The Book Nook discussion
August 2016
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Hmmm....
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I actually read this book last summer, but I'll share my thoughts...I had high expectations for this book/series; it was recommended to me when I was younger and I rediscovered it through a book reviewer on youtube (it's his all-time favorite book). It didn't wow me perhaps as much as I hoped, but it was nevertheless entertaining and contained some beautiful/meaningful quotes that were the biggest takeaway for me.
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I had high expectations for this book/series; it was recommended to me when I was younger and I rediscovered it through a book r..."
Which was your favorite quote? And have you read the other books in the series?
Prince William Public Library System wrote: "Meredith wrote: "I actually read this book last summer, but I'll share my thoughts...I had high expectations for this book/series; it was recommended to me when I was younger and I rediscovered it..."
Probably “We cling to our fairy tales until the price for believing in them becomes too high.” And I have read Hollow City, around the same time, but not Library of Souls - I think I picked it up at one point but never got very far. It's a series I might revisit, but so many books, so little time. :)
I couldn't finish it. It is not my type of book. I didn't like the main character or his parents or his grandfather. I didn't even get to the part about the school. I will wait to read next month's book.
I read this book years ago and was very fortunate to meet Ransom Riggs (and his then fiancee Tahereh Mafi) at a library event where he signed my copy! Unfortunately it's been so long since I read it I don't remember loving or disliking it. I'm interested to see where Tim Burton is taking the book in the film. If it does horribly then maybe the best we can hope for is a TV series a.k.a. "The Magicians" by Lev Grossman on Scifi. I've been meaning to pick up the rest of the books in the series but have just never gotten around to it. I think my favorite part of the series was the photographs.
"About half way through I wondered if he picked the photos to match the story, or wrote the story to match the photos – either way, they are a haunting addition to the story that makes it all the more real. "
I wondered this myself.
"Things didn’t really start to happen until halfway through the book; towards the end it was a real page turner, but how many of us stick with a book that long to see if it’s any good?"
I give a book 60 pages, 30 if I'm being impatient to really hold my attention, but I feel like we could make this an entirely new thread. Thanks for adding me!
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The school doesn't show up until well into the book - took way too long. Next month's book was a much faster read!
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It's great to have you in the group! :)
I just finished Miss Peregrine yesterday, and I’m wondering if, for the first time EVER, Hollywood will make it the reverse.
Bear with me a minute.
The plot is a unique one; not a retelling of a common theme found in a lot of paranormal YA fiction, like vampires, angels vs. demons, or space (the last which seems to be the newest trend growing). Riggs’ story has a haunted carnival theme, 75% of which can be attributed to the eerie photos that he uses throughout the story. About half way through I wondered if he picked the photos to match the story, or wrote the story to match the photos – either way, they are a haunting addition to the story that makes it all the more real. The characters are a hoot; the dialogue is snappy, each character with its own quirks (both literally and figuratively). I had no clue where the story was going beyond 16 year old Jacob trying to find out about his grandfather’s past and, presumably, who killed him. Since usually I can guess what’s going to happen in most books, this was a pleasant surprise.
BUT.
The story. Takes. Forever!
I felt like the plot took forever and a day to develop. Granted, it’s the first in a series, and it’s not a particularly long story – but it sure felt like it! Things didn’t really start to happen until halfway through the book; towards the end it was a real page turner, but how many of us stick with a book that long to see if it’s any good? I think that it was partly out of curiosity of how the photos tied in with what was going on. I also felt as though the way that the story was told, through 1st person narrator Jacob’s eyes, was not believable. It is refreshing to see a YA novel with a male lead character, even more so when told through 1st person (and not switching back and forth between male and female narration like a lot of books do, although there’s nothing wrong with it). But Jacob seemed to be very distant from everything. He described going through trauma and pain, but we never really feel it. Basically, there was a lot of telling rather than actually doing; it was at the end where there was a lot of action that I got invested in the characters.
What about you? What did you think about the story? The characters? Did any one particular photograph give you the chills? And how do you think that the movie is going to compare?