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Gr 3-6-This fantasy may appeal to a young audience unfamiliar with the genre, but it leaves much to be desired. Arthur Woodbury, 10, has had enough of fat jokes, so when he sees an ad for a sleep device that guarantees weight loss, he wastes no time. However, he fails to read the instructions completely, and the magic helmet deposits him in REM World, creating a conundrum that violates the laws of the universe. Arthur must get home, or the creeping Nothing will envelop Everything and the universe will cease to exist. In action-packed, cliff-hanging chapters, Arthur is helped by REM World beings ("Morf," "Grog," "Mr. Pockets") and earns himself a new name, Arthur Courage. The plot wanders from one surprising encounter to the next, with only a cursory mythology to explain Nothing and Everything, and an underdeveloped setting, so that REM World never quite feels like an actual place. Arthur is miraculously thin when he returns home, but the explanation that he's been unusually active over the course of a few days doesn't suffice. In fact, the issue of Arthur's body shape drops out of the picture while he's in REM World (it's the "courage" issue that surfaces there), so this framing device for the story seems hollow. It also is conspicuously reminiscent of Norton Juster's The Phantom Tollbooth (Knopf, 1961), in which this device is carried through and developed. Despite the thinness in plot, REM may hold appeal for some reluctant readers; Philbrick's narrative voice is exciting and pulls the right strings.-Nina Lindsay, Oakland Public Library, CA Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Imaginative characters and a string of cliffhangers make Philbrick's (Freak the Mighty) science-fiction novel a fun and fast-paced read. Eleven-year-old Arthur Woodbury, tired of being called "Biscuit Butt," orders a weight-loss device advertised in his comic book: "Lose weight while you sleep! REM World Products." When the device arrives, Arthur discovers that the helmet transports him to a magical REM world. But because he did not follow the instructions carefully, he's stuck there, and even worse, he's unleashed a force that could destroy the universe. Through a series of fantastic adventures, in which he's forced "to do stuff like pull-ups and row a boat, and fly, and ride the giants," Arthur finds a way to return home and save the universe, losing weight along the way--and, more important, gaining self-esteem and courage. The REM world he enters is populated with the Cloud People (who use their wings to glide in the World Above), the giants Grog and Droll (who rip apart continents as they run) and Morf, a cat-like creature who changes shape but consistently holds onto his caustic wit ("Try not to look too appetizing" are his only words of advice to Arthur when they crash inside a demon's cave). These vivid personalities will usher readers quickly through the chapters. Ages 9-14. (May) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.