teen Book Festival and all opinions are my own. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group/Penguin Young Readers Group for letting me read and review this book.
If you've ever wanted to be alone and everyone to leave you alone because of being so angry and having so many emotions and things to deal with in life, then you'll likely be able to relate to the MC, Mickey, in this story. Mickey is angry and upset all the time lately because of everything happening with his parents getting divorced and feeling alone. He's also trying to process all his emotions and learn to love and accept himself.
Mickey wins a prize from a bubblegum wrapper and his prize is called The Anti-Book. After he gets this anti-book, he looks at it and discovers that the only instructions are to erase it and write it. He writes down everything he doesn't like or hates, and wishes were gone, and soon enough he finds himself in an anti-world.
In this new anti-world, everything he knows is gone because he erased it. After wandering for a little while though, he finds his tiny big sister, his big sister's boyfriend who is a car, a little flying house that seems familiar, and a mysterious somewhat invisible boy who talks him into going to find The Bubble Gum King at the top of the mountain to help him fix the mess he's made and get back to his normal world.
Mickey goes on a journey with his group to find The Bubble Gum King so he can find a way back home. On this journey, he learns more about the anti-world, the people in it, how it works and continues to learn how to process his emotions talking to his tiny big sister, a little flying house, and his dog. In the end, the somewhat invisible boy, Shadow, is identified, who he is and what his purpose is.
This is an MG read with a lot of depth to it in helping talk about some hard things and how it's okay to feel things and love and accept yourself.
I received this book from the North Texas Teen Book Festival and all opinions are my own. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group/Penguin Young Readers Group for letting me read and review this book.
September 21, 2022
Well, reading this book made me feel like I was having a fever dream. All the details and oddities, and familiarities were just that; familiar. I appreciated the message, and it really explores issues in a friendly environment.
February 10, 2022
Good book. Very Funny.
May 26, 2021
If I’m honest, this was a 2 or 3 star read for me, but I want to be fair and give it 4/5 stars because I think the book is good; it’s just that I’m not the intended audience.
I read a lot of middle grade, but this feels like the kind of book that’s hard for you to get into if you’re an adult. And that’s okay, because it was written for children.
For me, it was too silly, over the top ridiculous, and full of way too many poop jokes. Still, I’m pretty sure kids would like this book and laugh a lot, and they would learn some valuable lessons about emotions, growing and loss.
So in conclusion: I highly recommend it for kids, but maybe not so much for grown ups.
I read a lot of middle grade, but this feels like the kind of book that’s hard for you to get into if you’re an adult. And that’s okay, because it was written for children.
For me, it was too silly, over the top ridiculous, and full of way too many poop jokes. Still, I’m pretty sure kids would like this book and laugh a lot, and they would learn some valuable lessons about emotions, growing and loss.
So in conclusion: I highly recommend it for kids, but maybe not so much for grown ups.
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October 7, 2021I am still trying to decide if I liked this one. It's an important topic - Kids have so many feelings when their parents divorce, when siblings grow up and spend less time with them, when middle school is ugly and they don't know how to be. I would like to know if kids are enjoying this particular read.
May 23, 2022
This was a middle grade exploration of a What if? speculation, specifically: What if you could write out of your life anything you wanted to? Who and what would you write out? And would you ever want to write them back in?
That's exactly what 12-year-old Mickey does. He gets a coupon for a journal in a package of bubble gum, just about the only thing he enjoys any more. He hates his dog, his big sister Angie, her bullying 17-year-old boyfriend, his parents, and pretty much everyone at school.
The Anti-Book promises to erase everything he writes down.
Boy, does he write. And he keeps writing.
When he next wakes up, very little is left. Some desert cactus where his house once stood, which he promptly writes out.
But as you may guess, Mickey wants everyone to disappear precisely because he does care about them -- what they think of him, how they treat him. And when his house reappears as an annoying-but-talking fly, and his sister in super-small MCU Ant-Man form, he begins to realize he wants them back. All of them.
