This is an MG book that seems to be an absurd, silly, and fun story on the surface, but really has more substance and depth to it going into how a pre-teen/young boy feels while going through some hard times in his life and figuring out how to cope and deal with it all.
If you've ever wanted to be alone and everyone to leave you alone because of being so angry and having so many emotions and things to deal with in life, then you'll likely be able to relate to the MC, Mickey, in this story. Mickey is angry and upset all the time lately because of everything happening with his parents getting divorced and feeling alone. He's also trying to process all his emotions and learn to love and accept himself.
Mickey wins a prize from a bubblegum wrapper and his prize is called The Anti-Book. After he gets this anti-book, he looks at it and discovers that the only instructions are to erase it and write it. He writes down everything he doesn't like or hates, and wishes were gone, and soon enough he finds himself in an anti-world.
In this new anti-world, everything he knows is gone because he erased it. After wandering for a little while though, he finds his tiny big sister, his big sister's boyfriend who is a car, a little flying house that seems familiar, and a mysterious somewhat invisible boy who talks him into going to find The Bubble Gum King at the top of the mountain to help him fix the mess he's made and get back to his normal world.
Mickey goes on a journey with his group to find The Bubble Gum King so he can find a way back home. On this journey, he learns more about the anti-world, the people in it, how it works and continues to learn how to process his emotions talking to his tiny big sister, a little flying house, and his dog. In the end, the somewhat invisible boy, Shadow, is identified, who he is and what his purpose is.
This is an MG read with a lot of depth to it in helping talk about some hard things and how it's okay to feel things and love and accept yourself.
I received this book from the North Texas Teen Book Festival and all opinions are my own. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group/Penguin Young Readers Group for letting me read and review this book. ( )

A middle grade book about a frustrated boy named Mickey. He is upset about his parent's divorce, his sister's boyfriend, and feeling isolated. At some basic level, he is struggling with common tweenage issues. Somewhat reminiscent of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Mickey wins a prize from a bubblegum wrapper, which turns our to be The Anti-Book. He discovers that anything he writes and erases, disappears so he writes down everything he dislikes or hates, and finds himself to be a central character in the battle for supremacy in the anti-world, where the King wants his help to suppress protesters. My favorite character was the fly-house. For me, the book fell a bit flat, and would recommend Roald Dahl, David Walliams, or Norton Juster instead. ( )