The Second Coming of J.K. Rowlings?

Irene Sage's article this morning in the Boston Globe described Reif Larson's first novel "The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet" for which he was reportedly awarded $900,000 by Penguin Books after a heated auction among nine publishers last June. This book, being released today, is about a 12 year old boy, an obsessive compulsive who uses margins notes and drawings to help recount his great adventures and inner journeys.

Unlike single parent Rowlings, Larson is a 27 year old doctoral candidate living with his girl friend in a Park Slope brownstone. he grew up in Cambridge (MA) and participated in improvisational theater at Brown University and graduated with a major in Education in 2002. He has taught creative writing and practices Zen Buddhism.

The interest in Larson's first novel without doubt is owed to Rowling's success with her Potter series which made her the richest woman in England (including the Queen. This book is in the "crossover" category, the hottest because of its attraction to both adult and young readers.

Larson will be at the Brookline Booksmith on Thursday may 7th and the lines to hear him read from his work is expected to be long. He has already started his second novel.