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The Neverending Story is a book by Michael Ende. If you have only ever seen the movie and are expecting some Internet-style reminiscing on fuzzy, lovable luckdragons and the poor horse that died, get out of my website. Right now. Get out, read the goddamn book, and don't set foot on this website again until you have read the whole thing. You are missing out on one of the most widely beloved works of world literature, and demeaning it even by referencing the horrid, plotless "Saturday afternoon special" movie instead.
Are they gone yet? Good. The Neverending Story is the story of a quest, but anyone over the age of 14 can see the metaphor. Ende isn't talking about a magical epic quest that only ever happens in fairy tales-- there are probably thousands of those lying around in the Fantasy section of your local bookstore. He is, of course, describing the actual quest that people go through in life, the search for purpose and the genuine desire it requires.
One of the things that makes The Neverending Story so unique is that it's about the life of a real kid, but unlike most memoirs, the fantasy element generalizes it so we can see ourselves in Bastian Balthazar Bux's hardships. He enters a labyrinth populated by the delusional, a little slice of Borges' Library of Babel, the hopelessly lost. They all represent real people, and as the warning goes, if you don't pursue what your heart really wants, you'll be stuck in the labyrinth with them. He escapes the city and moves on to some of our fundamental desires; first, wanting to be together and be part of something, then wanting to be loved and cared for. Finally, he realizes what it is he has to do, but his vision isn't part of Ende's advice for us. His message in The Neverending Story seems to be limited to "you aren't the first person on this ride". In fact, you won't find a hint of what Ende wants us to do with our lives in The Neverending Story. That opinion is outlined for you in Momo.
One thing that WAHa.06x36 likes about The Neverending Story is the lack of antagonists (see Momo for this conversation).