Book Review: The Neverending Story

Summary: The story begins with a lonely boy named Bastian and the strange book that draws him into the beautiful but doomed world of Fantastica. Only a human can save this enchanted place - by giving its ruler, the Childlike Empress, a new name. But the journey to her tower leads through lands of dragons, giants, monsters, and magic - and once Bastian begins his quest, he may never return. As he is drawn deeper into Fantastica, he must find the mysteries of his own heart.
   Readers, too, can travel to the wondrous, unforgettable world of Fantastica if they will just turn the page...

Thoughts: Another one of those classic movies you remember from your childhood right? And apparently the book is fairly popular though I haven't been able to get my hands on a copy until now. This was a surprisingly heavier read than I had anticipated and I greatly enjoyed that! This isn't another one of those light reads that you can fly through but one you'll want to dwell on and savor. Written in a style resembling Lord of the Rings, Narnia, or Earthsea; this fascinating story pulls readers into the pages as they travel with Atreyu and Bastian through the well known (and not so well known) land of Fantastica. Now, I was a dedicated fan as a kid and I'm not sure how many of you are aware of this but The Neverending Story was a series of films (none of them well made after the first). The first and, surprisingly, second movie both pull heavily on the actual book though there are major and minor differences. But I'm not here to discuss the movies. This book is fantastic and I highly suggest it to all those readers of classical fiction who are missing Narnia and Middle Earth as this story plows much deeper than most children's fiction!

Content: Nothing really. There is a scattering of violence but none of it is very graphic, some frightening creatures are met and there is a dark and foreboding atmosphere to the dying land of Fantastica. There is one scene at the end of the book that is highly symbolic and one of the boys is without clothes but it's not an offensive scene. Overall a great read for any age though older readers might get more out of it then younger ones!