The King in the Window by Gopnik, Adam - 2005

New York, New York, U.S.A.: Hyperion Books for Children, 2005. 412 pages. Pictorial hardcover with diecut "window" dust jacket. A new copy, carefully examined and found to be a flawless Fine condition book in a near-perfect dust jacket. Jacket is unclipped, unworn, with a nearly invisible 1mm nick to the upper rim of the fragile die-cut window. Stated "first edition" but with a number line ending in 2 indicating second printing. A lovely copy of one of the best fantasy books for children published this decade. Oliver, a 12-year-old American expatriate in Paris, feels friendless and alienated in every area of his life. Then, wearing the gold paper crown that came with the Epiphany cake, Oliver sees not his own reflection in the window, but that of a boy in ancient French garb who proclaims him the King in the Window, protector of the Window Wraiths - and Oliver rises to the occasion. The complex plot "incorporates threads about quantum physics, Alice in Wonderland, skateboarding and 17th-century France's obsession with plate glass. ... The resolution, though well-orchestrated, is dizzyingly complicated. Think of this as Harry Potter for the Mensa set. Age 10 up." - Publisher's Weekly.. 2nd Printing. Hard Cover. New/Near Fine. Illus. by Omar Rayyan; Thomas Woodruff (cover art). 5.5 x 8.25 in. (14cm x 21cm).