Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo is a fantasy novel by Obert Skye

Obert Skye

Obert Skye is the author of the Leven Thumps series and the Pillage Trilogy.- Bibliography :* Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo...

that traces the journeys of Leven, a seemingly ordinary boy from Burnt Culvert, Oklahoma, and Winter Frore, a neglected girl, as they seek to find their way to the magical dream land of Foo.

Plot

The book begins by telling what happened to the town of Tin Culvert, Oklahoma (now Burnt Culvert, Oklahoma.) The nit, Antsel, races through the burning town to safely plant Geth, who has been turned into seed by Sabine. When he does, the shadows of Sabine find him and kill him while looking over his body for the seed. The book continues to tell about the birth of Leven Thumps, whose mother died birthing him, and his farther died before the unfortunate child is born in a motorcycle crash. His mother's half sister, Addy Graph, takes him in, but does not take care of him correctly. Leven is stuck for nearly 14 years with Addy, and her husband, Terry, who is no better than Addy is. Then the book introduces Winter Frore, who was switched with another woman's child, and grows up with Janet Frore, who treats Winter poorly. She only receives a stale bread crust, a teaspoonful of jam, and half a dozen peas for each meal, with no deserts, while she watches her mother stuff herself as though there is no tomorrow. Orphaned, mistreated Leven is contacted by a tiny creature named Clover Earnest, a sycophant, who informs him that he has a destiny to save two worlds: his own, and the world of dreams, called Foo. Meanwhile, Winter realizes her power to freeze things, by freezing her class, her teacher, her principal, and her entire room. She then runs away from home, where she meets Leven and Clover, with a voice repeating in her head, "Don't touch him." Later, when the kids are chased by avalands, giant creatures that are made of the earth itself, Winter passes out and Leven is forced to drag her to safety, and their contact causes Sabine's shadows to find Leven in his dreams. Together with Clover and Geth a toothpick —literally, a toothpick — who was once the king of Foo, they set out to Germany, the location of the gateway. They are chased by the police, so Winter freezes a path across the entire Atlantic ocean. The path melts and they are picked up by a fishing trawler, which is later revealed to be an illegal treasure hunter's boat. After being separated from Clover, they arrive at the mainland. After another encounter with Sabine's shadows, they take a train to Germany, and then to Berchtesgaden, a small German village. The gateway is located in nearby Lake Königsee, and they attempt to go through it. They are stopped by Sabine, who freezes Leven and Winter. Winter thaws and occupies Sabine by demonstrations of power. Winter eventually freezes Sabine long enough for Clover, who has found them, to shatter him into many pieces. Leven tries again to dive for the gateway, but is stopped again by Sabine, who is now an amorphous black blob. He uses his gift to disperse the pieces and get him to the gateway. After stepping through, Amelia Thumps, his grandmother gives him a pot of explosives to destroy the gateway. He steps through, but is grabbed by Sabine. the explosives are activated, and the gateway is destroyed right as Leven goes back through to Foo.

Leven Thumps

Leven is fourteen years old and is the grandson of Hector Thumps, the builder of the gateway to Foo. Leven originally knows nothing of Foo or of his heritage. He discovers this information as the story goes on. Leven is an offing and is being hunted by Sabine.

Winter Frore

Winter is thirteen, with ratty blond hair and deep evergreen eyes.
Her pale skin and willowy cloths give her the appearance of a shy spirit. She was brought to Foo by fate, but her thoughts and memories of her previous life are gone.
Winter struggles just to figure out what her purpose is. Winter is a nit with the with the power to freeze things at will. She first notices this amazing gift when her hair begins to float around in mid air frosted with ice, terrifying her abusive, bloated mother, Janet.

Geth

Geth is the rightful heir to Foo. He was turned into a seed by Sabine and was left for the birds, but Antsel rescued him, took him to our world and planted him under the ground. He later found Leven, Winter and Clover and accompanies them on their trip to the Gateway. He is a lithen, meaning he believes Fate will decide everything. He works to keep reality and Foo from colliding against the evil Sabine who seeks to rule over both reality and Foo for the worst.

Sabine

Sabine is the darkest and most selfish being in Foo. Snatched from reality at the age of nine, he is now a nit with the ability to freeze whatever he wishes. Sabine thirsts to know the location of the gateway because he believes if he can freely travel between Foo and reality he can rule them both. So evil and selfish are his desires that the very shadows he casts seek to flee him, giving him the ability to send his dark castoffs down through the dreams of men so he can view and mess with reality.

Clover Ernest

He is a wise-cracking sycophant from Foo, sent to look after Leven, who is his burn (master). Clover's last burn was Antsel, who dies in the beginning of the first book. The sycophant stays around Leven, hiding for fourteen years, until Leven finally spots him under his bed. He constantly tries to find a nickname for Leven since Winter stole his original, "Lev", (many of which include Chief, Dog, or Big Man). Clover has the power to overshadow other people, and as a sycophant there is only one way the he can die, but only the sycophants know what that is. (Clover has his own book: Professor Winsnicker's Book of Proper Etiquette for Well-Mannered Sycophants.)

Sequels

The sequels continue the story's plot, and new characters and plots are introduced. Foreign characters are included such as the longing (a beautiful women who makes everyone fall in love), nits with gifts such as levitation, burrowing in the dirt, and freezing things at will. The Want, the Dearth, and the beginning of the end of the world are later encountered.

External links

• LevenThumps.com