Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children: Lizzie

Hi every one! Lizzie here, and today I'm here to give you my look at Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.

I've been meaning to read this book for a long time. Last summer when I visited Christine she recomended it to me (I think she was reading it at the time.) To be honest I was kind of creeped out by all of the pictures (and I already knew Christine was more hardcore than me thanks to her love of Criminal Minds), so I sort of nodded and smiled, and thought to myself I will not read books about demon children. About a year later once I was over my paranoia I picked it up at my local library and here we are!

Non spoiler review:
Jacob's grandpa has always been kind of crazy. He was a survivor of WWII, and Jacob's dad says that's why he tells so many stories about monsters. Jacob had long ago accepted that his grandpa's creepy black and white pictures and tales of peculiar children living on an island were myth, but when his grandfather dies after a brutal attack Jacob is left searching for answers he can only find over seas...

Full of creepy old photos intertwined with a relishing tale, this book will have you wondering what's really hiding in the shadows.

Rating: 10/10

SPOILER REVIEW. ABORT ABORT GO READ THE BOOK.

As always, let's begin with the story.

PLOT:

Okay there is very little that is unoriginal in Miss Peregrine's. Give me a sec while I try to compare it to another book...It has the feel of a Lemony Snicket book, and The Mysterious Benedict Society, and a Tim Burton movie smashed into one. Yeah. That's it. It kinda feels like what I've read of the Darkest Minds trilogy, but forgive me that is about fifty pages. (Tbr.) But other than the feel? Yeah I've got no books that I can compare the story to.

The entire story was also in the form of a mystery so I was like, oh my gosh where are the children? What is a Hollowghast??? How are they alive??? Aghhh.

The entire concept of people with magic abilities hiding away from public eye may not be the most original, throw in time loops, elderly children, demonic creatures dipped in the black ink of the devils imagination, peculiar not necessary helpful abilities, oh yeah this is completely different than the cliche you were thinking of. Plus, we the reader get a visual experience as we see the pictures that the author drew this story from!

I loved the world that the author created immensely, and I think my favorite part was the weird abilities and the hollowghasts. Like, ooh peculiar abilities what can they fly??? Well, Olive can levitate...no, these powers aren't what you would expect. A boy with bees living inside him, a girl that animates plants, a boy that sees the future, a girl that has a mouth on the back of her head, and a kid the freaking raises the dead??? whAt. There is definitely a reason these kids are peculiar, and I love it. (But personally, that reeanimation of living things kid scares the waffles out of me.)

Speaking of abilities, let's talk about Jacob's and how he is the only one of the group to see Hollowghast? Ha ha ha. Yeah, thanks. It's not enough you had to have create everyone's worst nightmare (the thing is like venom from Spiderman but beast), you also make it practically invisible so it can frickin disassemble its victims with its teeth. Ha ha ha ha *sweats*. I totally won't need mental help after this. Oh and you also had to make the wights pupiless? No, no I'll be fine!

Last awesome part- the loops. Dang Jacob made those sound like a twisted paradise like a frickin dream crab was eating his brain or something. (Watch Doctor Who, kids.) Anyway, I thought that although practical for the children, the loops added to the creepy factor. Like, immortality? Okay. But immortality by living the same day over and over for seventy years??? That's like doublely unnatural. I've never been comfortable with the idea of immortality. Frankly, it scares me more than death. I feel like I'd go crazy living in this body for all of eternity. So honestly, the loop sounded like a personal hell. Which was great for a book made to creep you out! I like creepy things! As long as it's not ghosts or zombies. Never ghosts and zombies. (Laugh all you want about the zombies but cannibalism is a legit thing to be freaked out about.)

The only problem I had with the plot was it was kind of obvious that Jacob's psychiatrist was a wight.
CHARACTERS:

Jacob: I like how the entire book has a sub plot of Jacob trying to discover the man that his grandfather was. It's sad, because you can tell that his parents aren't very good at showing that they love him, and we know that he only has one friend. Jacob's grandfather is the only person that we know of that really cared about him and showed it, and he is mysteriously murdered. Jacob thinks that he knows who the most important person in his life was, but he doesn't. Jacob thinks he understands his life, but he doesn't. The writer cleverly weaves a self discovery story into this peculiar book that all people can connect to.

