Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

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Title: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Author: Ransom Riggs

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Length: 352 pages

Published: 2011

Publisher: Quirk

Brief Synopsis: (Taken from Goodreads) A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. And 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 who once lived here - one of whom was his own grandfather - were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a desolate island for good reason.

And somehow - impossible though it seems - they may still be alive.

My Review:

I give this book a 5 out of 5. 

Fantasy has always been my favorite genre. I enjoy all books and genres, but fantasy is the one genre I will always come back to. So I was really excited to grab this one off of the shelf at the library (who uses libraries these days? that's right, this girl) and start reading. I was hooked within a few paragraphs. 

Jacob's grandfather has always told him stories about the years he lived in an orphanage in Wales. He was a refugee when he arrived there and he left in order to fight in World War II. As a child he believed his grandfather's fantastical tales, but as he grew older he stopped believing. After his grandfather passes away, and Jacob witnesses a creature no one else can see, Jacob is forced to see a psychiatrist about his anxieties and horrific nightmares. Eventually he ends up heading to Wales to find the orphanage his grandfather grew up in. With his psychiatrist's approval and his father, he heads off to the mysterious Welsh island. 

The adventure is only beginning when Jacob and his father arrive on the island. 

I really enjoyed every aspect of this book. The old photographs that the author inserts throughout the story really help you visualize the characters and their abilities as well as enhance the reading experience. I'm really excited to read the sequel when that is finally published (seems to be slated for publication in 2014) and I hope that the author is able to insert more photographs to enhance things. Definitely recommend this book for any fantasy lover. 

You can purchase Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children through Amazon in either hard copy or Kindle format. 

Have you read Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children? If so, leave a comment and let me know your thoughts! 

Please note: I was not compensated in any way for this review. It is strictly my opinion.

Glazed City Eyes by Preston M. Smith & Jacob McKinley

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Title: Glazed City Eyes

Author: Preston M. Smith & Jacob McKinley

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Length: 207 pages

Published: 2013

Publisher: Preston M. Smith & Jacob McKinley

Brief Synopsis: (Taken from Goodreads) Jackson McCormack is entering his thirties and his life is not what he hoped it would be. Despite his newly acquired girlfriend Terra, his fledgling writing career and his life are in a state of constant flux. He works a dead-end job and self-medicates profusely, while utilizing every spare moment to devote to his passion for writing. Enter Julius, an elderly, sage-like, street-wandering black man. These two men strike up a unique relationship, as Jackson quickly discovers that Julius also has a penchant for words. While Jackson’s relationship with Terra and career hang by a thin thread, Julius leads him on a series of adventures that will prove to save Jackson’s life. A novel as gritty and vibrant as the city of Los Angeles; it is a story of self-destructiveness, and longing for inner peace. Take the journey alongside Jackson on his quest toward redemption.

My Review:

I give this book a 5 out of 5. 

Mr. Smith contacted me and asked me if I would review his book. I was very excited to say "Yes!". I wasn't sure what to expect and spent a good portion of the book trying to puzzle out whether I really loved it or if I was rather "meh" about it.

I have to say that I ended up LOVING it. Jackson is a writer who is spending his days taking cocaine, drinking, and in a state of self-deprecation. He begins dating Terra, who is displeased with his drug use and negativity. Then one day he meets Julius, a mysterious man with whom he shares a deep connection. 

Interspersed throughout the novel are Jackson's poems, each one highlighting the events of the previous chapters and showing the reader the state of his soul at that point in time. The reader is taken through Jackson's daily adventures. 

The way the authors delve into Jackson's life and bring him to see the positive side of life was genius. Through Julius, Jackson is able to overcome his negativity and take control of his life. And in the end, Jackson learns things about Julius that tie everything together. I definitely recommend this book. 

You can purchase Glazed City Eyes through Amazon in Kindle format. 

Have you read Glazed City Eyes? If so, leave a comment and let me know your thoughts! 

Please note: I was not compensated in any way for this review. It is strictly my opinion.

Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut

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Title: Galapagos

Author: Kurt Vonnegut

Genre: Science Fiction

Length: 324 pages

Published: 1999 (version I read, originally 1985)

Publisher: Dial Press Trade Paperback

Brief Synopsis: (Taken from Goodreads) Galápagos takes the reader back one million years, to A.D. 1986. A simple vacation cruise suddenly becomes an evolutionary journey. Thanks to an apocalypse, a small group of survivors stranded on the Galápagos Islands are about to become the progenitors of a brave, new, and totally different human race. In this inimitable novel, America’s master satirist looks at our world and shows us all that is sadly, madly awry–and all that is worth saving.