A shadow -- non-corporeal, but confident, witty, everything Mickey has ever wanted to be -- appears and makes friends with Mickey. It promises the King, the bubble gum King, will grant Mickey whatever he wants. Mickey just has to navigate the anti-world to get there.
But the shadow, despite his cool veneer, shouldn't be trusted and has a nefarious plan in mind for Mickey -- one very close to Mickey's heart.
The book was kinda hard to get into. It has a rocky start, as Mickey's not an altogether likeable or even relatable character. But kids get angry at those they love, for lots of reasons, and they all handle it in different ways. I really felt like as the book progressed it got much better. Mickey becomes a more relatable character, and this was a fantastic exploration of what happens when you write out -- or push away -- everyone in your life. Both the anger and the urge were feelings I felt many young readers may connect with.
Looking for more book suggestions for your 7th/8th grade classroom and students?
Visit my blog for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/
That's exactly what 12-year-old Mickey does. He gets a coupon for a journal in a package of bubble gum, just about the only thing he enjoys any more. He hates his dog, his big sister Angie, her bullying 17-year-old boyfriend, his parents, and pretty much everyone at school.
The Anti-Book promises to erase everything he writes down.
Boy, does he write. And he keeps writing.
When he next wakes up, very little is left. Some desert cactus where his house once stood, which he promptly writes out.
But as you may guess, Mickey wants everyone to disappear precisely because he does care about them -- what they think of him, how they treat him. And when his house reappears as an annoying-but-talking fly, and his sister in super-small MCU Ant-Man form, he begins to realize he wants them back. All of them.
A shadow -- non-corporeal, but confident, witty, everything Mickey has ever wanted to be -- appears and makes friends with Mickey. It promises the King, the bubble gum King, will grant Mickey whatever he wants. Mickey just has to navigate the anti-world to get there.
But the shadow, despite his cool veneer, shouldn't be trusted and has a nefarious plan in mind for Mickey -- one very close to Mickey's heart.
The book was kinda hard to get into. It has a rocky start, as Mickey's not an altogether likeable or even relatable character. But kids get angry at those they love, for lots of reasons, and they all handle it in different ways. I really felt like as the book progressed it got much better. Mickey becomes a more relatable character, and this was a fantastic exploration of what happens when you write out -- or push away -- everyone in your life. Both the anger and the urge were feelings I felt many young readers may connect with.
Looking for more book suggestions for your 7th/8th grade classroom and students?
Visit my blog for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/
July 23, 2025
Bringing to mind books like The Phantom Tollbooth, The Bronze Pen, Coraline or even a film like Labyrinth, we are reminded of that time when we wished with all our hearts that we could mold the world to our choosing. Boring math homework? Gone! Tedious history class? Gone! That annoying older/younger sibling? Gone!! That bully who always beat us up and stole our lunch money? You bet that one’s gone!
Our personal complications seemed so overwhelming when we were younger; it often felt that nothing short of magic could solve our problems. That’s what happens to Mickey, a boy steeped in anger and yet constantly refusing to acknowledge it. If you don’t express your feelings, if you deny that you’re even having them, then you don’t have to talk about them to anyone else, right?
Mickey’s 12 years old. That means he’s on the cusp of being an adolescent—with all that that entails. He’s turning sullen, moody, standoffish and prickly. In short, he’s becoming anti-social. That’s where the trouble starts.
Getting the magic and the power he craved, Mickey starts rewriting the world to suit his fancy, with predictably disastrous results. The journey that ensues shows a young boy coming to grips with his own inner turmoil, his unspoken anguish and the realization that maybe, just maybe the world isn’t out to get him. Just as Milo suffered from ennui, Mickey possesses unspoken wells of anger and the book shows how that needed to be addressed before he found himself out of the quandary to which his foolish desires led him.
