Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children

I'm linking this review to my Goodreads review. However, I'm also posting an exact copy below. It is my first step is phasing this blog into my Goodreads page.

http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/3159010-amanda

Oh, I teetered on the edge of whether to give this four or five stars forever - and ultimately ended up giving it five. Why? Because I LOVED it.

At the very beginning we meet Jacob, whose grandfather tells him outrageous stories about an orphanage he grew up in during WWII where there lived a girl who could float above ground, an invisible boy, and a girl who could make fire in her hands. Of course, I was pretty much hooked at "the girl who make fire in her hands."

Jacob grows up "realizing" that his grandpa was probably lying to him, and feeding him stories. So at the age of fifteen, he's working at a store his mother's family owns and his grandfather calls him, freaking out about finding the key to his gun safe. Jacob won't tell him where it is, because he thinks his grandfather's crazy. Unfortunately, when he goes to see his grandpa, he finds him in the trees behind his house, bleeding to death.

Now we see Jacob go through a time of thinking he's crazy, and a therapist who convinces him he really did see those things, but he was hallucinating. He comes to believe this too, until his birthday. His aunt gives him a book that's really from his grandfather, and that's when he finds the letter.

He knows that he has to go to a small island in Wales in order to solve this mystery. He convinces his therapist and his parents to let him go, so his father goes with him, eager to do some birding for his book there. While Jacob is exploring the island, he finds the orphanage, which is old, abandoned, and decriped - the way it ended up when the island was bombed. He finds a trunk full of old pictures (which, by the way, are a really fun part of the story), and sees several children, one of whom he chases through the bog and into a cairn.

This is where he finds out how much of the truth his grandfather was telling him. He has just stepped back in time - or into a time loop, which would be more accurate. There are peculiar children here, and they all live at an orphanage, and every day is September 3, 1940. They live in a time loop because of the wights and the monsters.

Should I tell you anymore? I'm hoping that I whet your whistle enough to drag you in. Fair warning; this book contains the normal foul language of many other YA books, and some violence and blood because of the monsters. Was it worth it? Oh yeah. I'm trying to think of another book to compare this too, but it's really hard to think of one. Sort of a Harry Potter meets X-Men meets historical fiction. Something like that. Riggs has an amazing talent for telling this story, and left nothing out that shouldn't have been and put nothing in that shouldn't have been.

Great read! My next question is, will there be a sequel?

Living In The Faerie Realm

Okay, admittedly I am a slacker because I have just been reading books and not reviewing them. And also this will be a short review, because I'm busy. Hello - it's almost December.

The Wings series by Aprilynne Pike is wonderful! I read all four books in a matter of days. It includes Wings, Spells, Illusions, and Destined, in that order. Our heroine Laurel comes to life as she discovers that she's not a normal human - in fact, she's not a human at all. She just looks like one. And she has a flower growing out of her back.

I love Pike's take on the idea that Faeries are evolved plants. Laurel finds out what she is, she becomes involved with David, a local prince charming that helps her figure out what's growing out of her back, and meet Tamani, another faerie who finds her in the forest and tells her what she is.

The first book revolves around land that Laurel's family owns and why they can't sell it. The land guards the gate to Avalon (the Faerie realm) and the trolls are trying to find the gate so they can attack the realm. This is just the beginning, because as each book unfolds you start to find out more and more about the gate and who really wants to get into that gate.

Why I Like This Book:
I'll admit it - I love faerie books! I love the whole idea of them, but I particularly liked this series because of how pure it is. Hardly any swearing, people doing things because they love each other and not for sex, and gut instinct that doesn't always turn out the way it's planned. This is life. The bittersweet ending left me ultimately happy - and I'm not talking about the first book, but the series in it's entirety. LOVE!

What I didn't like about this book:
Some parts are a little slow, but that's not really a problem. Also, when David first swears in the first book, I thought it was a weird place to put it. Sort of a wasted curse - might have worked better elsewhere. This is such a tiny complaint. I also noticed that Pike uses the phrase "rolled her/his eyes" a lot. I just noticed this because I'm also weird.

Aside from those little things, I definitely recommend this book. I gave the last book 5 stars on Goodreads, and that in itself is a rarity! Visit Aprilynne Pike here.

As always, Happy Reading!

Divergent

What I’m listening to right now: It’s Not Over, Daughtry

What mood I’m in today: Reading

Divergent is the first in a series by Veronica Roth. I’d heard about it being great, and thought I’d give it a go.

What the book is about: Beatrice lives in a Dystopian society divided into Factions; Amity, Erudite, Candor, Abnegation, and Dauntless. On her sixteenth birthday she is tested in a simulation in order to give her guidance about which faction to choose. If she doesn’t choose right, she could become factionless, the part of their community that labors.

Something goes wrong with the test, and the woman in charge of the simulation tells her that she’s Divergent, and that she can never tell anyone or her life will be in danger. The results are covered up, and though the test results report that she’d do well in Abnegation, it’s not what she chooses.

