The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster is a very thought-provoking children's classic.
To be honest with you guys, I resisted reading this book for ages. When I was in I think fourth grade, I was reading Harry Potter (as one does, y'know) and all these adults I would talk about it with were like "Oh, you should read The Phantom Tollbooth!" And I looked at a copy of it at the library and was like hell no that sounds stupid and nothing like Harry Potter. So I didn't.
And to be totally honest, I only sort of regret that choice.
I regret it because I think this book would have meant a lot more to me if I'd read it when I was younger. I regret it because I think my enjoyment of this book was less than if I had read it when I was younger. But I don't regret it because I didn't like it that much.
Like it was okay. There were some entertaining characters and interesting situations, but nothing that really made me go, oh yes this is the book I've been waiting for.
I would still encourage people to read it, especially if there are young children in your life (I'm thinking probably 2nd or 3rd grade) because then you can share it with them, but in a lot of ways, I was past the point of connection.
Favorite Quotes: "You must never feel badly about making mistakes [...] as long as you take the trouble to learn from them. For you often learn more by being wrong for the right reasons than you do by being right for the wrong reasons."
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