This book may become a classic, just as The Phantom Tollbooth, with its whimsical landscape, did. I would recommend it to all tweens, teens and others who won’t talk about their burdens, even when the talking will make it better. (It doesn’t hurt to have milk and chocolate chip cookies on hand, either.)
Our personal complications seemed so overwhelming when we were younger; it often felt that nothing short of magic could solve our problems. That’s what happens to Mickey, a boy steeped in anger and yet constantly refusing to acknowledge it. If you don’t express your feelings, if you deny that you’re even having them, then you don’t have to talk about them to anyone else, right?
Mickey’s 12 years old. That means he’s on the cusp of being an adolescent—with all that that entails. He’s turning sullen, moody, standoffish and prickly. In short, he’s becoming anti-social. That’s where the trouble starts.
Getting the magic and the power he craved, Mickey starts rewriting the world to suit his fancy, with predictably disastrous results. The journey that ensues shows a young boy coming to grips with his own inner turmoil, his unspoken anguish and the realization that maybe, just maybe the world isn’t out to get him. Just as Milo suffered from ennui, Mickey possesses unspoken wells of anger and the book shows how that needed to be addressed before he found himself out of the quandary to which his foolish desires led him.
This book may become a classic, just as The Phantom Tollbooth, with its whimsical landscape, did. I would recommend it to all tweens, teens and others who won’t talk about their burdens, even when the talking will make it better. (It doesn’t hurt to have milk and chocolate chip cookies on hand, either.)
April 25, 2021
This was a sleeper book. Like, I honestly wasn't expecting much from it. The description and cover caught my attention, but it didn't seem like I would care much for it. How wrong I was!
Mickey is angry all of the time, at everyone and everything. This anger stems from the fact that his parents are getting divorced and have found someone new to marry. Both his father and mother are marrying a woman that are both named Charlie and bake chocolate chip cookies - one bakes them chewy and the other bakes them crispy. His sister is dating a Chad that is obsessed with his car and keeps calling Mickey and everything else he doesn't like "gay'.
The only thing giving Mickey serotonin right now is bubble gum. Specifically, Bubble Gum King bubble gum because it blows the biggest bubbles.
One day his father (who is also his counselor and Human Development teacher at school) recommends that Mickey write down everything that he is grateful for or likes. Instead, Mickey ends up finding a notebook on the ground called The Anti-Book. He knows what anti means. He ends up writing everything he doesn't like and wishes would just get lost.
What he doesn't know is that the book works. And when he erases everything, he enters the anti-world where everything he wrote in the book comes back....but backward.
Mickey is struggling with his parents divorce, the guy his sister is dating and their relationship, and his lack of friends at school. The adventure he goes through in the anti-world helps him relate this his sister more and begin to sort out his feelings more than before. This is a good novel for students that may be struggling with divorce. It also addresses Mickey's struggle with his own identity, which he isn't sure of himself but his sister respects nonetheless.
#divorce #emotions #identity
Mickey is angry all of the time, at everyone and everything. This anger stems from the fact that his parents are getting divorced and have found someone new to marry. Both his father and mother are marrying a woman that are both named Charlie and bake chocolate chip cookies - one bakes them chewy and the other bakes them crispy. His sister is dating a Chad that is obsessed with his car and keeps calling Mickey and everything else he doesn't like "gay'.
The only thing giving Mickey serotonin right now is bubble gum. Specifically, Bubble Gum King bubble gum because it blows the biggest bubbles.
One day his father (who is also his counselor and Human Development teacher at school) recommends that Mickey write down everything that he is grateful for or likes. Instead, Mickey ends up finding a notebook on the ground called The Anti-Book. He knows what anti means. He ends up writing everything he doesn't like and wishes would just get lost.
What he doesn't know is that the book works. And when he erases everything, he enters the anti-world where everything he wrote in the book comes back....but backward.
