Sunderwolrd#1 The Extraordinary Disappointments of Leopold Berry

 By: Ransom Riggs

Location: FIC RIG

Genre: Fantasy 

The much-anticipated new fantasy series from Ransom Riggs, his first since introducing the #1 global phenomenon Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children series.

Seventeen-year-old Leopold Berry is seeing weird things around Los Angeles. A man who pops a tooth into a parking meter. A glowing trapdoor in a parking lot. A half-mechanical raccoon with its tail on fire that just won’t leave him alone. Every hallucinatory moment seems plucked from a cheesy 1990s fantasy TV show called Max's Adventures in Sunderworld—and that’s because they are.

Not a good sign.

In the blurry weeks after his mother’s death, a young Leopold discovered VHS tapes of its one and only season in a box headed for the trash—and soon became obsessed. Losing himself in Sunder was the best way to avoid two things: grieving his mother and being a chronic disappointment to his overbearing father. But when the strange visions return—at the worst possible time on the worst possible day—Leopold turns to his best friend Emmet for help. Together they discover that Sunder is much more than just an old TV show, and that Los Angeles is far stranger than they ever imagined. And soon, he’ll realize that not only is Sunderworld real, but it’s in grave danger.

Certain he’s finally been chosen for greatness, Leopold risks everything to claim his destiny, save the world of his childhood dreams, and prove once and for all that he’s not the disappointment his father believes him to be. But when everything goes terribly, horribly, excruciatingly wrong, Leopold’s disappointments prove to be more extraordinary than he ever could have imagined.

How do you battle darkness when no one believes in you—not even yourself?

Welcome to Sunderworld.

Review by Jo

Leopold is a silly, charming, relatable character you can’t help but cheer for. He’s so much like the protagonists you love in other books, but different in little ways that make him unique and unforgettable. The supporting cast is fantastic as well, even if they have very little page time. But where a lot of the magic lies is in, well, the magic– the world. Sunder Hill. The nostalgia a lot of us feel seeing the cover of this book? That same nostalgia practically oozes out of the pages. Ransom Riggs has created a vibrant world full of neon lights, deserts at sundown, diners with your favorite pie, and a city with little bits of magic squeezed into every crevice.

I highly recommend you read about Leopold’s journey as he navigates the extraordinary disappointments of his life because you’ll have a blast, I promise!