I think if I had read this book when I was a kid, I would have probably really enjoyed it. It has just a little bit of the Wrinkle in Time/The Owlstone Crown inter-dimensional weirdness that I would have liked. As an adult, what I enjoyed most was that the characters seemed fairly realistic for a kids' novel. I think the reason it's probably not a better known book is that it skips over the silliness most kids' books strive for these days and just tries to tell you a nice little story. My only complaint with the story is that it incorporates several unusual vehicles that are supposedly from the Zobadak lumber yard. They are so unusual and so many people from the real world see them that I couldn't suspend my disbelief. It's one thing to plunk down an unrealistic world set apart from our own that children stumble across inside of a piece of furniture and have them go on an adventure. And it's acceptable that some of the sinister things from that world start leaking out so that there is some kind of crisis. But this was just too much. The vehicles didn't make any sense and the book never explained exactly how they fit in or where exactly they came from. Not that it wasn't written well and that I didn't still enjoy the story. I just think the plot would have flowed a little better if the vehicles had been a little tamer and the final "escape" had actually taken place in the Zobadak lumberyard, which we never even get to see.

Share/Like this Review?