
Sunderworld, Vol. I: the Extraordinary Disappointments of Leopold Berry
Penguin Young Readers Group · Print & ebook · July 29, 2025
A Fantasy pick for readers exploring Sunderworld, Vol.
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- Who it’s for
- A story of grief, friendship, and the risky business of deciding you can be a hero.
- Genres
- Contemporary YA Fantasy, YA Adventure, YA Science Fiction
- Published
- Penguin Young Readers Group, July 29, 2025
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Start with this bookAbout this book
The instant New York Times bestseller from visionary storyteller Ransom Riggs! Weaving the familiar with the peculiar, this stunning tale of loss, triumph, friendship and magic, will remind readers everywhere that true heroes are made, not born—and when you’re never the chosen one, sometimes you have to choose yourself. 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.
Continue reading
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.
Peculiar Escapes
A story of grief, friendship, and the risky business of deciding you can be a hero.
Come here for
- A grieving teen, strange visions, and a beloved ’90s fantasy show made real
- Los Angeles oddities with a peculiar, lightly nostalgic fantasy edge
Expect
- An immersive YA adventure where childhood escape collides with real danger
- A wry take on destiny, disappointment, and choosing yourself
Where it sits
| Contemporary YA Fantasy | 59% |
|---|---|
| YA Science Fiction | 27% |
| YA Adventure | 19% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Contemporary YA Fantasy
- Wizards & Witches for Teens
- Finding Your Footing
- Authors
- Ransom Riggs, Kirby Heyborne, Listening Library
- Publisher
- Penguin Young Readers Group
- Published
- July 29, 2025
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Reading lane
- Contemporary YA Fantasy