Title: Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo

Author: Obert Skye

Series: Leven Thumps #1

Genre: Fantasy (Middle Grade)

Pages: 400 Pages (Paperback)

Original Publication Date: April 1, 2005

Overall Rating:
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Summary from Goodreads

Fourteen-year-old Leven Thumps (a.k.a. “Lev”) lives a wretched life in Burnt Culvert, Oklahoma. But his life is about to change and his destiny be fulfilled as he learns about a secret gateway that bridges two worlds–the real world and Foo, a place created at the beginning of time in the folds of the mind that makes it possible for mankind to dream and hope, aspire and imagine. But Foo is in chaos, and three transplants from that dreamworld have been sent to retrieve Lev, who alone has the power to save Foo.Enter Clover, a wisecracking, foot-high sidekick; Winter, a girl with a special power of her own; and Geth, the rightful heir to Foo. Their mission: to convince Lev that he has the power to save Foo. Can this unique band of travelers help Lev overcome his doubt? Will Lev find the gateway in time? Or will Sabine and his dark shadows find the gateway first and destroy mankind?

My Thoughts

My co-workers, Erin and Becky, and I knew that we’d have Breaking Dawn read within the first couple of days in August, so we decided to read Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo as our other book club book. However, Erin decided she didn’t want to read it, and Becky and I just started reading the story a few days ago. August kind of got away from me a little quicker than expected. This is due to me rereading the entire Twilight Saga, which included rereading Breaking Dawn, even though I’d just read it a couple of weeks before. :oops:

Anyway, back to Leven Thumps. I’m quite glad I read this story, even though the series is unfinished. Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo was a fun, quick read, filled with lots of fantasy, adventure, and magic.

Leven’s forced to live with his “mother’s half-sister” and her husband after his mother dies a few minutes after childbirth.  His aunt and uncle treat him very poorly and he grows up thinking he’s worthless. When he’s 14, he finds out he’s the only one who can destroy the Gateway to Foo. And, if he doesn’t succeed, Foo will be destroyed along with the dreams and hopes of those living in reality.

Those are some big shoes to fill as you can imagine, and more than once, Leven feels the weight of the world resting on his shoulders. However, with the help of his friends, Winter, Clover, and Geth, he feels he can get to the Gateway before it’s too late.

Even though the series has received some criticism for being a Harry-Potter knockoff, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. True, Leven is an orphan that lives with his horrible aunt and uncle and the fate of reality rests on his shoulders, but that’s the only similarity between him and the infamous Harry Potter.