Saturday, May 11, 2013


Once long ago in a distant world, 

there was a young orphan girl named Boo 

who lost her parents but found her family, 

who lost her way but discovered her home.


Riding a horse named Matchbox, and with the help of a cat named Tertiary and her faithful dog Stix, the child sets out on a mission to find her best friend, Zephyr.  On a dark and dangerous journey through exotic cultures, Boo discovers the hard realities and the unexpected rewards/promises of life.  
  
As she learns and compares new customs and rituals, the lonely but self-reliant child learns the value of comrades, the varieties of their courage, and the advantages of co-operation.

On adventures that take her through incomparable worlds, Boo becomes both the rescuer and the rescued – not yet realizing that by the end of the journey she will be a self-reliant and mature young woman of 14 years.

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Synopsis

 After the wise and kindly Zephyr mysteriously vanishes, young Boo suspects kidnapping and sets out to find him.  With Zephyr’s cat Tertiary, Boo and Stix enter a subterranean network of passageways that lead to new worlds, new friends, and exciting adventures.  Soon, Boo is astonished to find that her animal companions can speak.

Entering the first of several new worlds, Boo is joined by three new friends:  the boy Wioka, his horse Winter, and a magnificent stallion named Matchbox.  Wioka aids Boo in her search for Zephyr by taking her to his village and introducing her to his family.  After receiving useful gifts and news of Zephyr, Boo sets off once more.  Guided by Wioka to the gate of yet another world, she reflects on the happy family life she’s just experienced and realizes how different her own life has been.

The next destination is Ruan, a world of forests, mountains, and great cities by a sea.  There, Boo finds not only her lost friend, but also a greater quest – and a hint of her own destiny, as she finds herself longing for a family.

Reunited, Boo and Zephyr search for Dracocaecus, the evil sorcerer who had kidnapped Zephyr.  Zephyr tries to dissuade Boo from her quest to destroy Dracocaecus in order to save countless lives on various worlds.  Boo then discovers that the sorcerer may also hold the key to the mystery of her own father’s earlier disappearance, and that the lives of two of her companions are linked to the sorcerer’s clouded and bloody past.

Boo and Zephyr, along with their animal friends, journey to a city by the sea, where they find Dracocaecus.  In the climactic scene, they battle the evil sorcerer and ultimately vanquish him – aided by Tertiary, who undergoes an astonishing transformation.  In the aftermath, Boo learns the truth about her father’s disappearance, and decides to rebuild her life in a place of peace and tranquility.

Boo & Zephyr is not “adolescent literature” – it presents a coming-of age story with mature, family-friendly themes.  This novel is the perfect vehicle for an animated feature aimed at all ages – adults will appreciate its dimension and the youth audience of both genders will find role models and attractive characters.  The pace is fast, with colorful characters and full relationships, and the action is imaginative and exciting.

4 comments:

  1. This story has stuck with me since you let me read it years ago. So strong and memorable. I want to read it again.

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  2. Sounds like fun. I'll see it -- and wait at the end as the credits roll until I see the Easter Egg teasing the sequel that addresses what became of Boo, as well as the mystery of her mother. And, just to be clear, I'm not 'Anonymous', I'm Don Schwartz and I'd love to voice Dracocaecus.

    ;-)

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  3. I don't think Alice in Wonderland has ever been done well enough and the answer would not be to try to do it again but to start over from scratch. That's where Boo comes in.

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  4. This is a catchy title-- Boo is scary and Zephyr is magical, just what kids like. Wonderful graphics in the frontispiece, with page really dazzling--like a splash of hot coffee with a spoon of moonlight, exciting. The music of comrades and cooperation. Lee Mallory

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