An interesting, intriguing plot about a boy going through a hard time who just had enough with EVERYTHING. With The Phantom Tollbooth vibes with its play-on-words, this story takes us on a journey to help reframe and adjust perspective.

Do you sometimes want everything to just go away and leave you alone? I do. I felt very seen by the opening scenes in this book. We then go on an adventure that is rather toll-booth-esque, verging towards too silly for me to follow along but also very fun. Tie in some self-reflection, some emotional intelligence pointers, and some family dynamics and you have a great story!

This book was super fun, and the similarities between this and the Phantom Tollbooth make for a really great pairing! I will have a lot of fun handselling this one!

Thank you for the read!

This is an MG book that seems to be an absurd, silly, and fun story on the surface, but really has more substance and depth to it going into how a pre-teen/young boy feels while going through some hard times in his life and figuring out how to cope and deal with it all.
If you've ever wanted to be alone and everyone to leave you alone because of being so angry and having so many emotions and things to deal with in life, then you'll likely be able to relate to the MC, Mickey, in this story. Mickey is angry and upset all the time lately because of everything happening with his parents getting divorced and feeling alone. He's also trying to process all his emotions and learn to love and accept himself.
Mickey wins a prize from a bubblegum wrapper and his prize is called The Anti-Book. After he gets this anti-book, he looks at it and discovers that the only instructions are to erase it and write it. He writes down everything he doesn't like or hates, and wishes were gone, and soon enough he finds himself in an anti-world.
In this new anti-world, everything he knows is gone because he erased it. After wandering for a little while though, he finds his tiny big sister, his big sister's boyfriend who is a car, a little flying house that seems familiar, and a mysterious somewhat invisible boy who talks him into going to find The Bubble Gum King at the top of the mountain to help him fix the mess he's made and get back to his normal world.
Mickey goes on a journey with his group to find The Bubble Gum King so he can find a way back home. On this journey, he learns more about the anti-world, the people in it, how it works and continues to learn how to process his emotions talking to his tiny big sister, a little flying house, and his dog. In the end, the somewhat invisible boy, Shadow, is identified, who he is and what his purpose is.
This is an MG read with a lot of depth to it in helping talk about some hard things and how it's okay to feel things and love and accept yourself.
I received this book from the North Texas Teen Book Festival and all opinions are my own. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group/Penguin Young Readers Group for letting me read and review this book.

This review is based on an ARC copy.

What a refreshing book. This middle-grade novel was a joy to read, I could not put it down. I was hooked from the very beginning when he starts erasing the world and was along for the ride the whole way on the edge of my seat. I have not read a story with this concept before and it was refreshing to see not only a kid struggling with life changes but also navigating a world of his own making and the consequences of that. I definitely think this book is worth reading.

Mickey is angry at everyone. Everyone includes his mom and dad, who are divorcing, his older sister and her boyfriend who teases him relentlessly, and his two new stepmoms, both of whom are somehow named Charlie. When you put all this together, it is a lot for one person to deal with. An ad for the Anti-Book catches his attention. It promises to make everyone go away. The idea of making everyone and everything he doesn’t like simply disappear is too appealing to resist, so Mickey orders the book. Once it arrives and Mickey follows the directions in the book to write down the things he wishes he would go away, Mickey’s world begins to change dramatically as he finds himself in the Anti-World without anyone or anything he knows. He embarks on a fantastical journey through the Anti-World with a shadowy companion at his side. They travel through Mad, Bad, Sad, and Glad to right the world that he “wrote” away. Readers will be engaged in Mickey’s journey through the fantastical Anti-World as they draw connections between the Anti-World and the real one. They will relate to the story’s themes of belonging and acceptance. The humor and action-filled text make this journey one to remember!

Have you ever felt like just making everyone go away? I certainly have, and I am sure many kids will be able to relate to Mickey just wanting to be left alone.

Mickey is having a tough time, his parents are divorcing, his sister is dating a boy that bullies him and he is just struggling to feel like he is accepted as he is. Mickey is certainly a boy that kids will be able to relate too. He is insecure and feeling lonely and misunderstood, and angry all of the time. So when he gets the anti-book it isn’t a huge surprise that he writes just about everyone and everything into it. Which of course is the start of his amazing and personal journey through the anti-world that he created.

If you are familiar with this author’s other books, the style will feel very familiar. It is full of talking to the reader moments and plenty of snark from his characters. The world building is very well done. I liked that the anti things and people represented their personalities in the real world. This book does have a very real Phantom Tollbooth vibe to it which was not lost on me as an adult, but not sure kids know that story as well today.

