“…incredibly vivid and magical." “…a captivating exploration of self-discovery and the magical allure of newfound worlds.” “Any book that keeps my kids' attention is definitely a 5 star for me.” Where do you turn when the only adult who gets you, your grandpa, is gone, and the world seems to be in self-destruct mode? On his 12th birthday Thomas runs away to the forest he used to visit with Grandpa. It is dying. Will saving it from a deadly parasite bring him closer to Grandpa or make his world safer? Before he can find out, he is enticed into a magical world under an attack of a different kind. Welcomed by a garden of thinking and talking plants, creatures with mental telepathy, tree-climbing and nature-loving beings, Thomas conquers the stinging, prickly hedge that guards the portal to this alternate world. At last, a place where he fits in. A place that needs him. But what about his and Grandpa’s forest? The riveting first entry in The Terracolina Trilogy's middle-grade magical realism series features talking plants, a telepathic gardener, and a nymph-girl who speaks in rhymes. Thomas’s sense of wonder and adventure will inspire young readers, and offer a nature lover's "place to belong—soothing and enchanting."