“The Slippery Map,” by N.E. Bode

“The Slippery Map,” by N.E. Bode is a fantasy story about a boy who uses a strange map to enter an imagined other world.

Oyster R. Motel is a young orphan who has grown up in a nunnery. The nuns don't seem to understand a young boy's need for play and more than they appreciate his antics: raising tadpoles in the holy water and collecting live moths. Oyster likes to think that there is another world where he is not an orphan, where he has real parents and a real home.

When Oyster chances upon a strange map shop he discovers that all imaginations are mapped, his included. All the world's imagined other worlds are mapped and stored away. When Oyster steals his imagination map it is the start of an amazing journey that will teach him about the power of his own mind.

N.E. Bode (aka Juliana Baggot) has a comfortable writing voice, though her story seems to drift slightly. The characters are fairly well created, but the plot seems slightly ridiculous and the ending isn't as satisfying as it should be. Overall, though, I would say that “The Slippery Map” is an interesting story that is sure to be appreciated by those who like to use their imagination.

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