Far Far Away

Never before has there been written such a unique and suspenseful book as “Far Far Away” by Tom McNeal. From the first few pages, I had already taken a couple steps in the main character, Jeremy Johnson Johnson’s, shoes. This story is the tale of a quiet boy named Jeremy, who would prefer to stay in his attic bedroom reading his mom’s collection of fairy tales rather than be out exploring the world and flirting with girls. Throughout the book, he is spoken to by the ghost of Jacob Grimm, who is narrating the story. But his life and world are changed when he meets an outgoing and lively girl named Ginger Boultinghouse, who had fallen under the so called spell of the delicacy Princesstårta- which is said to be the best cake in the world- and comes to love Jeremy. All seems to be going well in the town of Never Better, but when the baker brings Ginger and Jeremy into the woods to help him clean up his log cabin, things start to become a little suspicious. Will they escape the forest alive, or will they never be able to see their families again?

 

I would strongly recommend this book to lovers of realistic fiction. The main characters are relatable teenagers, and the plot is exciting but well written. It seems as though every sentence is dripping with suspense. Whenever a conflict is resolved, another major twist will occur and Jeremy is left in the dust, not knowing who are his friends or foes are and no clue of what decisions to make. Although in some cases I wish that there was more reasoning of why things were done- like when Jeremy and his friends put Pop Rocks in the baker’s cereal- the text is informative and the plot is very easy to follow with its helpful descriptive style. After reading this book, readers will be on their knees begging for a sequel.