Mickey is struggling with his parents divorce, the guy his sister is dating and their relationship, and his lack of friends at school. The adventure he goes through in the anti-world helps him relate this his sister more and begin to sort out his feelings more than before. This is a good novel for students that may be struggling with divorce. It also addresses Mickey's struggle with his own identity, which he isn't sure of himself but his sister respects nonetheless.
#divorce #emotions #identity
November 17, 2021
Oh gosh.
I picked this book up because I liked the cover but i wish I could get my money back.
Everything about it was ick. It was boring, I had no clue what was going on half the time, and it was way too fast paced. Things moved on before I could even comprehend what was happening.
I really tried to like this book, but I never had a desire to read it, and I was so bored that the entire time I read it it was just to try to finish it. I didn’t like it at all.
Plus the main character just felt like a self-insert. I get the author’s background, but the main character just feels like a shell of a person, only meant to represent the author. Which is so boring like, just come up with a unique character. It’s not that hard.
Also the LGBT stuff. I have nothing against that- but when it feels like it’s thrown in to get a few extra diversity points? It doesn’t further the plot, and it’s just background info to make the book seem modern. And that’s exactly what the book does, hinting at the main character being gay and talking about his mom being gay with no real reason. Mickey literally never interacts with an actual person that wasn’t in a flashback besides his family. So what’s the point of saying he’s gay? There’s no purpose to it, because there’s no one there to challenge that thought or to make him have a big realization or anything. It’s just there and it’s pointless details. Ugh.
The book gets a star for an interesting concept; it just wasn’t pulled off well. A lot more could have been done with an anti-world I feel, and much more could have been explored. Instead the protagonists race through a copy of their world with some slight differences. I wish there was more thought out into it, since it felt like just a half concept. It had so much potential. What a shame.
Overall, don’t bother. It’s not very good.
I picked this book up because I liked the cover but i wish I could get my money back.
Everything about it was ick. It was boring, I had no clue what was going on half the time, and it was way too fast paced. Things moved on before I could even comprehend what was happening.
I really tried to like this book, but I never had a desire to read it, and I was so bored that the entire time I read it it was just to try to finish it. I didn’t like it at all.
Plus the main character just felt like a self-insert. I get the author’s background, but the main character just feels like a shell of a person, only meant to represent the author. Which is so boring like, just come up with a unique character. It’s not that hard.
Also the LGBT stuff. I have nothing against that- but when it feels like it’s thrown in to get a few extra diversity points? It doesn’t further the plot, and it’s just background info to make the book seem modern. And that’s exactly what the book does, hinting at the main character being gay and talking about his mom being gay with no real reason. Mickey literally never interacts with an actual person that wasn’t in a flashback besides his family. So what’s the point of saying he’s gay? There’s no purpose to it, because there’s no one there to challenge that thought or to make him have a big realization or anything. It’s just there and it’s pointless details. Ugh.
The book gets a star for an interesting concept; it just wasn’t pulled off well. A lot more could have been done with an anti-world I feel, and much more could have been explored. Instead the protagonists race through a copy of their world with some slight differences. I wish there was more thought out into it, since it felt like just a half concept. It had so much potential. What a shame.
Overall, don’t bother. It’s not very good.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 16, 2021
ARC provided by Dial Books via NetGalley for an honest review.
Have you ever felt like just making everyone go away? I certainly have, and I am sure many kids will be able to relate to Mickey just wanting to be left alone.
Mickey is having a tough time, his parents are divorcing, his sister is dating a boy that bullies him and he is just struggling to feel like he is accepted as he is. Mickey is certainly a boy that kids will be able to relate too. He is insecure and feeling lonely and misunderstood, and angry all of the time. So when he gets the anti-book it isn’t a huge surprise that he writes just about everyone and everything into it. Which of course is the start of his amazing and personal journey through the anti-world that he created.
