Tom McNeal

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.

McNeal weaves in fantastical fairy-tale details into this inventive and deeply poignant narrative, creating a world that hovers between realism and enchantment

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.

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

Listen, if you will, whispers the ghost of Jacob Grimm to Jeremy Johnson Johnson and to the readers of this delightful, modern-day fairy tale . . . The tone of Jacob’s narration captures the flavor of the Grimms’ tales while blending humorously with Jeremy’s ordinary, befuddled, teenage life . . . 
Readers who love spotting allusions will appreciate this intelligent book’s robust vocabulary, and the real scholarship behind it. (Fantasy. 11-15)

This is a beautifully written tale and one that will stay with me long after finishing it. I can honestly say I haven’t read anything else like it. The author has managed to take elements of fairy tales and weave them intricately into a contemporary novel.   I would say it is  unique and original and definitely a book I will return to again and again.

Jeremy can hear voices. But when he admits this, the townspeople of Never Better treat him like an outsider. Life has been tough after his mother left and his father became a recluse, but one voice in particular proves his salvation: the voice of the ghost of Jacob 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 a provocative local girl Ginger takes an interest in Jeremy (and his unique abilities), a heartbreaking chain of events is put into motion. And as anyone familiar with the Grimm Brothers know, not all fairy tales have happy endings. . .

Tom McNeal

Praise for Far Far Away

Sprightly, assured, and original

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.

A fantastic tale, seamlessly told.

Sprightly, assured, and original

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.

A fantastic tale, seamlessly told.

Sprightly, assured, and original

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.

A fantastic tale, seamlessly told.

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