Book Review: Toby Alone

 

















Toby Alone by Timothee de Fombelle

Summary: (amazon)

Toby Lolness may be just one and a half millimeters tall, but he’s the most wanted person in his world—the world of the great oak Tree. Toby’s father has made a groundbreaking discovery: the Tree itself is alive, flowing with vital energy, and there may be a world beyond it. Greedy developers itch to exploit this knowledge, risking permanent damage to their natural world. Toby’s family has been exiled to the lower branches, and only Toby has managed to escape—but for how long? And how can he bear to leave his parents to their terrible fate?

My Thoughts:

This is a foreign novel (French) so the writing and idea was really unique! They didn't do the best job with translation ;) but I liked it! The plot was extremely well thought out towards the beginning, but then it slowed down. I did feel at the end that the author just dragged it out with pointless scenes. My favorite element in this book, wasn't the story itself, but the writing. It was clever, unique and quirky. As for characters, Toby wasn't my favorite. Elisha was great though! All in all, the beginning was beautifully written but it dragged out.

My rating: 3 stars (it was decent)

Content Rating: Cautious

Amazon recommended it for ages 9 and up. As I read the reviews there were a lot of people who disagreed.  At the end there is violence and torture, cruelty and in a humorous sort of way that I didn't like. I would say for ages 12 and older.