Matteo

Written by Michael Leali

A boy hoping to make his father proud starts sprouting leaves and bark.

4.0 Goodreads · 125 ratings

336 pages· 61,979 words· Est. 8.5 hour read· ~600L· AR 3.8 · 9 AR pts

$19.99Save 5%

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Bookroo's summary

Eleven-year-old Matteo has never felt like the other boys, and he hopes joining his dad's old baseball team will change that. Instead, he starts sprouting leaves and finding bark on his skin. Searching for answers, he follows the clues to the oak tree at the center of town, long believed to be a little magic, and makes surprising discoveries about himself and his family. A modern homage to Pinocchio.

From the publisher

A 2024 LAMBDA AWARD FINALIST"This enchanting, modern homage to Pinocchio reminds us anything is possible if we're true to ourselves." --Cynthia Leitich Smith, award-winning author of Ancestor Approved and Sisters of the NeverseaEleven-year-old Matteo has never felt like one of the other boys. He's sure that will change when he joins the Blue Whales, the baseball team his dad once played for. This is his chance to grow into a son his father can be proud of.And grow Matteo does, but not the way he expected. Instead, he starts sprouting leaves and finding bark all over his skin. Alarmed, Matteo starts digging for the truth about what's happening to him--and finds that all clues lead back to the oak tree at the center of town, which Creeksiders have always believed is a little bit magic. As his parents start noticing something is wrong, the truth gets harder to hide--and Matteo makes some surprising discoveries about himself, his hometown, and his entire family tree.From Michael Leali, author of The Civil War of Amos Abernathy, this earnest deconstruction of what it means to be a "real boy" is full of humor and heart, and a surefire home run for readers of Mark Oshiro, Anne Ursu, and Katherine Applegate.

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