Max has worked out a plan for surviving seventh grade: become good enough at soccer to make friends, avoid the bullies, and keep anyone from paying too much attention to his limp. Then a foot injury takes soccer away, a broken window puts him in trouble, and the boy he least wants to befriend becomes his unexpected partner in an extraordinary adventure. In Max & Ti – The Snake and the Tree, Leslie Cole turns a painfully familiar middle school struggle into a portal fantasy involving an unusual invention, a loyal dog, a snake emperor, and a mysterious Tree. Beneath the supernatural dangers lies a more personal challenge: learning to trust someone when friendship was never part of the plan.
Middle Grade Portal Fantasy
Date Published: October 27, 2026
Publisher: Harmony Press
Seventh grader Max plots a brilliant way to forge friendships, dodge bullies, and cover up his limp by excelling at soccer. His plan flourishes splendidly until fate intervenes, and a freak accident sidelines him with a foot injury, grounding him from soccer indefinitely. In a moment of exasperation, he bats a baseball, and his neighbor’s window is shattered, which thrusts him into an unwanted alliance with the last person he ever wished to befriend: Ti. The boy who is a bully magnet!
Ti’s aunt presents Max with a daunting choice to either confess to his parents about the broken window or assist Ti in testing his invention, the Quantum Locator. Little does Max know that the Quantum Locator possesses the extraordinary ability to locate anyone, anywhere.
Together, with Max’s dog Ralphie, they stumble through a portal into a realm teeming with supernatural wonders. From a forest ruled by a colossal snake emperor to a mysterious Tree. Now, the boys must navigate their way through this enchanting land. Will they survive to get home?
In this captivating middle-grade thriller, Leslie Cole examines friendship, choices, and loyalty, maintaining suspense until the last page.
Max's adventure begins with a problem that has nothing to do with magic. He has built his social life around soccer because it gives him a way to hide his limp and avoid becoming a target at school. When an injury destroys that plan, he loses more than a favorite activity. He loses the protection he believes it provides. Leslie Cole uses that setback, along with the consequences of a broken window, to bring Max and Ti together before sending them into an unfamiliar world. The Quantum Locator, the snake emperor, and the mysterious Tree give the story its fantasy elements, but the uneasy friendship between two boys who know what it feels like to be singled out gives their adventure a more meaningful foundation.
The Snake and the Tree offers an appealing combination for middle grade readers who enjoy portal adventures but also want characters dealing with recognizable school and friendship problems. Max's efforts to conceal his limp and escape bullying may resonate with children who have felt different from their classmates or worried about fitting in. The uneasy partnership between Max and Ti provides another point of connection for readers interested in friendships that develop under unexpected circumstances. Young fantasy enthusiasts can look forward to the Quantum Locator, a supernatural realm, and the danger posed by a colossal snake emperor, while animal lovers have Ralphie accompanying the boys into their adventure. Parents, teachers, and librarians seeking fiction that opens conversations about belonging, loyalty, and the consequences of our choices may also find this story worth considering.
Leslie Cole is the author of the Max & Ti series, including her latest book The Snake and the Tree. She writes wholesome, hearty, and humorous middle grade fiction for kids who wonder where they belong and feel too embarrassed to ask. She feels a passion for the kids, including the adult kids, who need a kind and encouraging voice of support. Her stories remind readers that our deepest wounds don’t define us and that no one must face life alone. Her publishing credits include publishing poetry in the Nashville paper “The Contributor;” reading her poetry as the “Poet of the Month” at the Scarritt-Bennett Poet’s Corner; having her poetry named “Critic’s Pick” in “The Nashville Scene;” publishing two nonfiction books as a physician in her fields of medicine; and publishing a research paper as first author in the field of addiction medicine.
She lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with her husband Tim and their dog. They enjoy the company of their adult children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and extended family. She paints landscapes and still lifes, as well as drawing the occasional illustration for her books. She continues to work as an addiction medicine physician, where she witnesses the power of connection, repair, and humans overcoming unbelievable odds.
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Max begins this story believing that being good at soccer will solve his problems at school. Instead, losing that opportunity sets off a chain of events that forces him to reconsider how he approaches friendship, responsibility, and his own differences. Leslie Cole's The Snake and the Tree gives those concerns an imaginative setting, sending Max, Ti, and Ralphie into a world where the dangers are far greater than a broken window or an uncomfortable day in seventh grade. The combination of a reluctant friendship and a supernatural adventure makes this an intriguing choice for young readers who are finding their own place among their peers. It also offers families an opportunity to talk about how unexpected friendships can begin when we look beyond the assumptions we make about other people.
