REVIEW: Far Far Away, by Tom McNeal

Far Far Away

It says quite a lot about Jeremy Johnson Johnson that the strangest thing about him isn't even the fact his mother and father both had the same last name. Jeremy once admitted he's able to hear voices, and the townspeople of Never Better have treated him like an outsider since. After his mother left, his father became a recluse, and it's been up to Jeremy to support the family. But it hasn't been up to Jeremy alone.
The truth is, Jeremy can hear voices. Or, specificially, one voice: the voice of the ghost of Jacob Grimm, one half of the infamous writing duo, The Brothers Grimm. Jacob watches over Jeremy, protecting him from an unknown dark evil whispered about in the space between this world and the next. But when the provocative local girl Ginger Boultinghouse takes an interest in Jeremy (and his unique abilities), a grim chain of events is put into motion. And as anyone familiar with the Grimm Brothers know, not all fairy tales have happy endings. . . 

Oh this was AWESOME. Seriously. I can't say enough good things about this story and the writing. 

First, Jeremy Johnson Johnson is an imperfect person and is aware of it...such a good thing to read (especially after reading a couple where the teen didn't think they could do any wrong, themselves). He's an anti-hero, if he's a hero at all. He doesn't see how great he is (I mean, his own mother left him) and his father won't work. Ginger, a fairly popular girl at school has taken a shine to him, and is really hoping to prove to Jeremy just how wonderful he is.

Jeremy's otherworldly friend is Jacob Grimm (what an awesome idea!). McNeal takes this twist, and builds a story that is very Grimmsian (to coin a word) in nature--there's a magical element, an unsuspecting village, and a dark mystery surrounding one of the best loved villagers. 

That was the best part for me--I felt like I was reading a modern-day Grimm fairy tale, where not every thing is sunshine and daisies. This is definitely one that should be on everyone's list!

What do you think??

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this ebook galley from Random House Children's Books through the netGalley publisher/reader connection program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.