If you are familiar with this author’s other books, the style will feel very familiar. It is full of talking to the reader moments and plenty of snark from his characters. The world building is very well done. I liked that the anti things and people represented their personalities in the real world. This book does have a very real Phantom Tollbooth vibe to it which was not lost on me as an adult, but not sure kids know that story as well today.
There are some very nice moments between Mickey and his sister that speaks to sibling relationships well. Sometimes sibling misunderstand each other or have falling outs, but they still love each other and eventually will find their way back to each other.
I really liked the story and the pacing was pretty good, although a bit slow in the middle. I loved all of the different areas of the anti-world and how they were mirrored in the real world. The characters and adventures that Mickey encounters are just scary enough to keep the kids engaged, but not too scary.
Overall I think this is a delightful book that will entertain many kids, while delivering a message of not giving up hope that you will find your place in the world and be accepted for who you are.
https://elnadesbookchat.com
Have you ever felt like just making everyone go away? I certainly have, and I am sure many kids will be able to relate to Mickey just wanting to be left alone.
Mickey is having a tough time, his parents are divorcing, his sister is dating a boy that bullies him and he is just struggling to feel like he is accepted as he is. Mickey is certainly a boy that kids will be able to relate too. He is insecure and feeling lonely and misunderstood, and angry all of the time. So when he gets the anti-book it isn’t a huge surprise that he writes just about everyone and everything into it. Which of course is the start of his amazing and personal journey through the anti-world that he created.
If you are familiar with this author’s other books, the style will feel very familiar. It is full of talking to the reader moments and plenty of snark from his characters. The world building is very well done. I liked that the anti things and people represented their personalities in the real world. This book does have a very real Phantom Tollbooth vibe to it which was not lost on me as an adult, but not sure kids know that story as well today.
There are some very nice moments between Mickey and his sister that speaks to sibling relationships well. Sometimes sibling misunderstand each other or have falling outs, but they still love each other and eventually will find their way back to each other.
I really liked the story and the pacing was pretty good, although a bit slow in the middle. I loved all of the different areas of the anti-world and how they were mirrored in the real world. The characters and adventures that Mickey encounters are just scary enough to keep the kids engaged, but not too scary.
Overall I think this is a delightful book that will entertain many kids, while delivering a message of not giving up hope that you will find your place in the world and be accepted for who you are.
https://elnadesbookchat.com
March 15, 2021
I received an electronic ARC from PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group through NetGalley.
Imagine if you could get rid of anything that bothers you simply by writing it down. Mickey discovered he could. His Anti-Book was a bubble gum prize and he decided to test it by getting rid of people/things he was mad at. Middle grade readers will love thinking about this and then thinking some more when they see the results of such actions. Mickey ends up in the Anti-World ruled by the Bubble Gum King - identity unknown though astute readers may figure it out before Mickey.
Everyone/everything he got rid of now has an anti- form in this new environment. He has to interact with them and figure out how to save his sister, his dog and his own world. To do so he has to visit lands called Mad, Bad, Sad and finally Glad.
Simon captures the emotions a child feels when a trauma happens in a family - in this case, a divorce and upcoming remarriages. Readers see Mickey do some self-reflecting and growing as he engages with his sister and other characters to save them. There is plenty of humor to balance the more serious undertones. In the end, Mickey gains the courage to face his real areas of pain and have honest discussions with both his dad and his mom.
Love the epilogue that shows he still is a realistic pre-teen.
Imagine if you could get rid of anything that bothers you simply by writing it down. Mickey discovered he could. His Anti-Book was a bubble gum prize and he decided to test it by getting rid of people/things he was mad at. Middle grade readers will love thinking about this and then thinking some more when they see the results of such actions. Mickey ends up in the Anti-World ruled by the Bubble Gum King - identity unknown though astute readers may figure it out before Mickey.
Everyone/everything he got rid of now has an anti- form in this new environment. He has to interact with them and figure out how to save his sister, his dog and his own world. To do so he has to visit lands called Mad, Bad, Sad and finally Glad.
