Mateo and the gift of presence by Ruthy Ballard.
Laid-back Mateo Marino doesn't brood about the past or worry about the future. Instead, he lives in the present moment, driving his high-achieving parents crazy. Mateo feels unseen and unappreciated, especially compared to his younger brother, Alex, who is perfect in their eyes. But everything changes when Mateo disappears through a mysterious crack in his bedroom ceiling and finds himself on a planet called Urth, 67,000 light years away.
A good read with good characters. Likeable story. 3*.

This is fun book, about a young boy who is pulled through into another world. Urth has two moons, and for this ten year old, his whole life has just changed. Mateo was expected, sort of like in a prophecy. He has a mentor, and an entire new world of amazing adventures to uncover and overcome.

My copy came from Net Galley. My thoughts and opinions are my own. This review is left of my own free volition.

Mateo is a boy who is "unseen" by his parents and ends up finding himself in an alternate world where he can use his "Gift of Presence." He ultimately learns to use his gift to help create his future while touching the lives of those he cares about. A fun fantasy for middle readers with a big imagination.

This was an enjoyable Middle School read, but just a little too mature for my K-4 library. A few sentences off-handedly mention sex and there were several references to child cruelty. For the right audience, however, this title will be a welcome addition to the universe of alternate worlds. I loved the the way the narrator spoke directly to the reader, and some of her observations were wickedly funny. The combination of fantasy and science fiction made life on Urth unique. The characters back on Earth made me think of JK Rowling's descriptions of Muggles. I look forward to reading the other titles in this new series.

Mateo enjoys his life as a 10 year old boy with a vivid imagination but demanding parents in California until an amazing thing happens - one night he is drawn through a crack in the ceiling, pulled through the universe through a space time tunnel to a faraway place called URTH!
Mateo lands in the middle of a large forest, eats a fruit that tastes like stale bread and runs into a cave when he is frightened by observing URTH's two moons. In the cave awaits a being who was awaiting Mateo's arrival after having had to go through a special academy where she was trained to raise a child who had a special gift.
The child she finds has to have the same gift she has, she has degrees in Presence and Ignoring Rules. She has had to wait for a child for a few weeks, she had been trying out different caves - this one was dry and comfortable, and she had been cooking the Finding Fruit, which was purple and tasted like stale bread.
The author describes some interesting facts about the planet URTH and its' people. People on URTH are twice as old as earthlings, their year is two of ours, so a 10 year old is really 20. Their planet is made up of islands as the mountains and polar ice caps melted long ago, and the people can see and hear things underwater like fish can, they have webbed feet, and they have "shimmering" indigo blubber around their midsection to keep them warm and buoyant in water.
Mateo's disappearance was frightening to his parents and his brother Alex, they called the police, news agencies and put up missing person flyers to search for him!
Mateo and his trainer, Ideth walk from the cave to the ocean, where they are picked up by a ship and dropped off to swim 25 miles to their destination, Krog Pad. Mateo does not know how to swim very well, he has to snorkel and hang onto his trainer's long hair for safety.
You will have to read the rest of the book for yourself to find out about Mateo's adventures and what his gift is - enjoy!