The Mysterious Adventures of Tommy Nowhere & Roscoe: Spirit of the Trees by James Stilson is a fun and enchanting book about the adventures of Tommy in an alternate fantasy world. Tommy is a typical young boy immersed in daydreams of knights and warriors and adventure. The book starts off with a typical day in school for Tommy, but his adventures really begin when he encounters Professor Inca and his strange abode. Professor Inca’s spider-monkey, Roscoe, is great friends with Tommy and, when mysterious things start happening, Tommy, Roscoe, and his friends find themselves in the fantasy land of Gaia. Here, King Ludwig and Queen Kalma have taken over Castle Island, and Tommy and his friend’s mission becomes to save the land of Gaia and save the Spirits of the Trees and other creatures imprisoned and bring justice to the land.

The Mysterious Adventures of Tommy Nowhere & Roscoe by James Stilson is an entertaining book meant for young adults and adults alike. I felt that there are certain similarities in this book with the fantasy classics such as Lord of the Rings, the Narnia series, and Harry Potter, but that being said, the rest of the plot is fresh and fun. I liked the character portrayal of Tommy and the lessons he and his friends learn of friendship, sacrifice, courage, and loyalty, and well worth noting for young adults. The writing is fluid and keeps moving at a fast pace. The fantasy land is vibrantly depicted with the Green Leaf forest, and the wonderful creatures inhabiting it, and made me want to explore it myself. Overall, I enjoyed this fantasy novel.

The Mysterious Adventures of Tommy Nowhere & Roscoe: Spirit of the Trees is a young adult action and adventure fantasy novel written by James Stilson. Seventh grade was not at all what Tommy felt he was destined to do. Being a student was nowhere near as exciting as the life of a knight in medieval times would be. At this age, he'd be a squire for a knight and be learning the fine arts of combat. Instead, he was doing his best to stay awake during his classes and sitting up at night reading about those long-ago times when knights and warriors waged war, and heroes sacrificed themselves to save kingdoms. Tommy's mom understood somewhat the intensity of her son's imagination and interest in knights and chivalric times, but his strict father would never understand. Tommy actually had a pretty busy life. He had three good friends to hang out with, and he was tutored in mathematics, which he wasn't crazy about, by Professor Inka. Inka lived in an amazing stone edifice that had untold rooms within it, most of them disused. He was strict in his tutoring, and Tommy was beginning to be fairly adept at working with fractions. Professor Inka also loved to tinker with inventions. The one he was working on now was particularly fascinating. It had rare gems embedded in it and four handles. When Tommy and his friends went to visit the Professor one day, they took advantage of his absence to look more closely at the strange device. All four of them seemed to decide simultaneously that it really couldn't hurt to try it out, could it? And so, each boy grasped onto a handle, and the magic began to happen.

James Stilson's coming of age fantasy, The Mysterious Adventures of Tommy Nowhere & Roscoe: Spirit of the Trees, takes Tommy on a quest that only he can complete, and seeing how he does so is great fun. Stilson gives the action and adventure fan a rousing and heroic adventure to sink his/her teeth into. There's an evil king and queen, a deadly fog with evil swamp creatures and a whole strange world, called Gaia, for Tommy and his friends to help save. Along the way, the four boys face perils infinitely more serious than being late for class or going to the principal's office, and seeing as each boy learns to work with the Gaian inhabitants and help in their efforts is a joy. While this epic fantasy is categorized as a young adult fantasy, it's also suitable for both adults and preteen readers. The Mysterious Adventures of Tommy Nowhere & Roscoe: Spirit of the Trees is highly recommended.

The story will transport the reader to a place filled with excitement and wonder. The story line unfolds very nicely as every chapter introduces a new adventure. I would highly recommend the book to young readers as well as those young at heart.

I found the plot and story line very entertaining. The process the author used to go from reality into the fantasy was smooth and inviting to the reader. The application of the reality skill sets of Tommy into the fantasy world impressed the characters and bolstered Tommy's self image for a very convincing story. Enjoyed the book very much and highly recommend it for not only for young people, but for all ages. Look forward to future publications from this author.