My Review:

I give this book a 4 out of 5. 

I've only read two Vonnegut books (this and Slaughterhouse-Five), and I still can't decide if I absolutely love him or just kind of like him. I definitely understand his humor and enjoy it. 

The narrator is probably my favorite character. Mostly because he's a ghost. He's omniscient. He's also the son of Kilgore Trout, the science fiction writer talked about in Slaughterhouse-Five. In fact, I have it on good authority that Kilgore Trout is mentioned in some way or appears in most of Vonnegut's books. I enjoy this literary device: having a character that shows up in most of your books. Trout is to Kurt Vonnegut what Flagg is to Stephen King.

Definitely a must read if you enjoy humor, science fiction, or have read anything by Vonnegut!

You can purchase Galapagos through Amazon in either hard copy or Kindle format. 

Have you read Galapagos? If so, leave a comment and let me know your thoughts! 

Please note: I was not compensated in any way for this review. It is strictly my opinion.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

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Title: The Graveyard Book

Author: Neil Gaiman

Genre: Fantasy

Length: 312 pages

Published: 2008

Publisher: Harper Collins

Brief Synopsis: (Taken from Goodreads) After the grisly murder of his entire family, a toddler wanders into a graveyard where the ghosts and other supernatural residents agree to raise him as one of their own.

Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn't live in a sprawling graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor of the dead. There are dangers and adventures in the graveyard for a boy. But if Bod leaves the graveyard, then he will come under attack from the man Jack—who has already killed Bod's family . . .

Beloved master storyteller Neil Gaiman returns with a luminous new novel for the audience that embraced his New York Times bestselling modern classic Coraline. Magical, terrifying, and filled with breathtaking adventures, The Graveyard Book is sure to enthrall readers of all ages.

My Review:

I give this book a 5 out of 5. 

With every Gaiman book I pick up and read, my love for him grows. His characters and worlds are unique and fascinating. And he finds a way to wrap up every bit of the plot in a more than satisfactory manner. 

While Bod was, of course, my favorite character as he was the protagonist, the ghosts in the graveyard were also high on that list. Each ghost was from a different time period, had different ways of speaking, etc. Probably my favorite ghost was the witch Liza.

Silas was an enigma. You get small glimpses of who and what he is throughout the story, but Gaiman never lets you know the entirety, leaving him just as mysterious as in the beginning. 

Most of the story is filled with various adventures of Bod's as he grows up in the graveyard, and it's not until closer to the end when the danger of the Jacks truly becomes present in Bod's world. With the help of his ghost friends and the young lady, Scarlett, he finds himself having to try to save himself (and Scarlett) from certain death. Will he be successful? 

You can purchase The Graveyard Book through Amazon in either hard copy or Kindle format. 

Have you read The Graveyard Book? If so, leave a comment and let me know your thoughts! 

Please note: I was not compensated in any way for this review. It is strictly my opinion.

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

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Title: Neverwhere

Author: Neil Gaiman

Genre: Fantasy

Length: 336 pages

Published: 1997

Publisher: Avon Books

Brief Synopsis: (Taken from Goodreads) Richard Mayhew is a young man with a good heart and an ordinary life, which is changed forever when he stops to help a girl he finds bleeding on a London sidewalk. His small act of kindness propels him into a world he never dreamed existed. There are people who fall through the cracks, and Richard has become one of them. And he must learn to survive in this city of shadows and darkness, monsters and saints, murderers and angels, if he is ever to return to the London that he knew.

My Review:

I give this book a 5 out of 5. 

Richard is the unlikely hero who is able to see Door and ends up saving her life, in spite of his controlling fiance. After protecting her from some terrifying men who seem to want to kill her, Door leaves with an odd man named the Marquis de Carabas. Richard stays in for the remainder of the weekend and then everything changes. Suddenly it's as though he doesn't exist.

This sets him off on a whirlwind of adventure as he tries to track down Door and the Marquis de Carabas to find out how to fix it. He tags along on their adventure in spite of the Marquis' hesitations and they set off with a mysterious bodyguard named Hunter to find out who is trying to kill Door and who killed her family. 