Simon captures the emotions a child feels when a trauma happens in a family - in this case, a divorce and upcoming remarriages. Readers see Mickey do some self-reflecting and growing as he engages with his sister and other characters to save them. There is plenty of humor to balance the more serious undertones. In the end, Mickey gains the courage to face his real areas of pain and have honest discussions with both his dad and his mom.
Love the epilogue that shows he still is a realistic pre-teen.
November 24, 2021
I am really not the intended audience for this book, so I gave it 4 stars to be fair.
Honestly, I think this book might be good for a older child/preteen struggling with emotions. Mickey, our main character, just wants his whole world to disappear. He eventually learns that he would miss the things in his life if they disappeared, and that it's important to feel your feelings and be your authentic self. As a child of divorce myself, I can also say that his feelings are very valid. Divorce is hard and unfair, and it can bring up a lot of complicated and very big feelings. I would recommend this book to kids who are struggling to love themselves.
For me personally, it wasn't my cup of tea. I love this author, and his other middle grade books blew me away. This one didn't as much. Some of it was very predictable, and the wrap up was a little too happy for me. I know books need a happy ending, but life doesn't really wrap up so easily. The fact that his problems are basically gone or insignificant at the end of the book just didn't feel very realistic. Also, I REALLY disliked that his parents basically broke up and immediately got with other people. Again, I am a child of divorce. My parents seeing other people, which didn't even happen until after they'd been separated for over a year, was rough for me. Overall, better for kids than adults.
Honestly, I think this book might be good for a older child/preteen struggling with emotions. Mickey, our main character, just wants his whole world to disappear. He eventually learns that he would miss the things in his life if they disappeared, and that it's important to feel your feelings and be your authentic self. As a child of divorce myself, I can also say that his feelings are very valid. Divorce is hard and unfair, and it can bring up a lot of complicated and very big feelings. I would recommend this book to kids who are struggling to love themselves.
For me personally, it wasn't my cup of tea. I love this author, and his other middle grade books blew me away. This one didn't as much. Some of it was very predictable, and the wrap up was a little too happy for me. I know books need a happy ending, but life doesn't really wrap up so easily. The fact that his problems are basically gone or insignificant at the end of the book just didn't feel very realistic. Also, I REALLY disliked that his parents basically broke up and immediately got with other people. Again, I am a child of divorce. My parents seeing other people, which didn't even happen until after they'd been separated for over a year, was rough for me. Overall, better for kids than adults.
September 19, 2024
Mickey wants everyone to go away. His mom, his dad, his big sister, his dog, his sister's annoying boyfriend and his best friend, the kids at school, the new people his parents are dating, and anyone else in his life. He doesn't want to deal with this, and finds a coupon in his bubblegum to get a free anti-book. He gets embarrassed by his dad, who is also his health teacher, and the school counselor, and so when he finally gets his Anti-Book, he starts writing everything and everyone. Then he goes to sleep. In the morning he wakes up and he's late for school, and his mom and her new girlfriend aren't there, his sister is gone and so is there dog. Mickey realizes that the book has removed everything. He finishes writing down all the other things that bug him, and discovers himself in Anti-World, which is like the opposite, but also, even worse. He discovers Felicity the flyhouse, and his little Big Sister, and they adventure through Anti-World, where Mickey slowly starts discovering why he is so angry at everyone. It has a happy ending and a great point about communicating, but I think that if the parents had actually parented at the very beginning, Mickey wouldn't have had to erase his world. A middle school book about dealing with big emotions and how it's not always better to make the problems disappear.
