Circumspect to a fault, ten-year-old ElizabethAnn never intends to leave the safety of No Oaks' suburban police state, but when her eccentric grandmother peels around the corner in a pimped-out hot rod and shouts that the men are coming to put her in "a home," ElizabethAnn, Grandma, and their shaggy sheepdog Jackson dive through a badger hole into the forested dystopia of Bumblegreen, seeking a real home.
In this "wildly imaginative, occasionally haunting fantasy anchored by strong, evolving female characters," (Kirkus Reviews) persnickety ElizabethAnn must solve the problem of Bumblegreen's deadly pandemic lest she and Grandma be considered the cause of it. Joining forces with a reluctant teenaged queen and an ancient, genderless sorcerer, ElizabethAnn and Grandma strive to prove themselves worthy of Bumblegreen. Meanwhile, Jackson falls in love but struggles with a rampant disease that turns contented animals into neurotic people, in a book New York Times best-selling author John Berendt called "freewheeling imagination."
This whimsical meditation on the concept of home introduces a new world of seduction and betrayal, illusion and intuition, black arts and purple-speckled fruits, and you, dear reader, must ask yourself: will magic avenge our heroine? Will technology save her? Or will ElizabethAnn and her motley gang of malcontents be too late to repair the beautiful, mysterious, and troubled land of Bumblegreen?
About the Author :
Ruby Peru has spent a decade as a ghostwriter of memoirs, fiction, and nonfiction. Bits of String Too Small to Save is the first book published in her own name. Philip Harris is a freelance Illustrator, chihuahua owner, and blues fan currently living and working in sunny Devon, UK. Philip's art career began when he inherited his grandfather's vast collection of dip pens. He still uses the same nibs today, as well as other mediums such as rotring pens and Photoshop.
Review :
Ruby Peru's freewheeling imagination enlivens her fantasy novel, Bits of String, tremendously. With a nod to Lewis Carroll, whose rabbit hole becomes her badger hole, Peru builds her narrative on an impressive array of colorful images, improbable characters, and a generous helping of charm.
--John Berendt, best selling author: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, The City of Falling Angels
In her amazing debut novel, Bits of String, writer Ruby Peru boggles and seduces with her marvelous imagery, humor, and storytelling until you find yourself in the middle of an irresistible world populated with exotic and oddly familiar creatures--before you know it you are entwined and delighted to be so. A "must read!" for YA and adult readers alike.
--Sarah Lovett, best-selling author: Dangerous Attachments; co-author Blowback, with Valerie Plame
