Descriptions, Reviews, etc.
Description:
This National Book Award finalist is a dark, contemporary fairy tale in the vein of Neil Gaiman. When Jeremy Johnson's strange ability to speak to the ghost of Jacob Grimm draws the interest of his classmate, Ginger Boltinghouse, the two find themselves at the center of a series of disappearances in their hometown.
Review Quotes: Starred Review, Publishers Weekly, July 8, 2013:
"McNeal weaves in fantastical fairy-tale details into this inventive and deeply poignant narrative, creating a world that hovers between realism and enchantment."
Starred Review, The Horn Book, July/August 2013:
"McNeal superbly and elegantly enfolds those stories' essence and depth into plot, setting, and characters; archetypal figures and situations glimmer through McNeal's small-town American cast like tantalizing clues in a novel that becomes ever darker even as it sparkles with the dignified, affectionate voice of its ghostly narrator."
Starred Review, The Bulletin, June 2013:
"Enchanting, romantic, and tinged with terror, this modern story subtly weaves the haunting essentials of the fairy-tale tradition into a fascinating and beautifully written homage to its source material."
Starred Review, School Library Journal, June 2013:
"Whether readers connect more deeply with the suspense, the magical elements, or the gloriously improbable love story, they will come away with a lingering taste of enchantment.
" Starred Review, Booklist, June 1, 2013:
"Reminiscent of Hansel and Gretel, and rife with allusions to Grimm Brothers' tales, this is a masterful story of outcasts, the power of faith, and the triumph of good over evil."
Review, Wall Street Journal
"Stunning. [A] beguiling, horrifying and gracefully written novel." Review, The Atlantic Wire
"McNeal weaves his modern tale in the fairy-tale tradition, and it will haunt and delight."
Review, BookPage "Far Far Away is an incredibly imaginative modern fairy tale told through the first-person narration of the ghost of Jacob Grimm . . . Suspenseful with a sinister villain,
Far Far Away is equally heartwarming as it is scary."
Review, Shelf-Awareness "McNeal structures the novel like a fairy tale, and the overwhelming sense of danger surrounding the village like a deep forest will keep readers glued to the edges of their seats."
