The Purloined Boy by Mortimus Clay

The Purloined Boy by Mortimus Clay 2009 249 Pages 4.5/5 The Purloined Boy is the first book in a new middle grade/YA series called The Weirdling Cycle and what an exciting series it looks to be! This book took me completely by surprise. Not that I wasn't expecting to like it...it has an awesome cover, it's YA fantasy, and it's written by a "dead" guy. What I didn't know was that it is a dystopian novel (which I love) that goes much deeper than I had originally though! I love going into books not knowing that much about them and then being surprised in a good way. Trevor is a young boy who lives in a town called Superbia. There are words that he is not allowed to say...words that are worse than curse words...words like "home" and "parents". Children who say these words often disappear in the middle of the night and are never seen again. They are taught in classes that these words are foolish, that those things don't exist. But Trevor's dreams tell him something different. He has been dreaming of a place called home and a woman called mother, and when he voices those dreams, he finds himself in a world of trouble. There are people in Superbia called Bogeymen, but here, children are raised to believe that Bogeymen are their friends. Trevor is taken away by the bogeymen after saying that he "wants to go home" and put through behavior modification. He's then sent to be evaluated and soon learns that his life is in danger. But there are those among him in Superbia that are secretly on his side. Among them are his friend, Maggie, and a slave who is much more than meets the eye, Epictetus. They are part of a group of people who are fighting to help children get home again and get the answers that they ask for. But this plan is not so easy. There are those in Superbia who are pure evil and have their own plans of bringing down those who seek to get in their way. This book is nothing if not engaging! I loved Trevor and Maggie right away. Mortimus Clay's writing style is absolutely charming and sinister all in the same breath and I just loved the way it felt as though he were actually reading the story to me...telling me the tale. The action is swift in the book, but the characterization is not ignored because of it. I find that a problem with a lot of books. You either get a lot of action OR really good characters...but not always both. Here, you get both. I can't wait to see what Clay does with the rest of this series. I warn you know, it's one hell of a cliffhanger ending...and it's not at all a happy ending to the first book in the series which I actually liked :p I get sick of happy endings. This one was quite sad and upsetting, but I thought it was appropriate and realistic. Only complaint - waiting until 2010 for the next book :(