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. 

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Book Review | The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Title: The Host
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Release Date: May 6th 2008
Publisher: Little Brown and Company
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 619
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Summary

"Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, didn't expect to find its former tenant refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

As Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of Jared, a human who still lives in hiding, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she's never met. Reluctant allies, Wanderer and Melanie set off to search for the man they both love."

My Thoughts

I've tried to read this book before, the year it came out to be exact, but I just didn't enjoy it at all and stopped after around 50 pages. After a few years I'd heard that it got better once you go into in but I wasn't really interested in trying it again, and only due to how good the trailer for the film looks is why I decided to pick it up again.

I think my main problem with this book is similar to what happened with me when reading 'Warm Bodies', I saw the trailer and was expecting different things from the book that just didn't happen. I felt that the book shuffled along at a pretty slow pace and didn't really pick up until after 300+ pages, but after then I really did enjoy it. The trailer also seemed to show a much more action packed adventure, which isn't really similar to the book at all. Although it took me a while to get into and I wasn't that gripped initially when reading, every time I put the book down I would find myself later thinking about it and want to read it again.

I didn't find many of the characters in the book that memorable Jamie and Jeb where two that seemed to be pretty much the same personality but just and older and younger version. Melanie, the host body that Wanda takes over, is so irritating at first! She acts ridiculously immature for an apparent 21 year old, constantly winging because Wanda is starting to feel emotions towards Jared. The romance element between Melanie and Jared felt unbelievable in my opinion, it was insta-love at it's worst! I felt there was nothing that indicated WHY they loved each other and needed to be together, other than when they found each other they hadn't seen any other humans in a few years. On the other hand the romance that sparks between Ian and Wanda was really well done, you grew to love the characters together and really see how they connected together.

Overall I found the ending to be the best part about the whole book, it really pushed up my rating because I enjoyed it so much and couldn't help but read on. Although I kind of predicted what would happen it still didn't stop me loving it and feeling so much emotion towards the characters. I think that with the apparent sequels that are being written aren't entirely necessary as I felt that the book was left on a good ending, but I still would read them if and when they are published!

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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