What I liked about this book: The conflict. Beatrice is constantly conflicted in her decisions. She admits that she’s a selfish person, that she would do almost anything to earn her place in her new faction. It’s a difficult ride; she loses and gains friends, is betrayed, and falls for one of her instructors. Though some reviews I’ve read say the love story is surprising, I thought it was predictable. That doesn’t mean I didn’t like it, of course.

Divergent has a great plot, and the end is a little sad and cliff-hanger, but that’s what makes it so good. Great series all have great cliff-hangers.

What I didn’t like about this book: It’s repetitive. I like Dystopian, but I’m also finding it a little old. It took me three weeks to finish it. In other words, it wasn’t a “couldn’t-put-it-down” situation.  

Overall I give it 3.5 out of 5, and I do recommend it. An interesting and entertaining read, for sure!

Endlessly

What I’m listening to right now: This Is Halloween, Nightmare Before Christmas

What mood I’m in today: Reading

 

 

Endlessly, by Kirsten White, is the last book in the Supernaturally trilogy. I think I mentioned when I reviewed Paranormalcy that I couldn’t wait to read this book. And I have to tell you, I was not disappointed!  

What the book is about: The last in the Supernaturally trilogy, Evie realizes something big is going down and it has to do with the Faerie Realm. Her old boss and mother-figure Raquel has mysteriously gone missing after making a strange one-note appearance where she didn’t act like herself at all. Boyfriend Lend is loyal, and Reth and Jack reappear, and with the help of vampire friend Arianna they help Evie figure out why all the paranormals are suddenly congregating around her.

The gist is that she has to open a gate again, even though she doesn’t know how. Nor does she want to. Not only that, but something weird is going on at IPCA (or is it ICPA?) and Raquel is unreachable, which makes her worry. The new person in charge wants Evie to make a gate to, but not the same kind that the paranormals would like…

What I liked about this book:  Fun and intense at the same time. One of my favorite parts is when the Dark Queen makes it so Lend falls asleep every time Evie is in the same room. Talk about overcoming the worst situations for the one you love.

I loved the ending. Vivian (Evie’s sort-of twin) does all the things she can’t do – they balance each other out. I won’t give away more here, but definitely some losses, and some gains, that were well written and satisfying.

What I didn’t like about this book: Evie is sometimes a bit of a blonde. But she’s also a teenager, so I think I have to cut her some slack.

Overall I give it 4 out of 5. I would recommend it and probably read it again, which means I’m willing to purchase it. If you like the Fey and other paranormal stories, you’re sure to love Endlessly!

Link to Paranormalcy website

Crossed

What I’m listening to right now: Wide Awake, Katy Perry

What mood I’m in today: Reading

 

 

Crossed, by Ally Condie, is the second in the Matched series. I have to start by saying that I loved Matched, a great dystopian-futuristic-rebellion sort of story that revolves around Cassia Reyes. While many were disappointed by the second book, I really liked it. I love poetry and a struggle for love. Cut Condie some slack, because though many of us require a pumped up action filled middle-of-the-trilogy, that second book is the absolute hardest to write. It’s completely true. Most authors will tell you the middle of the story is the hardest.

What the book is about: (Caution! Spoilers if you’ve not read the first book!) Cassia has chosen to go to a camp where other Aberrations work (see first book for explanation of Aberrations). She leaves her family behind, sneaks on board an air ship with a girl named Indie, and flies to the Outer Provinces to find Ky. I love Ky, and I will tell you I’m partial because I’m married to an artist with a sensitive, darker side. Ky is dark and mysterious and can write and paint (important note: nobody in the society can write).

Before she leaves camp though, Xander makes a surprise visit, something he can do because he’s her Match, and because of another giant secret he has kept from her (note: Xander is Cassia’s best friend). In fact, everybody seems to be in on this giant secret except Cassia.

Half of the book is from Ky’s point of view. You learn right away that Cassia is just steps behind him most of the time. The Outer Provinces are under attack, and the only reason the Society sticks people there is to have them killed. Ky escapes with a couple friends in tow, and Cassia follows as soon as she reaches the Provinces. They are both going to something called the Carving, a place reminiscent of the amazing red-rock canyons and features in Southern Utah and Arizona. The farmers live(d) here, which is who they are trying to find. They have information about the Rising, an order formed to eventually overthrow the Society. (Just FYI, I think the Society is very communistic)

What I liked about this book: The little things that both of them do to help them remember who has died, who has sacrificed everything for their cause. I also like that Ky doesn’t necessarily want to join the Rising, that he has apprehensions about it because deep down inside he knows that Cassia will not be with him once they find it.  Ky’s doubt in the Rising is natural, and mirrors my own. They don’t know anything about it, except that it is run by people who once lived in the Society. Not real encouraging.

I also really liked the new characters: Indie, Vick, and Eli. Indie, because she’s just who she’s meant to be, Vick because he just wants to go home to his girl, and Eli because he reminds me of my son.

What I didn’t like about this book: It was a little long and slow. But I think I was in the mood for it. More literary than action packed. I liked hearing Ky’s POV, but it jumped too much in spots.

Overall I give it 4 out of 5. I think this book will be an important link between the first and third book, and once Reached hits shelves I believe this book will become more popular. I recommend it!

Link to Ally’s site: http://www.allysoncondie.com/