The Real Boy Summary
Anne Ursu

The Real Boy Overview

The Real Boy by Anne Ursu is a tale about a young orphan named Oscar who is taken from the Children's Home by Master Caleb, a wizard who employs Oscar to be his hand and to be responsible for handling all of the tasks considered too menial for either Master Caleb or his apprentice named Wolf to do themselves. Oscar has little in the way of social skills, so he enjoys the fact that his life is a simple and regimented affair, but Oscar is soon pulled out of his comfort zone and expected to deal with so much more. When Master Caleb is called away for a time, Wolf leaves the shop with another apprentice and they are both killed as the magic of the island of Aletheia begins to break down. Oscar and Callie, who is the healer, Madame Mariel's apprentice, are left to deal with the increasingly destructive and sometimes deadly effects of magic gone awry in this story of growth, responsibility, magic and friendship.