Easy read, most of the attention would be on the interpretation. Could work.

that is shorter than The Hobbit although I like that book better.

if you get in trouble for having Joseph Campbell's The Hero's Journey as a reference.

Like the Hobbit - also Haroun and the Sea of Stories - Campbell's Hero With A Thousand Faces shouldn't raise any eyebrows.

The Hobbit has to be my fav book ever, just recently rediscovered NIMH and wanted to explore, I need to get hero 1k faces, have hero's journ

Have you read Silent to the Bone? (can't remember author)

E.L. Koingsburg wrote "Silent to the Bone," Check out Rushdie's Haroun And The Sea of Stories. Works on so many levels: hero's journey...

...funny fantasy, great word play, censorship allegory - it's the full package.

thanks so much!