Graff’s intriguing The Other Felix is a metaphorical menagerie exploring the fine line that divides the dream world and its counterpart. The story unfolds as Felix, a isolated, somewhat lonely school boy, experiences nightmares so authentic that he’s unsure where reality ends and fantasy begins. In the dream world, Felix not only encounters fearsome gnashing and snarling monsters, he also meets his alter-ego, a boy also named Felix who is physically identical, yet his nature wildly juxtaposes his own.

In The Other Felix, while the author weaves an intriguing tale of dark verses light, he also probes deeply to understand the nature of fear by taking an honest look at the monsters that live within us all.  Graff touches on important issues such as bullying, thievery, happiness, friendship, and the strength required to ‘turn the other cheek’ in the face of violent confrontation…valuable lessons for all people, young and old, to comprehend.

This is the type of book that should be read once for story and then again for the meaning underlying within each carefully crafted phrase. To further enhance The Other Felix reading experience, a Discussion/Activity Guide has been created complete with a craft project artistically depicting the difference between the two altered states.

“If you only fight them with your hands, or with arrows and rocks, you can’t win. But you have something that makes you more powerful than they are….Happiness is more powerful than unhappiness,” said the Other Felix (110).