February 22, 2021
This book was given to me by netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The story grabbed me from the very first page. Mickey’ parents recently divorced. His sister ignores him, and he faces constant bullying. Mickey just wants his world to disappear. Inside a pack of gum he notices an ad for The Anti-Book, guaranteed to grant his wish to make everyone go away. When he opens the book he finds it contains only one instruction: “To erase it, write it.” He fills the book with page after page of the people and things he wants to erase – his parents, sister, dog, school, the list goes on and on. When he wakes the next morning, things around him have disappeared. At first Mickey is ecstatic but he soon begins to feel uneasy. He rationalizes that if writing his list can erase it, maybe he needs to erase the list to bring the world back. But it doesn’t work quite as planned. He enters the Anti-World where he slowly encounters backward versions of the things he erased. With the help of a nearly invisible companion he must navigate through Mad, Bad, Worse, Sad and Glad before returning to the real world. While the middle of the story dragged a bit, the book is full of fun and humor. This story of the quest for belonging and acceptance will surely resonate with middle grade readers.
April 12, 2022
This is a good book for kids. It could lead to a conversation that helps them understand some of the topics and let’s them know that they are not alone in the world. I am not the target audience for this, but I am glad I read it. Though I mentally objected to some parts (memories) I knew that they had to be part of the story otherwise the book’s lessons would not have had the impact it was supposed to. Kids can be brutal to each other and you could not pay me to be a kid again. Being an adult can be no picnic too, but goodness…I mean the entire story was well written and nicely passed, but it broke my heart even with the ending. On a happier note my favorite character was no doubt flyhouse! I would recommend this book to kids and adults alike just so other readers could meet her too! If you read this book I hope you enjoy it and you take something away from it like I did and it makes you determined to be better too.
April 4, 2024
The context of this story seemed interesting, but the execution fell flat.
I kept thinking of The Phantom Tollbooth as. Similar to that, this book appears designed as an adventure book for children yet uses humor that is more about wordplay, assuming this makes up for the overly simplistic plot
the plot is basically as follows:
>> kid dislikes things in life
>> kid gets magic book and erases said things (which is basically everything)
>> kid realizes they cannot brings things back right
>> kid goes on "quest" with sister to authority figure who can hopefully undo their erasing
It could have been fun except they do not really do anything on their "quest" to the king. There is not really a journey to understanding as the boy slowly realizes that maybe erasing everything you dislike isn't the best idea. Instead, the moral is clear from the beginning and so the encounters with other characters felt more like opportunities to share jokes rather than any real story progression.
This book was an odd mixture of times, including references to the 80s but seeming to address a world in the '90s / '00s when "gay" was the big insult.
Overall, not a bad/harmful book, just kind of boring and flat.
I kept thinking of The Phantom Tollbooth as. Similar to that, this book appears designed as an adventure book for children yet uses humor that is more about wordplay, assuming this makes up for the overly simplistic plot
the plot is basically as follows:
>> kid dislikes things in life
>> kid gets magic book and erases said things (which is basically everything)
>> kid realizes they cannot brings things back right
>> kid goes on "quest" with sister to authority figure who can hopefully undo their erasing
It could have been fun except they do not really do anything on their "quest" to the king. There is not really a journey to understanding as the boy slowly realizes that maybe erasing everything you dislike isn't the best idea. Instead, the moral is clear from the beginning and so the encounters with other characters felt more like opportunities to share jokes rather than any real story progression.
This book was an odd mixture of times, including references to the 80s but seeming to address a world in the '90s / '00s when "gay" was the big insult.
Overall, not a bad/harmful book, just kind of boring and flat.
April 21, 2021
Ummm.... I'm not so sure about this one. I liked the idea of the Anti-Book and how the main character was able to erase all the things he didn't like, but then it just got pretty weird and lost my interest. There were also some internal logic issues. The one that stuck out to me specifically was that the boy could not remember that his sister's boyfriend used to say he was gay. I'm ALL FOR writing down "using 'gay' as a dis" in the Anti-Book!! And it's cool how that usage completely disappears from his brain after he writes it in the book. But by that logic, shouldn't he also lose all memory of his family, school, sister's boyfriend and his friend, and all the other stuff he wrote down? I struggled with this pretty much the same way I struggle with time travel in stories. In the end, this came out somewhat below three stars but not as low as two.
