Ripley's Believe It Or Not! Reality Shock! (ANNUAL)

By: Ripley's Believe It Or Not!
Publisher: Ripley Publishing
Publication Date: September 2014
ISBN: 978-1609911096 
Reviewed by: Ellen Feld
Review Date: August 14, 2014

I've reviewed each new annual addition of Ripley's Believe It Or Not! for the last several years and you might think that I get tired of seeing "yet another book of weird stuff." Not so! I LOVE these books and each time a new one arrives, I'm giddy with anticipation. I can't wait to see what the folks at Ripley's have come up with to entertain and amaze. Again this year, I'm happy to report that the book is a winner. Where do they find this stuff?!

This year's theme is 'Reality Shock' and as the press release says, the book is "...a mix of can't bear to look, but can't look away stories..." There are eleven chapters that include such topics as sports, animals, body, art, food, and beyond belief.

This is the type of book that is meant to be flipped from page to page, back and forth, to hop from story to story. A visual treat, the full-color photos are fantastic and abundant and will hold teens' interest for a long time. A Klingon wedding? It's here. How about a beard so long that it holds food - and that's not just crumbs but a whole meal? Um, bet that guy doesn't get kissed very often! A grandmother with 18 inch long nails talks about how her life has changed to deal with such long nails. I appreciated the two-page spread on Tippi Hedren and her exotic animal preserve although the eyeball shaving photo was definitely one that well, ewwww...

Among all the photos are a lot of additional quick facts, about anything and everything related to that chapter's topic. Another feature of this year's book are fan uploads, with fans of Ripley's sending all sorts of odd photos from a ridiculously long tongue to a folding ear.

Quill says: I'm not surprised that this series continues to claim 'best-seller' status year after year. Always interesting, always fresh, Ripley's has once again put together a fun, entertaining book for kids of all ages.