Book Review | Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Title: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Author: Ransom Riggs
Release Date: June 7th 2011
Publisher: Quirk Books
Genre: Young Adult, Dark Fantasy, Fiction
Pages: 352
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Summary

"A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs.

It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive."

My Thoughts

This is a book that you can't really mention without first talking about the imagery used throughout. I loved how they were incorporated into the book and found that they gave a very eerie and believable feel to the story, especially since all of the photo used are real and weren't specifically shot for the book.

The plot was very detailed and did a good job of evolving the story at a decent pace, albeit the odd few parts were slow, with just the right amount of development. I found the book to be a lot darker than most YA and is something that I'm grateful for as it set a really good tone for the book and made you fear for the characters as they face the more 'creepy' and dangerous characters. I also really enjoyed the initial reluctance from Jacob at what he seeing and was being told, it was a refreshing change to some books in which the protagonist suddenly discovers that they aren't normal/supernatural and roll with it straight away 'no questions asked'.

My main issues with the book were that I found there to be quite a lot of characters to take in initially, which made me a little confused when it came to remembering their names and also the peculiar ability. Also was the romance/relationship between Emma and Jacob. (Next part is spoiler tagged as it gives away a little 'reveal'.)

I quite liked them together and really enjoyed how they connected, especially since it's really one of the only connections left he has with his grandfathers past. However when you remember that Emma is technically 80+ and was previously in a relationship with his grandfather it made me feel a little bit weird, like he was kissing his grandmother or something?!

Overall it was a really enjoyable read, a little slow in parts - mainly getting into the plot. It had a good development of character and story, with the fantastic additions of the photographs. I would defiantly recommend as its quite a unique book both plot and presentation wise, with the right amount of darkness that most YA lacks. 

Rating

Book Review | The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Title: The Maze Runner
Author: James Dashner
Release Date: October 6th 2009
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Genre: Dystopian, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Pages: 374
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Summary

"When the doors of the lift crank open, the only thing Thomas remembers is his first name. But he's not alone. He's surrounded by boys who welcome him to the Glade - a walled encampment at the centre of a bizarre and terrible stone maze. Like Thomas, the Gladers don't know why or how they came to be there - or what's happened to the world outside. All they know is that every morning when the walls slide back, they will risk everything - even the Grievers, half-machine, half-animal horror that patrols its corridors, to find out."

My Thoughts

This book absolutely blew me away! I literally could not put it down when reading, each chapter ending so that you could do nothing but continue on. I found it so refreshing to read a book after so long where I just couldn't predict what would happen next.

The plot was interesting and moved at excellent pace so there were never any times when I was loosing interest. I found the world building to be really well executed in this novel, each aspect of the glade and maze was constructed in such a way that it felt real, that this place could really exist. The main issue I tend to find with some dystopian novels is the lack of presence the world has, most tend to go with 'huge mushroom cloud explosion and now the world is in tatters' type explanation and then because of this don't necessarily give great descriptions of the surroundings, instead just assuming you think of ruined lands.

I really like the main character Thomas, especially the way that he interacted with the others in the novel. It was very realistic in the beginning with how much questions he was asking and his reactions to being ignored. Also with this aspect I liked that a lot of information was withheld from the reader. It made the story more intense as piece by piece the mystery of the maze unfolded keeping with great pace and suspense. The other characters in the book really all had great conversations, it was the right amount of sarcasm, wit and friendship that really tied them all together. You really experienced a great dynamic within the group and I think that was especially well done by not going overboard with the introduction of characters.

The only 'flaw' I could give this book, and I say that loosely, was the use of third person narrative. Personally I think that in certain cases, such as Harry Potter, it works well as the author can switch points of view to reveal more to the reader, but in the Maze Runner I just didn't think it was necessary. At first it bothered me slightly as I'm not so used to reading in that narrative but after a couple of chapters I forgot about it. (As I said VERY minor 'flaw')

Overall I thought this book was amazing and I would totally recommend it to most people who enjoy anything young adult dystopian, SciFi or Fantasy (or all of them!). I also think this would be a great book for males, especially as it has the uniqueness of having a pretty much all male set of characters. (I say this as I know many boys/men can be put off the YA genre as a lot of the books are geared towards females).

Rating

Book Review | Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Title: Beautiful Creatures
Author(s): Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Release Date: December 1st 2009
Publisher: Little, Brown, and Company
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 563
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Summary
"Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything."

