Ulysse is a quiet and unique boy, passionate about mythology. His difference is both intriguing and unsettling—because Ulysse is autistic. At school, he faces daily challenges, misunderstandings, and injustices, despite his mother’s efforts to protect him. Meanwhile, in a strange and teeming world, a young hero named Otis confronts the Black Tree, a threatening force devouring the forest and its inhabitants. Supported by hybrid companions and mythological allies, he moves toward a final confrontation. Two storylines unfold in parallel—one grounded in everyday life, the other shaped as an epic quest. Two children, two parallel journeys... but are these worlds truly so separate?

This powerful and original novel for young readers delicately explores rare and profound themes: autism, imagination as refuge and resource, the strength of emotional bonds, but also rejection, otherness, and resilience. Otis’s story, at the boundary between fantasy and reality, follows the structure of a modern myth, where the child-hero embarks on a journey of inner transformation. The dreamlike world he navigates—rich in symbols like trees of light, fauns, runes, and flowers of oblivion—echoes the struggles he faces in the “real” world, especially at school. The writing is fluid, poetic, sometimes serious but always luminous. The novel also speaks of justice, empathy, and courage, offering a beautiful metaphor for personal empowerment. With its references to The Odyssey, fairy tales, and mythology, the text carries literary depth while remaining accessible from age 10. A moving and memorable read, both for the richness of its universe and its tenderness toward difference.