By Ransom Riggs

“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” (Goodreads).

I was looking forward to reading this one as soon as I saw the author name – I loved Rigg’s Peculiar Children series in all it’s uncanny weirdness. I was expecting the same vibe out of this one, and while there was some interesting world building, I wasn’t always sure exactly what was going on. This may be one I have to read the rest of the series to understand, but at least it was entertaining. To be honest, I’m a little behind on reviews – I read a ton over spring break and now I’m catching up on writing about them – but enjoy this one!

I could definitely tell that the focus of this book was on the strange world, the dive into LA history, and emphasizing Leopold’s average-ness rather than the plot. Half the time I was kind of losing track of what the character’s were trying to do next and where they were going. To be honest, what really kept me moving was just the hope that I would eventually figure out what Sunder was and its significance and what Leopold and his mom had to do with any of it. By the end of the book, those questions were not really answered. There were a few points with long action sequences and suspenseful moments, but I didn’t feel that there were very high of stakes. However, the pacing and major plot points were fine, and I appreciated the increasingly complex mysteries and questions that kept popping up.

I’ve always loved Rigg’s writing style: he conveys strangeness and confusion so well, while also expertly building even the most unimportant character’s arc. The Disappointments was no different. His imagery and descriptive language were on point and one of my favorite parts of the book.

Despite Leopold living up to the title and being a disappointment, I could still understand and root for his character. His grief for his mom and lostness was very visible and relatable. By the end of the book, however, he has gained no more special traits or accomplishments than when he started. It kind of confused me – but maybe that’s just one of the fun, unique things about this book. The character you think is going to be the “Chosen One” just isn’t, and you’re left trying to figure out why he’s important.

The rest of the side characters all had their own stories and personalities, and shaped Leopold in a lot of different ways. A couple of them just seemed there to drive the plot along every once in a while, but their individual arcs made up for it.

The story was entertaining, but it lost its appeal by the time I finished. I had been coasting through chapter after chapter, excited to find out who Leopold really was and what Sunder was supposed to be, but it ended pretty ambiguously. Rigg’s characteristic strangeness delivered and the characters were fun to get to know. Leopold was as average as it gets (which the book was adamant about) but it was definitely a unique premise.