This really is a great novel. Richard learns who he is, as well as about London Below (where the people who fall through the cracks end up) while having a terrifying adventure. I recommend it for every fantasy lover.

You can purchase Neverwhere through Amazon in either hard copy or Kindle format. 

Have you read Neverwhere? If so, leave a comment and let me know your thoughts! 

Please note: I was not compensated in any way for this review. It is strictly my opinion.

Candy House by Kate Jonez

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Title: Candy House

Author: Kate Jonez

Genre: Horror, Dark Fantasy

Length: 335 pages

Published: 2013

Publisher: Evil Jester Press

Brief Synopsis: (Taken from Goodreads) A brilliant young scientist moves back home with his parents because his explosive temper has ruined his career. His neighbors, a family of witches, imps and demons, are charged with keeping science under control. They must, by using their debauched and twisted magic, stop Roland before he fulfills his destiny and makes a deadly discovery that will change the nature of humanity forever.

My Review:

I give this book a 4 out of 5. 

I received a free e-book copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. 

When I first started reading this, I wasn't 100% sure I was going to like it. It was confusing and seemed almost disjointed. I persevered, because A) I can't leave a book unfinished and B) I was truly interested in the story from the beginning despite my initial confusion. This is dark fantasy, bordering on horror, and definitely not for children or the faint of heart. 

Roland hits rock bottom and returns to live with his parents. He has this new scientific theory that he has published. He is denied the grant that he needs to do the research on his theory. Not much is mentioned of exactly what the theory is until probably about 75% into the book. As I stated before the book seemed disjointed, as you bounce from scene to scene, character to character, and only get small hints on exactly what is going on. Flashbacks are inserted in seemingly random places, but they help develop the intricate story of witches, imps, and demons whose duty it is to destroy scientists before they make their big discoveries. They use devious tricks, charms, and debauchery to halt these scientists in their tracks. 

Hesperia is the woman next door who is imprisoned in her home until she completes her punishment: to destroy three scientists. Roland is the third. Yet, Hesperia has her reasons for trying to save Roland. 

Julia is a troubled young woman who Roland's mother brings home as she is Julia's godmother. At the time, Julia seems like a random person just sort of thrown into the story. As time goes on, you begin to see how important she truly is.

None of the characters are 'good'. Roland's parents both seem quite a bit off-kilter and Roland, himself, has a dark side that comes out from time to time. 

The ending was perfect for a dark fantasy novel. I won't say too much more because I don't want to ruin it for anyone. I really did enjoy the story. The disjointedness that I sensed early on began to make sense. It was truly the perfect way to show Roland's descent into madness.

You can purchase Candy House through Amazon in either hard copy or Kindle format. 

Have you read Candy House? If so, leave a comment and let me know your thoughts! 

Please note: I was not compensated in any way for this review. It is strictly my opinion.

Monthly Update - August 2013

WHEW! July just flew by. And I reviewed THIRTEEN books. Wow. Granted, a lot of those were Young Adult books which tend to be much quicker reads, but still. Thirteen books is a lot. I'm pretty proud of myself. 

On to the lists: 

Currently, I'm reading the following: 

• Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy - I actually made progress in this one this month!! I now have 13% completed! I'm hoping to squeeze some more time in this one soon!
• Candy House by Kate Jonez - The author contacted me via Goodreads and offered me an e-copy of her book to review.
• Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho by Stephen Rebello - I'm not very far into this. I've made it past the introduction but plan on tackling it again soon, after Candy House for sure.
• Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Coming Up Next:

• Glazed City Eyes by Preston M. Smith & Jacob McKinley (This is coming up as soon as Candy House is done, as the author contacted me to ask me to read and review it!)
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
• Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
• Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut
• The Secret Holocaust Diaries by Nonna Bannister
• The Boleyn King by Laura Andersen
• The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell
• Cartwheel: A Novel by Jennifer Dubois
• Seriously...I'm Kidding by Ellen Degeneres
• There and Back Again: An Actor's Tale by Sean Astin
• J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography by Humphrey Carpenter
• Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs  
• Dead Sea by Brian Keene 

If there's ever anything in particular you'd like me to read and review, either leave me a comment here or send me an email at theprintedwordbookreviews@gmail.com.