Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Far Far Away by Tom McNeal

Far Far Away by Tom McNeal - 369 pages

Jeremy Johnson Johnson hears ghosts.  One ghost in particular -- Jacob Grimm, writer of Grimm's fairy tales.  While Jeremy is comforted by the voice and its friendship, it has also caused him to be looked down upon in his town.  This is made even worse when he and his friend Ginger get caught playing a prank on the town baker.  While the baker forgives them, the rest of the town ostracizes them.  That's not the only problems facing Jeremy and Ginger.  There is also the fact that the bank is foreclosing on Jeremy's house in just a few weeks.  And Jeremy and Ginger have become the focus of someone kidnapping children.

I've been wanting to read this book since it came out last summer.  When I saw it on the YALSA Best Books for Teens list I decided to go ahead and pick it up.  I really enjoyed the book.  The sense of menace and inevitable doom builds throughout the book.  It was also interesting to read a book narrated by a ghost from the 1800s trying to make sense of modern teenage life.  It is a challenging read though in that it is not quick-going.  It felt like work reading the first half of the book.  However, the second half really picked up speed with the mounting danger to the teens.  I would suggest this to those who like fairy tales, ghost stories, and suspense.

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