July 3, 2021
I really liked the idea posed in this book - you can "erase" things you don't like by writing them in the anti-book. I also really enjoyed that Mickey was working through so much of his unshared feelings through the adventure in this book. Concretely working through his thoughts and feelings was a great way to bring some of them forward. At about the 3/4 way through the book, it started to lose me a little and I found the ending to be a little less satisfying than I would have liked - especially with "everyone" getting together for the holidays and such - because it became a bit too much of a "happy ending" that I don't think is that realistic. Overall, I enjoyed the book and I'm glad I read it because it did make me think about some things differently and I will recommend it to students.
August 22, 2021
3.5+
Mickey is a complicated protagonist—often difficult to like, but still makes you want to root for him.
The concept of the anti-book and the anti-world is fun (and horrifying) and definitely reminds readers to “be careful what you wish for.” Who hasn’t thought their life would be better if something (someone!) disappeared?
I liked the relationship between Mickey and his big sister, Alice, and I’m glad that was a focal point. Their complex, blended family is also an important part of the story.
Kids whose parents are going through a divorce or remarrying and kids who feel unloved/unlovable and invisible will feel seen.
There are hints of Mickey questioning his sexuality throughout the book and this is directly addressed at the end when Alice gently asks him, “Are you…gay?” Kids who are experiencing similar questions will appreciate Mickey’s answer.
4th-6th grade
Mickey is a complicated protagonist—often difficult to like, but still makes you want to root for him.
The concept of the anti-book and the anti-world is fun (and horrifying) and definitely reminds readers to “be careful what you wish for.” Who hasn’t thought their life would be better if something (someone!) disappeared?
I liked the relationship between Mickey and his big sister, Alice, and I’m glad that was a focal point. Their complex, blended family is also an important part of the story.
Kids whose parents are going through a divorce or remarrying and kids who feel unloved/unlovable and invisible will feel seen.
There are hints of Mickey questioning his sexuality throughout the book and this is directly addressed at the end when Alice gently asks him, “Are you…gay?” Kids who are experiencing similar questions will appreciate Mickey’s answer.
4th-6th grade
April 17, 2021
Mickey wishes everyone would go away. His divorcing parents, his sister, his sister's boyfriend, his dog-- Mickey wants them all to just get lost. When he finds a prize in a pack of his favorite gum: the Anti Book, which will allow him to erase things just by writing them down. Once he's erased just about everything he can think of, Mickey finds himself alone in the Anti World-- or so he thinks.
Reminiscent of The Phantom Toll Booth and Roald Dahl (and a touch of Lemony Snicket-esque narration!), this book is incredibly imaginative, fun, and full of word play. It also does a great job of talking about how to deal with difficult feelings like anger and loneliness! I listened to the audiobook thanks to an ALC from Libro.fm, but the hard copy is also riddled with awesome illustrations.
Reminiscent of The Phantom Toll Booth and Roald Dahl (and a touch of Lemony Snicket-esque narration!), this book is incredibly imaginative, fun, and full of word play. It also does a great job of talking about how to deal with difficult feelings like anger and loneliness! I listened to the audiobook thanks to an ALC from Libro.fm, but the hard copy is also riddled with awesome illustrations.
May 23, 2021
Having a hard time dealing with his parents’ divorce, Mickey is angry all the time and wishes everyone would go away. When he discovers a book called The Anti-Book, he opens up and starts writing in it what he wishes would disappear. After a while, however, he starts wishing the people and things would come back. He tries to erase what he wrote, but everything comes back in reverse. Can Mickey figure out how to bring back his world? Readers interested in fantasy and adventure or who have ever wanted to be alone will enjoy reading this book. 4.5 stars, Grades 4 to 6.
Please note: This was a review copy given to us by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No financial compensation was received.
Please note: This was a review copy given to us by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No financial compensation was received.
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