I like how curious, blunt, and kind that Jacob is. The other cool thing about Jacob is that he is the perfect narrator for the story. He's just an average teenager that feels like he's getting nothing out of life. If you know Doctor Who Jacob is kind of like our Rose Tyler. Every other companion has a loud personality or a distinct one. They feel special. But Rose? Rose is you and me. She's ordinary, but turns out to be fantastic. Through her we feel that we can be fantastic. It's the same with Jacob. He is the perfect bridge between the reader and his world. Ordinary like us, and peculiar like it.
Emma: Aka the Queen. Emma is pretty cool. She's eighty some years old yet acts like a regular sixteen year old girl. She's hot headed, flirtatious, passionate, loyal, smart, quick thinking, and kind of awkward around boys. Like when she and Jacob get into a wrestling match on the beach (wasn't she taking his belt off and throwing sand at him? O-o okay that makes sense in context.). Girl. What are you doing??? I love her.

Speaking of Emma and her way of dealing with boys, the story about her and Abe was pretty sad. (No wonder she can't act normal around a boy she likes. She got her heart broken, and then the love of the her life died because they were attacked by things that have been hunting her kind.) It kind of made her "relationship" with Jacob weird though, (also the fact that she is old enough to be his grandma) but she and Jacob are so cute I ignore it.

But seriously, Jacob and Emma. You may have read my last review of Shatter Me if you did you probably know how I felt about the romance. Well, this is what I like. I understand that sometimes high schoolers manage to find the love of their life, but it is rare in real life. In YA it is quite common. And actually? I'm okay with that. As long as the author can prove to me in ways other than make out scenes and passionate confessions that the two characters love each other.

 Anyways, when I'm reading YA books and teenagers fall in love I kind of sit there like, I don't feel like I'm mature enough to feel this, and I get told I'm pretty mature for my age. The author really made Emma and Jacob's relationship realistic to me in their maturity levels. They aren't even focused on their crushes on each other, getting to know each other is more of what they do, even though they know their feelings are requited. There are various other reasons for this other than building a platonic relationship, but I liked that we are getting a build up for them. Also, that like before mentioned with the sand,  they are pretty awkward.

Remember, these are just my opinions. I had nothing against Juliette and Adam. I just prefer it when my romance has build up. Some people hate that. Feel free to discuss in the comments you opinion!

So yeah, well done Ransom Riggs.

Miss Peregrine: Adds to the Tim Burton orphanage feel. She's like Professor McGonagol! I also love that she can only turn into a bird, and not any animal. I really hope Riggs explores her past and what happened to her brothers. I mean if my brother was turned into a hollowghast I'd die of grief. Not only are they practically dead, but they're hunting and eating your people!

The children: so cute. I loved them all. Olive and Millard were my favorite!
OVERALL ENJOYMENT: Overall this book wwas a pleasure to read, and I loved every second.  I high recommend it.

Cheers! Remember to follow via tumblr, blogspot, or email!
-Lizzie
(Tomorrow: Young Avengers and the Death of Ultimate Spider-Man)

Shatter Me: Lizzie

Hello everyone! Christine and I are on a roll aren't we?

I promised I'd try to review every book that I read so... without further ado...Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi!

Non spoilery review: A girl named Juliette has been locked in a mental institution for about the past three years because of an incident. She's been neglected all her life because of her strange power- the ability to kill by touch. Having not touched someone in 3 years Juliette has long succumbed to the idea that she is a monster, loved by no one, and always will be. Everything changes when she gets a cell mate- a young man named Adam who seems oddly familiar...

I found Shatter Me a bit melodramatic at times and soap opera-ish, but overall it was a quick paced read that I enjoyed. The characters weren't my favorite, but what is keeping me going is the strange setting. I'll probably read the next book in the setting.

Rating: 7/10

Now, here's the part where if you haven't read the book, you run far, far away, and save this review for until you've read the book.

 SPOILERS

PLOT: 

Shatter Me definitely felt like the first in a series. A lot of the book was spent developing the premise, which wasn't necessarily bad, but not the most interesting. None the less, it was a quick read. A lot of the exposition is intermeshed with action so it's all good. 

The setting and world that Mafi has built really intrigued me. I loved that Juliette hints that the destruction of the world has been brought about by environmental wreckage- not a massive war or disease. On the contrary, human disregard for the environment brought about war and disease. Most of the time whenever something emotional or character wise was going on, all I cared about was knowing more about this society and how it came to be. The "government" was pretty dystopian cliché, but the circumstances that brought about this dictatorship? That I was dying to know.

