Overview

Finalist for a 2013 Indie Excellence Book Award, Juvenile Fiction. Winner of the 2013 Certificate of Recognition for Literary and Artistic Achievement. A dystopic allegory of Dante’s Inferno, set in a small-town big box store, the story follows 11-year-old Tito Skaggs, who thinks he’s on just another lame summer car trip to Nature Worldâ„¢. A detour to polluted Sanguine Lake proves him wrong, as his parents are swept away by its newest tenant: TitanMart. Guided by a mysterious red-haired girl and a polite yet hulking figmentâ€â€his Virgilâ€â€concocted in a hotel bathroom, he must rescue them, braving aisles packed with traps, henchmen clerks, and the wicked Gourdon, all doing the bidding of The Manager in a plot larger and more evil than he could have imagined.

Reviews

“In this middle-grade fantasy novel, an 11-year-old boy descends into a consumerist hell to save his parents, himself, and the world. . . . Together it makes a smart, fun read."  â€â€Kirkus Reviews

Author Biography

Dr. John Hutton is a pediatrician, author, and owner of the award-winning blue manatee children’s bookstore and decafé in Cincinnati, Ohio, and affiliate site blue manatee boxes. He is the founder of the blog Baby Unplugged, whose mission is to help keep children screen-free until age three and promote healthy, developmentally stimulating alternatives. He lives in Cincinnati, Ohio.