There are some very nice moments between Mickey and his sister that speaks to sibling relationships well. Sometimes sibling misunderstand each other or have falling outs, but they still love each other and eventually will find their way back to each other.

I really liked the story and the pacing was pretty good, although a bit slow in the middle. I loved all of the different areas of the anti-world and how they were mirrored in the real world. The characters and adventures that Mickey encounters are just scary enough to keep the kids engaged, but not too scary.

Overall I think this is a delightful book that will entertain many kids, while delivering a message of not giving up hope that you will find your place in the world and be accepted for who you are.

I received an electronic ARC from PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group through NetGalley.
Imagine if you could get rid of anything that bothers you simply by writing it down. Mickey discovered he could. His Anti-Book was a bubble gum prize and he decided to test it by getting rid of people/things he was mad at. Middle grade readers will love thinking about this and then thinking some more when they see the results of such actions. Mickey ends up in the Anti-World ruled by the Bubble Gum King - identity unknown though astute readers may figure it out before Mickey.
Everyone/everything he got rid of now has an anti- form in this new environment. He has to interact with them and figure out how to save his sister, his dog and his own world. To do so he has to visit lands called Mad, Bad, Sad and finally Glad.
Simon captures the emotions a child feels when a trauma happens in a family - in this case, a divorce and upcoming remarriages. Readers see Mickey do some self-reflecting and growing as he engages with his sister and other characters to save them. There is plenty of humor to balance the more serious undertones. In the end, Mickey gains the courage to face his real areas of pain and have honest discussions with both his dad and his mom.
Love the epilogue that shows he still is a realistic pre-teen.

Thank you to NetGalley for an e-ARC of The Anti-Book by Raphael Simon.
Mickey is frustrated with his life. His parents' divorce, his sister's boyfriend, his dog... He wants it all to go away. Finding an ad on his favorite bubblegum wrapper, Mickey discovers the anti-book. Anything written in the book will disappear. However, things aren't always as they seem and Mickey soon realizes what he wants may be different than what he wished for.
The premise for this book hooked me and should appeal to middle-grade readers. Haven't we all wished life looked different at times? Mickey's companions on his journey include his sister and a shadow that seems to know what Mickey is thinking. Throughout the journey, Mickey and his sister make connections that they had lost. Raphael Simon showed how perception leads to misunderstanding and talking about feelings helps us learn about our situations.
Mickey was easy to relate to and the reader finds themselves rooting for a happy ending. Raphael Simon adds humor and wit to keep the reader engaged. This is a book that will appeal to middle-grade boys as well as girls and will be easy to recommend.

Mikey is mad at everyone and comes across a special book that let him act out his anger towards his world. This could be a really good book for a kid dealing with their own anger. His parents divorce is at the heart of it, but also the difficulties of being a pre-teen, .

However, it could be a difficult read if the reader is not in this emotional space, because it dwells in a lot of negativity - Mikey is so down, he doesn’t even like his dog!. While it is very much a fantastical book, I like fantasy mine to have a bit more fun and whimsy.

This book was given to me by netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The story grabbed me from the very first page. Mickey’ parents recently divorced. His sister ignores him, and he faces constant bullying. Mickey just wants his world to disappear. Inside a pack of gum he notices an ad for The Anti-Book, guaranteed to grant his wish to make everyone go away. When he opens the book he finds it contains only one instruction: “To erase it, write it.” He fills the book with page after page of the people and things he wants to erase – his parents, sister, dog, school, the list goes on and on. When he wakes the next morning, things around him have disappeared. At first Mickey is ecstatic but he soon begins to feel uneasy. He rationalizes that if writing his list can erase it, maybe he needs to erase the list to bring the world back. But it doesn’t work quite as planned. He enters the Anti-World where he slowly encounters backward versions of the things he erased. With the help of a nearly invisible companion he must navigate through Mad, Bad, Worse, Sad and Glad before returning to the real world. While the middle of the story dragged a bit, the book is full of fun and humor. This story of the quest for belonging and acceptance will surely resonate with middle grade readers.

Easy to read and follow. I feel this would be a great book for 6th and 7th graders who are needing a motivating and engaging read. We have all wanted someone or something to disappear and unfortunately we do not get our wish. Except Mickey's wish is granted. What will become of Mickey?