Reading "The Phantom Tollbooth" a second time really changed my opinions and ideas on the plot and characters of the book, and really made me appreciate it more. But, I still had some questions even after reading it again. For example, what was at the base at the book? What was the authors purpose? Did Milo really understand the importance of life in the end? So, to answer all my questions, I went online and found an interview (http://www.underdown.org/juster.htm) with Norton Juster. Although he interview did help me to understand certain aspects of the book in a better way, I was a little surprised with some of the information I found out. 
   While reading the book, I was constantly trying to decipher what the authors purpose was. In the end I came up with about a dozen different ideas, (to help people to understand the importance of life, to make people see things from a different point of view, etc.) There was so much going on in the book, I just couldn't decide! What with all the different characters Milo meets, his lack of interest in life fading as he travels through the land, and the apparent battle between the land of words and numbers. But, in the interview Norton Juster states that he didn't write the book with any specific message, it was written for everyone to interpret on their own. "I had no message and I have no idea what specific things kids will get from the book. I think it comes in all different ways -- special ways." After reading this quote by Norton Juster , I saw the book in a completely new light. Before, I was so focused on finding one idea that might have been the authors purpose, but after seeing that part of the interview I decided that there was no one right idea.
   I was most likely reading into things a bit too much while re-reading The Phantom Tollbooth, but I was also constantly trying to figure out who Milo is. What are his motives? Is he being affected by the journey? Why was he so fed up with life? These were just a few of the questions that I could not find answers to. So, I was very interested to find this quote by Norton Juster while reading through the interview. " [The Phantom Tollbooth] has enough of an adventure going on, so they like that part of it. The characters I think are kind of colorful enough so they can relate to those. And I think they relate to Milo as a kid who has some of the same problems -- well, "problem" is probably the wrong word -- craziness, perhaps, that they have." Although this did not answer my questions directly, it did make me realize that Milo was just a kid, and that is how Norton Juster wrote him. He was merely a kid who was lonely and bored because he was young and didn't understand life yet, thats how most children are. 
  All in all, reading the interview was very interesting for me, although I'm not sure that I would do it again with another book. I'd rather make  my own ideas and opinions about the book.