In a sense, I feel that Mafi has sacrificed making her first book stand out, by withholding what ultimately makes it so special. The story in the beginning and middle of Shatter Me is a slightly different version of a story we all know, and about half way through the book I had decided I wouldn't finish the series. However, towards the end, the curve is thrown, revealing the real story that was hinted at all along. When I finished, I knew I'd be reading more.

There are too many questions that were left unanswered, and clearly Mafi knows how to hook a reader.

CHARARCTERS:

Juliette: What I really enjoyed about Juliette was that she was realistic. She's not a hero, she's not strong. She becomes hysterical, feels weak, and is very out of shape. I appreciate her not being a kick butt chick. She's also incredibly kind, which I also appreciate.

However, some of these aspects also made Juliette somewhat annoying at times. It's somewhat of a dilemma. Her reaction is totally rational, but yet sometimes I wanted to roll my eyes. Maybe that's because she reminds me of... me. We read stories about heroes so that we can feel inspired by their courage, but when we recognize fear in them, the fear we feel, we get angry. Angry because we are angry with ourselves for our weakness. However, Juliette is like us. I sense she'll only grow stronger in the next books, like real people.

What I mostly didn't like was how over the top soap opera Juliette felt at times- especially with my next character.

Adam: Like Juliette I has really mixed emotions with him. I like Adam- when he and Juliette aren't swooning over their love or something. He's strong, brave, kind, and he's got a really interesting back story.

But back to Adam and Juliette's relationship. It's so... dramatic! I like them when Adam is talking about how he liked Juliette because she was so kind to other kids at their school, but when they're making out and saying passionate 'I love you'? I can't. I hope that Mafi can make them a little more...realistic. They're so infatuated with each other. The problem with infatuation is that the center of a relationship is romance. I believe that in committed loving relationships the center is all aspects of a relationship- romantic, platonic, everything. Married couples are partners, lovers, best friends, confiders, they are each other's world. Right now, Juliette and Adam are simply lovers. They say 'I love you' without really knowing what it means. Their relationship hasn't matured past high school fling. (And I mean they are high-school age so...)

Oh and seriously... the amount of physicality in their relationship makes me extremely uncomfortable.

 I get it for Juliette I suppose, but Adam...? (You'll soon learn I really don't like sex in books. It is a private thing that should not be in books at all. Period.)

Warner: Oh gosh. This guy is freaky. I don't think I've ever been more freaked out by a villain. Why? Warner is a character that we encounter in everyday life. Ladies, you know him as the creepy boy stalker. Yes. Every girl's worst nightmare- a psycho boy having a crush on you and NOT LEAVING YOU ALONE!

 *shivers* Everything about him is disturbing. And why do I get a rapist vibe off of him? Oh yeah because he sexually assaulted Juliette. (Yes, kissing someone without consent is sexual assault.) Geeze! Stay away from her psycho!

I was talking with my brother and his friend and you know who Warner reminds me of?

This chick from Disney Channel's Jessie. (I have younger siblings. Don't you judge me.) Look her up. Her name is Creepy Connie for a reason.

And not only is Warner a stalker, but he has a seriously wacked up sense of morals. He doesn't hesitate to kill, puts his men in danger, and FREAKING NEARLY KILLS A TWO YEAR OLD. he he. Congrats Tehereh Mafi, you've scared the crap out of me.

OVERALL ENJOYMENT: 

Overall Shatter Me was a quick, interesting read. The villain was terrifying, and the world fascinated me. The romance could use a lot of developing before you could actually make me believe the two were in love, but I give Tehereh Mafi the benefit of the doubt, and see if she can step it up in the next few books. As her first book- really good m'am! Congrats!

OVERALL RATING: 7/10

What did you think of Shatter Me? Tell us in the comments! And don't forget to follow us via Tumblr, Blogger, or Email!

