It's not that ElizabethAnn doesn't want to live in the postmodern police state of No Oaks, where acrid refuse bins punctuate well-swept plasti-lawns and endless rows of ticky tacky. She simply doesn't realize her hot-rod driving grandma has groomed her to break the space-time continuum and dive headlong into a forested dystopia called Bumblegreen, which she must single-handedly save from a sweeping blight. That's all. In Bumblegreen, innocent ElizabethAnn will embark upon a search for one-hundred imprisoned, non-gendered sorcerers whose powers can rebuild this over-engineered, technology-driven queendom, all because she and Grandma are desperately in search of a home: a real home. You see, there are those who would put brilliant, eccentric Grandma in a home. That kind of "home."
Most importantly, dear reader, if the trauma of happy, dumb animals turning into confused, neurotic people doesn't irk you overmuch … and if you're interested in the fates of an assortment of characters who somehow always feel out of place … well then Bits of String Too Small to Save may be the coming-of-age/ adventure/ mystery/ bad-ass-grandma/ dystopian/ magical realist/ fantasy/ illustrated novel you've been waiting for. Yes. I really think that might be the case.
This novel, this creative explosion, this daring exploration of misfit-hood has been lauded by John Berendt (author of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil), caused Kirkus Reviews to proclaim Ruby Peru an "Indie Author to Watch," and was named "Distinguished Favorite" by the New York Big Book Award. Its audiobook was a finalist for the 2022 Deanna Tulley Multimedia prize. Thriller author Sarah Lovett has said, "Peru's narrative boggles and seduces." So, there's that.
