Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo
posted in book challenge, middle grades, fantasy, book review, children's literature |
Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo
by Obert Skye (2005)
As fate would have it, I picked up and read Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo, the first in the Leven Thumps series. Foo is “the fantastic realm that allows mankind to hope, imagine and dream,” and it is in peril due to the plans of the evil Sabine. Sabine seeks the Gateway to Foo. When he finds it, he intends to use it to merge Foo and reality and, in so doing, to destroy them both.
Fortunately, for the inhabitants of Foo and reality, Leven Thumps is alive and well in Oklahoma. All his life fourteen-year-old Leven has always considered himself to be pretty ordinary, aside from the white streak in his hair. One day, however, he discovers his power to manipulate fate in quite an electrifying manner. Since Leven’s Grandfather was the one who created the Gateway, Leven is the only one with the power to destroy the Gateway and to save Foo.
Unfortunately, Leven has not had a great deal (okay, any) affirmation thus far in his life and a great deal of Sabine’s power lies in his Shadows. Sabine’s Shadows have the ability to fill people’s minds with discouragement and self-doubt, and they are hell-bent on getting Leven to believe that he is powerless to help save Foo.
As with many fine fantasy quests, the reluctant hero needs some urging, encouraging, and assistance from faithful companions. Joining Leven are Winter, another child with a special gift and past connections to Foo; Clover, a sycophant with a bottomless pocket of mutant candy and a penchant for inserting English idioms where they don’t quite fit; and Geth, a powerful Foo royal turned minuscule earth toothpick who trusts Fate to bring the four of them together and to help them succeed in their quest (and to change him back out of toothpick form).
Skye’s protagonists complete their quest with little violence and lots of friendship, wit, and adventure. Plus, there’s the promise of more of the same to come. As such, Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo is likely to attract many fantasy fans, particularly those who like the underdog turned boy-hero type stories.
Indeed, Leven’s story breathes life into the boy-hero saves an otherworld quest. Foo is a reality whose existence is essential for human dreams and imagination, and its literary existence sparks consideration of and augments appreciation of dreaming and imagination. In reality, our dreams do sometimes get beaten down so often that they begin to die, but Obert Skye and Leven Thumps suggest that we need to keep believing and not give up on our dreams so as to keep them alive and well and with a chance for coming true.
And if you want to explore more about Foo before or after reading the book, visit the Leven Thumps Website. And if you still can’t get enough of Leven Thumps, then as fate (and the publishing industry) would have it, more of Leven’s adventures have been published Leven Thumps and the Whispered Secret (2006) and Leven Thumps and the Eyes of the Want
