Far Far Away... what a lovely name for a book. Read a little about it and decide for yourself whether or not to pick it up. It's heart warming, endearing, suspenseful and mysterious.
Jeremy Johnson Johnson is a teenage boy who lives with his
reclusive father and owns a bookstore. How does a teenager own a bookstore? His
grandfather left it to him when he died. The boy’s mother left years before
this story begins. And as this story is taking place she has already passed
away. Jeremy Johnson Johnson was given this name because both of his parents
had the last name Johnson. His mother was a bit quirky so this fits right in
with her personality. After his father received notice that his mother was
dead, he became a recluse. He never left the house and rarely got out of bed.
Jeremy was left to raise himself.
So what is the purpose of this story? Jeremy is going to
lose his bookstore which is also his home. He and father live in the building.
Jeremy’s father isn’t earning money and what does come into the house is from
Jeremy’s gardening jobs.
So you must be thinking, well
so far this isn’t very interesting. Perhaps not yet. What if I told you
Jeremy can hear the voice of Jacob Grimm of the Brother’s Grimm, would that
peak your interest? He heard the voices of his mother and grandfather after they died. From where this story is taking place, Jacob died about 200
years prior. In fact, Jacob is the one who is telling the story from his point
of view. What we learn about ghosts and the spirit world through this tale, Far Far Away by Tom McNeal, is a whole
new way of thinking about ghosts. In this version of a ghost story people
cannot see them, they cannot move things (unless they try very hard to move
something like paper by going past it quickly), the air around them is not
cold, and a few other things that are opposite of what we normally believe.
Jeremy has a small group of friends. The important one is
Ginger. He very much likes Ginger, and she likes him too. But Ginger can make
Jeremy do things he wouldn’t normally do. Jeremy is reserved, Ginger is not.
She convinces him to go on an adventure in which they break into the town baker’s
home. Of course they are found out and almost caught. This is where things
start to get interesting. The baker claims it is not them. The teens believe
this is out of the goodness of his heart. Is it? There’s a strange dwarf-like
deputy who acts odd. He seems to be stalking Ginger. The town’s people start to
shun Jeremy as the story travels of his supposed break-in at the baker’s. The
poor kid. Jacob is trying very hard to guide Jeremy throughout these times, but
no teenager in their right mind wants to stay home and study while the girl he
likes is begging him to be with her. Jacob does his best to talk to Jeremy and
warm him of immediate dangers, but the poor boy keeps getting the short end of
the stick.
We have a moment of hope as he enters to be on a television
show in order to win the money to save his home and bookstore. You think he has
it in the bag because it’s testing his knowledge about the Brother’s Grimm
tales, but at the last second we are let down. Again we are so sad for Jeremy
Johnson Johnson.
I have laid out a great deal of the story for you, but I
will not give you the ending. Not even close. There's is so much more going on that I can't begin to explain to you in a blog post. You must read to enjoy it at its best. The end
involves poison, kidnapping, personal revelations by the children, and a ghost
who desperately wants to save this boy he’s come to love. You think you know
where the story is going…. until you do not. It’s a subtle twist that I very
much enjoyed. I even found myself with wet eyes at a few spots.
Far Far Away, by
Tom McNeal, is a wonderful story of struggle and triumph with the exact right
amount of supernatural intrigue. I highly recommend this book for people of all
ages. You will fall in love with Jeremy Johnson Johnson and his ghost.
Read often! Enjoy!
