The Real Boy

"Anne Ursu keeps readers turning the pages until the unexpected but satisfying ending of the story.... I believe this book will be around for a long, long time."--Anita Silvey, Children's Book-A-Day Almanac Anita Silvey, Children's Book-A-Day Almanac
"Anne Ursu's (Breadcrumbs) latest novel explores what makes someone (or something) 'real.' The author mines the potential of magic and mystery in the story of 11-year-old Oscar, whom Master Caleb, 'the first magician in a generation, ' plucked from the orphanage."--Shelf Awareness (starred review)
"There is such richness to this tale about a world seemingly falling apart. All of the fairy tale allusions. But in the end, The Real Boy is such a compelling fantasy story because of the two children who, amidst the chaos of their world, can help each other so much."--Richie's Picks
"Deeply moving, with language powerful and true as a child's voice. Grade: A."--Cleveland Plain Dealer
"It's all highly rewarding and involving, with a tight plot, resonant themes, a gripping adventure, a clearly limned fantasy landscape, and a sympathetic main character."--The Horn Book
"Wholly unexpected with plot twists and turns you won't see coming, no matter how hard you squint, Ursu's is a book worth nabbing for your own sweet self. Grab that puppy up."--Betsy Bird, A Fuse #8 Production (SLJ blog)
"Anne Ursu's The Real Boy is a fantasy in the truest, deepest sense: it illuminates the human experience by giving substance and shape to that which is otherwise intangible. Beautifully written and elegantly structured, this fantasy is as real as it gets."--Franny Billingsley, author of Chime
"Anne Ursu has created a brilliant fantasy, alive with the smells and sights and sounds of a place both familiar and strange - but the true magic of The Real Boy lies in the powerful friendship that grows between Callie and Oscar. A joy to read."--Linda Urban, author of A Crooked Kind of Perfect
"The Real Boy is an engaging fable about what happens when people reject real life in favor of pleasure, of magic. I enjoyed it very much."--Nancy Farmer, bestselling and multiple-award-winning author of The House of the Scorpion