Book Review for Tackle Your TBR Read-a-Thon book #2: The Phantom Tollbooth

Book: The Phantom Tollboth by Norton Juster and illustrations by Jules Feiffer

Cover Art by Jules Feiffer

Edition: Paperback

Description:

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. . . .





Rating: 5 stars

Review:

The Phantom Tollbooth was a most unexpected yet well-written and really good read. The story centers around Milo a young boy who is very indifferent about everything. Nothing seems to interest him, he goes from home to school and back never seeing any value in anything. No curiosity, no creativity, no desire to learn, no wisdom or no desire for exploration. Milo's life is a boring existence of his own making. It wasn't until one day he arrived home from school and found a mysterious gift in his bedroom. It was a tollbooth, and once he assembled it, he was ready for an adventure.

And an adventure he certainly had. Because no matter where he traveled, Milo kept finding himself in odd, weird, strange, interesting and sometime frightening places and circumstances. Milo went from traveling alone to quickly being joined by two companions: the watchdog Tock and the Humbug. The trio would soon embark on a very dangerous and frightening adventure to rescue two Princesses Rhyme and Reason but having to go through an area that's filled with monsters and demons to accomplish it.

This adventure was a turning point for Milo because once he returned home, he had a new found love of life, knowledge and curiosity. What I really enjoyed about reading this whimsical fantasy is that throughout the story the author wove a lot of meaning, information and wisdom for both the reader and Milo. Everything in this world is designed to teach you something from math to philosophy. It's a very imaginative story where the author created a wacky and vivid world filled with a variety of characters from the outlandish and sometimes over-the-top to the quiet and unassuming. Milo's adventure is a very thoroughly enjoyable and readable story that I wouldn't mind re-reading.