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From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)

The benevolent spirit of Jacob Grimm has haunted teenager Jeremy Johnson Johnson since he was a child. Jeremy lives in the small American heartland town of Never Better, and the ghost has provided far more support and guidance across the years than the boy's depressed, reclusive father. A loner by circumstance (no one wants to befriend the kid who hears a voice in his head), Jeremy is shocked but pleased when classmate Ginger Boultinghouse invites him to the bakery for cake. Later, Jeremy is quick to agree when Ginger asks him to participate in a harmless prank against the well-liked baker. Jeremy is caught by the seemingly vindictive Deputy McRaven but doesn't rat on Ginger, and a friendship blossoms. In a town quick to judge, Jeremy has finally found a real friend. But there is malevolence in the air. Jacob, the novel's narrator, senses it but doesn't know the source, although Deputy McRaven seems a likely candidate. By the time Jacob realizes his mistake, both Jeremy's and Ginger's lives are in peril. Never Better feels like the gingerbread house in the forest, and Tom McNeal lulls readers into a false sense of ease, despite Jacob's repeated warnings, before revealing danger inside. He uses fairy tale archetypes and patterns that add texture and depth to what could be a contemporary news story of a deranged criminal. The gruesomeness is largely psychological or implied, and is always counterbalanced by Jacob's presence, as his genuine concern for Jeremy and others is never in doubt in a novel in which many of the characters reveal unexpected depth. (Age 14 and older)

CCBC Choices 2014 © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2014. Used with permission.

From Publisher's Weekly

Starred review from July 8, 2013
The ghost of Jacob Grimm—one of the famous fairy-tale collecting brothers—communicates with a lonely boy who is a clairaudient (someone who hears spirits) in this rich and often bone-chilling story. Trapped in "the space between" Earth and the afterlife, Jacob constantly accompanies Jeremy, offering him comfort, affection, and cerebral commentary about Jeremy's life that only the boy can hear. Jacob believes that by protecting Jeremy he can finally move on after 200 years and reunite with his deceased brother. But when Jacob fails to see the source of the danger threatening Jeremy, he must harness all of his ethereal resources to save the boy he loves and ensure a chance at a happy ending. In addition to recounting pieces from the Grimms' stories, McNeal—in his first solo novel for teens—weaves in fantastical fairy-tale details into this inventive and deeply poignant narrative, creating a world that hovers between realism and enchantment. Jacob's tale is menacing, at times terrifying, and often strange—much like the stories collected by the Brothers Grimm. Ages 12 – up. Agent: George Nicholson, Sterling Lord Literistic.

From Horn Book

July 1, 2013
Jeremy Johnson Johnson can hear ghosts, and that's how Jacob Grimm, the story's narrator, becomes Jeremy's mentor and guardian. Sprightly, assured, and original, this story blends a small-town, middle-American, twentieth-century setting with the Grimm brothers' realms--to compelling and sometime chilling effect. The presence of a malevolent villain gives the story a shiver of horror as dark as any of the Grimm tales.

(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

From School Library Journal

Starred review from June 1, 2013

Gr 6 Up-McNeal spins a tale fluctuating from whimsy to macabre in such a beguiling voice that-like Hansel and Gretel-readers won't realize they're enmeshed in his dangerous seduction until it's too late. The book is narrated by the ghost of Jacob Grimm (yes, that one), unhappily caught in the Zwischenraum (a plane of existence between life and death). For now, he is the nearly constant companion of Jeremy Johnson Johnson, who can hear Grimm's voice when he presses a finger to his right temple. He's also heard the voices of his dying mother and grandfather. This ability has made him an object of derision for many in his little town, though-thrillingly-not to the electrifyingly vibrant Ginger Boultinghouse, who is more than happy to lure Jeremy into more trouble than he's ever encountered. Grimm tries to be the voice of reason-to keep Jeremy safe-but few things are as they initially seem in the town of Never Better and it's difficult to know the difference between hazard and opportunity. It's also hard to know the good folk from the bad and that's because so many of McNeal's characters are complex and have conflicted motivations. When is a bully not so bad? Where's the line between justifiable grief and parental neglect? Can an older man love a teenager in a way that's not creepy? How do stories nourish us? At what point do they stifle us? All these questions, and many more, are raised in this folklore-inflected, adventurous, romantic fantasy. 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.-Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Library, NY

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

From Booklist

Starred review from June 1, 2013
Grades 7-10 *Starred Review* So it begins: What follows is the strange and fateful tale of a boy, a girl, and a ghost. Ghostly Jacob Grimm, of the famous Brothers, narrates this tale of Jeremy and Ginger and their near-tragic encounter with town baker Sten Blix, whose long-held grudges figure in the disappearance of several village children. Unappreciated as a youngster, Blix has elevated revenge to a sweet art, and he holds Jeremy, Ginger, and an additional victim, Frank Bailey, in a hidden dungeon under the bakery, while Jacob desperately tries to tell parents and friends of the predicament. If he fails, the three may become grist in the baker's next batch of Prince Cakes. Reminiscent of Hansel and Gretel and rife with allusions to the Brothers Grimm tales, this is a masterful story of outcasts, the power of faith, and the triumph of good over evil. McNeal's deft touch extends to the characterizations, where the ritual speech of traditional tales (Listen, if you will) establishes Jacob's phantasmagoric presence amid the modernist American West. There are moments of horror (as there were in the Brothers Grimm original tales), but they are accomplished through the power of suggestion. Details aplenty about Jacob and his famous sibling make this a fiction connector to both fairy tales and Grimm biographies, too.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

From Kirkus

May 15, 2013
"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. Jeremy has the rare ability to sense the spectral presence of those caught in the Zwischenraum between mortal life and the hereafter. Jacob Grimm has been a constant presence since Jeremy was 6, a stand-in for Jeremy's absent mother and his absent-minded father. Jacob takes his role as mentor and protector seriously, although his attempts to help Jeremy are not always successful. Jeremy's social standing is a little dubious--what teenager stands a chance with pretty girls when he spouts curses in German? But Ginger Boultinghouse falls for Jeremy after eating the village baker's enchanted Prince Cakes. The two get up to some pranks that lead them to one adventure after another. Things aren't what they seem in the village of Never Better, where kids have gone missing and evil is afoot. The tone of Jacob's narration captures the flavor of the Grimms' tales while blending humorously with Jeremy's ordinary, befuddled, teenage life. The boy and his spectral companion are a charming pair of storytellers with great mutual affection. Readers who love spotting allusions will appreciate this intelligent book's robust vocabulary, its inclusion of French, German and Swedish words, and the real scholarship behind it. (Fantasy. 11-15)

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From AudioFile Magazine

From the first word, this rich recording envelops the listener. Both the production quality and the performance are superb. W. Morgan Sheppard's narration is a vehicle of otherworldly transport that truly takes the listener far far away. Sheppard's voice embodies the haunting aspects of this dark tale. Jacob Grimm, of the Brothers Grimm, is a ghost seeking redemption. Through guiding and protecting Jeremy, a boy whose odd talent is hearing the dead, he hopes to find his way beyond the in-between. First, he must prevent the dark whispered threat that shrouds Jeremy's life from coming to fruition. Sheppard's tone conveys Jacob's tenderness toward his charge--whether he's consoling, chiding, or urging Jeremy not to let the spirited Ginger lure him into certain trouble. A.M.P. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine