If you had the chance to create anything you wanted with the help of a special box, what would you pick? There are countless possibilities and the only limit is your imagination…
Timothy Hart, the main character of the story, lives in Glassbridge (“a quaint city full of history, complete with old buildings, wonky roofs, cobblestone streets, rusted iron railings and statues of people on horseback”), in the Dawn Star Hotel, which is owned by his adoptive parents, Chris and Elisa Green. Elisa is always busy with the hotel, being constantly anxious about money and not having enough time to pay attention to Tim’s “nonsense” (and by nonsense, she means everything Tim says or does). Chris is working for an internet company, so he spends most of his time away on business, selling and buying all sorts of things. Tim has to make his own fun, but this doesn’t seem to bother him at all. In fact he prefers his own company. His favorite hobby, drawing, is the perfect getaway from reality: “Paper, pencil and escaping in his own imagination – this is what Tim thought made him happy. It had never crossed his mind that he might need more.” (page 7)
When an old man wearing a lab coat shows up at the Dawn Star, things are starting to get a bit more interesting. The new guest is George Eisenstone, a scientist who is working on a top-secret machine. Tim can’t control his curiosity, so he sneaks into Eisenstone’s room and tries out the intriguing box with lots of tangled wires attached to it. There is also an unusual hat plugged to it and, without even realizing what he’s doing, Tim puts the helmet on his head. While inspecting the machine, the boy finds a big, circular and green button. With no conscious thought, he presses it, waiting for something to happen. As there is nothing going on, Tim feels rather disappointed and remembers that he has to go to dinner. While thinking about Chris’s terrible, burnt-black sausages, the machine starts vibrating and, for the next 20 seconds, the room is filled with buzzing and clattering sounds. When the process is over, the boy heads back to the machine to check if there is anything inside it. Unfortunately Elisa arrives unexpectedly and sends Tim to his room immediately, punishing him for snooping around.
Even though Elisa is not pleased with the boy’s behavior, Professor Eisenstone becomes the happiest person in the entire world. He asks Tim to come to his room, ready to reveal his secret to his new friend:
“ ‘But, buttery but, but, but, let me ask you something, and it’s important you’re honest… what were you thinking when you pressed the button?’ He pointed at the device in the corner. Tim had been making a special effort not to look at it.
‘I am really sorry. I don’t know what came over me.’ Tim’s voice was jittery – he didn’t like being told off (…).
‘No, no. Tim. No. You misunderstand. I am asking you what you were thinking about. Tell me, literally, indeed, what you were thinking the moment you pressed that button…’ ” (pages 25-26)
When the scientist shows off a burnt sausage, the one Tim thought of while he had the helmet on, the boy turns speechless. The box can create anything you want! Tim is sure that life at the Dawn Star will be far more exciting from now on. He gets himself a finger monkey called Phil and even creates his own imagination box (in secret).
One morning, though, Professor Eisenstone disappears. Tim tries to contact him, but he has no luck. He wants to save his friend from danger, so he soon finds himself working with Eisenstone’s granddaughter, Dee. Their mission is long and full of unexpected surprises. Throughout the story, Tim learns a lot about Eisenstone’s past and his fight with a good, old friend. He also figures out that you can’t trust everybody and you should always stick to your family and closest friends.
The story is brilliantly entertaining and has a lot of plot twists (this is one of my favorite things when it comes to stories). The book doesn’t have any pictures inside, allowing the readers to use their imagination even more and see the characters from their own point of view. After reading this story, I thought it would be great if there were more caring people with great sense of humor and vivid imagination, just like Tim. In the end, the boy realizes that, as long as you are surrounded by people who love you and look after you each day passing by, you don’t need anything else, not even an imagination box.
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