SuitabookEscape and freedom
Michael wants to leave a home for orphaned and abandoned children and sees flight and Exchange as a route out.
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Book details
James Norcliffe - Author
This is a fantasy adventure about a child seeking escape, discovering flight and confronting the consequences of exchanging identities. It combines mysterious magical rules with questions of family, belonging and what makes someone human.
A gripping story about a boy who gains the power of flight, but loses touch with what makes him human. Is the cost of being a loblolly boy too high? Find out in this beautifully written novel for lovers of fantasy.When he turned around I could see the spread of the feathery green wings that sprouted from his shoulders, beautiful waving wings. I felt as if I were suddenly on a different planet. Part of me wanted to drop to my knees. 'Who are you?' I gasped.The loblolly boy has the gift of flight. He is invisible to most people, apart from the Sensitives; is much coveted by the sinister Collectors; and he has the power to Exchange - to swap identities with others. But the children who choose to Exchange - often to escape very miserable lives - soon realise that to become one of these magical, Peter Pan-like creatures brings complications and dangers they never anticipated.'The children in The Loblolly Boy find themselves caught up in a remarkable chain of events. Through an encounter with the fantastic loblolly boy they can become fantastic themselves. This is a rich fantasy - alive with original twists, surprises and mysteries which I dare not reveal. Children's literature is about to be enriched with a new classic.' Margaret Mahy
Book Brief
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Sign in for personalised guidanceThis is a fantasy adventure about a child seeking escape, discovering flight and confronting the consequences of exchanging identities. It combines mysterious magical rules with questions of family, belonging and what makes someone human.
Michael wants to leave a home for orphaned and abandoned children and sees flight and Exchange as a route out.
Loblolly boys can fly, remain invisible to most people and Exchange identities; the premise asks what may be lost when someone becomes magical.
The Collectors want loblolly boys as specimens, while children who Exchange face dangers they did not anticipate.
Pay attention to how the book presents escape from institutional hardship, the wish to become ‘fantastic’, and the risks of being treated as a specimen. The ending may invite discussion of identity and choice.
This is a grounded book brief while Suitabook strengthens the analysis: some draft conclusions still depend on unresolved evidence.
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