Natasha and the Tree

Book excerpt: In the sterile suburb of Smile Valley-feeling as if her neighborhood is blaming her for her mother's death-including her father, brother, and stepmother-eleven-year-old Natasha embarks on a journey into the mouth of a talking tree growing outside her house, a tree that promises Natasha a magical future in becoming a Druid. Inside this world, Natasha discovers an evil company run by an old woman named Mom; the Skinless Man; Rex, a big-nosed midget who carries a whip at all times; and a winged, horned lady named Demola. This company, Natasha quickly discovers, kidnaps children in a UFO and transports them to Alien Headquarters where it forces them onto a conveyor belt machine and turns them into mindless, working adults, all the while unleashing giant bats destroying entire forests planning to flood the entire world with a sea of dragon blood.