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed this book! I loved how unique the romance felt, not just two character smushed together but an actual relationship that develops. Although its initially clear from both the blurb and the first few pages that the main theme of the book is all about romance it didn't feel that at all. The plot line was nicely woven in between so that you aren't overcome by typical couple "mushy-ness". It wasn't all about how much the main character Ethan was madly in love, it didn't seem like the be all and end all of the book. That's not saying the characters didn't love each other  it was more to do with Lena's 'claiming' (whether she turns dark or light on her 16th birthday).I loved the fact that the paranormal element of the book is about 'casters' (basically witches), other than Harry Potter I haven't had much experience with plots based around magic so this was a pretty much new territory for me and I feel it worked so well! 

I really loved the characters in this book, every single one. They all were developed just the right amount, no one was just mentioned once then left out, even characters that were only mentioned and never seen had their own part. I really liked having a male narrator for a change in a seemingly female driven genre of YA, I also loved the fact that he wasn't made as an 'outcast' character that is found with most characters, I liked the fact that he was initially popular at school, it just made Ethan more real. I also really loved Lena, however I found some of her 'poetry' a little bit cringey. One of the main things that irritates the hell out of me in books is when authors make female characters into this annoying stereotypical 'tomboy' that hates anything girly (example: Katsa from Graceling). Major kudos to Kami and Margaret for not doing this in the slightest! What they have done with the character of Lena has made her really relatable in my eyes. Even though she will wear combat boots with dresses she also wants to do the normal 'high school' stuff like going to dances, which in a lot of YA the 'tomboy' female would be horrified at the idea of this. Not to mention Twilight, but yeah like Bella from Twilight. Other supporting characters such as Ethan's best friend Link and Lena's cousin Ridley fit SO well into the story it was amazing! It's so easy for secondary characters to be forgotten but these two were so well woven into the plot, it was really refreshing to read.

The main negative for me with this book is the pacing, it's far to jumpy with the faster parts more limited than the slower ones. I think this is also due to the size it's over 500 pages long (the longest out of the series I believe) and in my opinion it doesn't need to be, there were definitely portions that could have been removed or shortened that, although enjoyable to read, detracted from the story and slowed it down. The main one being the massive focus of the dreams that Lena and Ethan keep sharing. It's mentioned far to often and past the first couple of times it isn't really that necessary as you understand the purpose of them, yet it's repeatedly being shoved in your face. 

It's 4/5 due to some times I felt myself being a little bored as they plot wasn't moving on as well as I'd liked, but overall it was a really great read and makes you want to continue on with the series.

Rating

Book Review | Looking for Alaska by John Green

Title: Looking for Alaska
Author: John Green
Release Date: March 3rd 2005
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Pages: 221
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Summary
"Before. Miles "Pudge" Halter's whole existence has been one big nonevent, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave the "Great Perhaps" (François Rabelais, poet) even more. Then he heads off to the sometimes crazy, possibly unstable, and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed-up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young, who is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart.
After. Nothing is ever the same."

My Thoughts

I read this March last year and it was my first experience reading John Green and I'm so glad this is the first one I chose to read! This book is now one of my favourite stand alone books of all time it’s just that good. Firstly John Green's writing style is just incredible, and it’s one of the first times I've enjoyed reading from a male narrator's perspective as I normally sway towards female characters.

Miles, a.k.a. ‘Pudge’, is a highly relatable character I think for both males and females; this is due to his initial 'new comer' status at the start of the novel. The other two ‘main’ characters in the story are the namesake Alaska and also Chip who is nicknamed ‘The Colonel’. Alaska is probably my favourite character of the novel, I love how carefree she is initially but as her character is developed her vulnerability really comes through. Her relationship with Pudge is for once I find in a contemporary book extremely realistic, it’s not just ‘insta-love’ but an actual development of feelings and the struggles of getting together.  The Colonel is a character that I didn’t think I would like at first as he seemed quite obnoxious and was a little bit mean but I really started to warm to him likewise as he seemed to start to warm to Pudge. The other characters in the book weren’t all as prominent as the main three but fit well into the flow of the book and also provided a lot of the comic relief.

As the titles of each chapter are named as a decreasing number of days ‘before’ and then near the end of the book, increasing number of days ‘after’, it’s quite clear initially that it is a countdown to an event, and by reading of the synopsis its quite a life changing moment. I really liked this aspect as I thought it was a unique twist on chapter titles, and also when reading it gives you an anxious feeling the lower the chapter numbers become as you know the big event is coming.

The plot was well paced and you continually wanted to read on, I think this is due to the skipping of time periods that highlighted the important parts of the characters life rather than a ‘day-to-day’ style.

I won’t delve much into the ‘after’ portion of the novel as I don’t want to include spoilers but the ending was probably my favourite part of the book. The last lines had my eyes watering with that kind of happy-sadness, as if I was myself going through the emotions of Pudge. 

Rating

This book will make you laugh, cry and inspire you. It is nothing if not memorable, a book you cannot forget