-Lizzie



Book Review~ Midnighters: The Secret Hour by Scott Westerfeld (or the really underrated novel that you need to read this summer!) Christine

Spoiler Free Summary:

Midnighters: The Secret Hour centers on five kids in small town Bixby, Oklahoma. Namely the new girl to town, Jessica Day, who can't help noticing the three outcasts of school Rex, Dess, and Melissa. Quiet, mysterious, and each donning thick glasses they stand out from the typical crowd of the rest of the high school. It doesn't help that Dess begins mentioning strange things about the history of Bixby and strange dreams that Jessica might start to have. True to her word, Jessica wakes ups at exactly midnight to everything frozen in place and shrouded in blue light. It just trips everything up-throw in Johnathan; the friendly guy at the high school who might be hiding a secret; and you've got the Midnighters; a group of kids born precisely within a second of midnight thus unlocking them a 25th hour of the day where everything (time lncluded) is frozen; giving them, and the dark creatures and Slithers that lurk in the shadows, free realm of the town and super powers. That is until the creatures decide that Jessica is more important then the others know and that she needs to be killed...whatever it takes.

I suck at summaries...sorry about that. I definitely was skeptical about this book when I first picked it up at the library. I have read Scott Westerfeld's Uglies Series and wasn't the biggest fan, and the fact that this book doesn't even have an official page on Goodreads made me super wary as to how good the book actually would be. I was VERY PLEASANTLY surprised! This novel was like if the Maximum Ride Series had a baby with the Percy Jackson series and then was raised by the Gravity Falls fandom; it was some intense, easy to follow, page turning sci-fi/fantasy! I'm actually really surprised this book doesn't have more raves, because honestly...I enjoyed it way more than I should have! So, without spoiling anything...and I mean anything, just go read this book please. Do it. This is a great lazy day summer reading book when you want some action, but not a throbbing brain. You can thank me later.

*SPOILER ALERT SPOLER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT*

This is now the moment where if you haven't read the book you should turn your eyes around...unless you happen to like getting spoiled and are more curious about my thoughts towards this book you've never read....go right ahead. If you are one of the rare people who has read this book than I applaud you, and welcome you to share in my reviewing of this book. Tell me what you thought in the comments below! Now onto my actual thoughts on the novel....
1) I LOVED the characters and the use of individuality and originality
It's so easy in sci-fi/fantasy to have those cliche characters that you can't help feeling like they were copy and pasted from some other work. Westerfeld, in my opinion, did a fantastic job giving us realistic 15 year old's and characters that...while we might not be able to relate to their quirky behaviors, don't leave us confused and distant from. Take Jessica for example: New kid, totally oblivious to how the blue time works and the whole concept of Midnighters, wanting to fit in, yada yada yada, as a teenager who has moved to a small town and experienced exactly what Jessica was going through I 100% agree with all her actions. Not once was I cringing at the probability of a reaction to a situation or scratching my head wondering why in the world she was acting the way she was. I believed every one of her intentions.
Dess, Rex, and Melissa even were totally amazing characters in terms of outcasts. I mean, even just Melissa constantly with headphones on and her baggy sweaters and Dess maybe too creepy with the stares towards new kids...we all know those kids from high school. We've all been in classes with those types of people; and I just give extra cookie points to Scott Westerfeld for really expanding on a cast of young adults who really could have been surface characters easily, but were carefully plotted out with care. :)
Last, but not least, Johnathan....oh Johnathan. I wanted to scoop this boy up the minute he first invited Jessica to his table at lunch; and then the whole window thing? Boy, oh boy...there is nothing I love more than unknown fictional hotties who I can just love without competition. Sure Johnathan was flawed; the whole criminal curfew record thing...who doesn't love a bad boy? I think the thing that made these characters so likable, was that even though they had flaws...their flaws were almost always an unavoidable issue due to the midnight hour. (Except Rex's problem with Johnathan and constant freaking our about the lore...seriously? That got kinda annoying...)

2) The Concepts of Their Powers and the Blue Time
Although at times, the orgins of these "special abilities" seemed a bit unclear to me, I didn't really care because they were FREAKING AWESOME! (In their own quirky little ways) I was just so facinated by these gifts and  the whole thing with the blurry glasses. I think Westerfeld had some great world building in this and really put a lot of time into this novel. Leave it to him to write a book where you have to  fight off evil shapeshifting panthers with math. That being said, there were a few times when my mind was running circles about the blue time and how all the creatures were there....I know they explained some stuff, but I feel like I'm not satisfied enough yet. Hopefully, in book two we can get more of an expansion on the world and laws of the blue time and the creatures that inhabit it! Ahhh, I just really enjoyed this book.

(Plus, it wasn't just me who got really freaked out with the whole slithers chase on night #2, and when that thing morphed into thousands of spiders? Egfsakdff, I had shivers down my spine!!)