Hug Chickenpenny: the Panegyric of an Anomalous Child by S. Craig Zahler
Well, this novel made me ugly cry. I'm not going to lie. Sob, actually. I was asked to review this novel, which was recently snagged by the Jim Henson Company to create what I imagine will be a visually incredible, moving film. It was not at all something I would have picked up and read otherwise, but oh, I am so glad I did; Hug Chickenpenny is a character I won't soon forget. First of all, "panegyric" means a public text in praise of someone. You could say an ode, a tribute, or a story. "Anomalous" is defined as something that is out of the ordinary, not normal; something unexpected. Hug Chickenpenny is one unusual little boy. His mother dies at birth--which happens in a strange, abandoned house late one night. Hug is sent to an orphanage, and is physically odd, and frightening to the other children. Two different eyes-one red, one brown, that do not blink together; slits for a nose, a flipper for one arm, and a badly bent...