The Real Boy
The Real Boy by Anne Ursu is a first edition published by HarperCollins on September 24, 2013. This 352-page work presents a fantasy narrative centered around a boy named Oscar, who serves as a shop boy for a powerful magician in a village located on an island. Oscar’s life is confined to the dark cellar of his master’s shop, where he grinds herbs and reflects on the wizards of the past. As changes unfold in his world, including the mysterious illness affecting children in the city and a lurking danger in the forest, Oscar’s understanding of his small, comfortable existence is put to the test.
Readers will find a story that explores themes of friendship, self-esteem, and self-reliance within a richly imagined setting. As Oscar grapples with the shifting dynamics of his environment, he must confront the reality that even the magic he once relied upon may not be sufficient to protect his island. The narrative delves into the complexities of growing up and the challenges of fitting into a world that feels increasingly alien. This edition is presented in English and offers a captivating exploration of the power individuals hold, both great and small.
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National Book Award Longlist * Bank Street Children’s Book Committee Best Book of the Year
“Beautifully written and elegantly structured, this fantasy is as real as it gets.”—Franny Billingsley, author of Chime
The Real Boy, Anne Ursu’s follow-up to her widely acclaimed and beloved middle grade fantasy Breadcrumbs, is a spellbinding tale of the power we all wield, great and small.
On an island on the edge of an immense sea there is a city, a forest, and a boy named Oscar. Oscar is a shop boy for the most powerful magician in the village, and spends his days in a small room in the dark cellar of his master’s shop grinding herbs and dreaming of the wizards who once lived on the island generations ago. Oscar’s world is small, but he likes it that way. The real world is vast, strange, and unpredictable. And Oscar does not quite fit in it.
But now that world is changing. Children in the city are falling ill, and something sinister lurks in the forest. Oscar has long been content to stay in his small room in the cellar, comforted in the knowledge that the magic that flows from the forest will keep his island safe. Now even magic may not be enough to save it.
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