Review of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

The protagonist Jacob has a crazy grandfather who treasures a box of old photographs. These creepy photos of a floating girl, of a boy covered in bees, of a suit with nobody holding it up. Jacob's grandfather says that the people photographed were his friends when he lived in an orphanage during WW2. His stories are dismissed as which make's Jacob's family suspicious that the grandfather is infidel, a lunatic and a traumatized soldier. Jacob is present when his grandfather is killed by a monster. The question then remains whether the grandfather was crazy at all.

A wonderfully creepy collage from the book.

The protagonist was quite bland. He is diagnosed with a mental illness soon after his grandfather's death. Quite understandably, Jacob is a wimp at the beginning. All of his opinions have come from other people as he is terrified in believing his own opinions. Very quickly, he finds his own feet and jumps to the other extreme, believing everything he thinks is genius when he discovers Miss Peregrine's Home. To be honest I couldn't take Jacob seriously at times but I see the potential for a fantastic character arc in the following books. Additionally, I found that this book didn't provide many answers at all. It could be that the author has no idea or (what I'm hoping) that we are building up to something big. I'm optimistic that the unique premise of the series will lead in a new direction previously unknown to YA fiction.

A highlight of the book (which is why I  highly recommend a physical copy) was the inclusion of the grandfather's pictures. Readers are given a taste of the photos' creepiness from the book's cover art. Ransom Riggs is a visual writer; he has written for the screen before and his director's vision translates well in this book. If the text doesn't unsettle you the pictures certainly will.

Overall I give this book a 3.5. It had a unique premise and was fun to read. Although I wasn't really impressed by the protagonist's development, Jacob offers opportunity for exciting character development. I will probably continue this series in future but it isn't my top priority.

Let me know if you've read this series and what you thought. Ciao!

Harry Potter and the Killer Essay

Everyone, it's happening. My Harry Potter assignment is under way. Basically, I have to write an academic essay analyse the effectiveness of an influential author's work I can explore how the work fit into their career or how well the passage fit the genre or how well it argued a point or... almost anything really. The freedom is terrifying. I need restrictions. J.K Rowling's work spans a range of genres, a huge time span and if we are looking at Harry Potter, an entire 7 part series. HOW ON EARTH WILL I PICK A SINGLE CHAPTER?

I have narrowed my choices to these 3 scenes/chapters. Beside each I have written what part of the work I would focus on or how I would approach the topic. I'm really hoping you can help me pick something out. 

So many to choose from...

1. Diagon Alley in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone- this is when Harry first goes into Gringott's, gets his want, meets Malfoy and buys school supplies. This chapter has fantastic description and exposition. It opens up a whole new world that had simply not existed before. Rowling's phenomenal creativity shines through and blows readers away.

2. Mirror of Erised in Harry Potter and the Philospher's Stone- the actual scene I would focus on is at the end of the chapter. It is quite a didactic/argumentative scene once you think about it. Dumbledore tells Harry that, "The  happiest man on earth would be able to use the Mirror of Erised like a normal mirror, that is, he would look into it and see himself exactly as he is." (p.156) Much of Rowling'series focuses on the internal battle between good and evil. The structure of the scene and Harry's deeper understanding of this concept later in the novel and series effectively highlights Rowling's message.

3. 19 Years Later in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows- you know the one. Rowling confessed in 2007 that she already knew how the story of Harry, his friends and his enemies would end. Having watched a few of her interviews regarding the completion of Harry Potter's final chapters, I think it would be fascinating to explore the quite obvious relief of Harry and Rowling in the final line, when they put down their wand and pen.

As I said, I am still open to suggestions and would love your opinion on which essay I should write. Ciao! (Btw, I have been reading a lot lately. Another book review is coming up.)

Raining outside and on my face

It's raining guys. And I wouldn't be sad about this if I didn't have to go outside today. Anywho. Today I'm doing a fun little post as a response to this booktag I found on Youtube. It's by one of my favourite booktubers, Christine Riccio. If you want to feel feelings then watch the video at the bottom. Going in reverse order, my top cry worthy books (which you may not have read before)

Looking for Alaska by John Green
I can't tell you much without spoiling but this is by John Green so you should read it. A guy leaves his home town in search of grander maybes and in the process, opens himself to love and loss. I know I'm an idiot for not seeing it coming. The beautiful, Gatsby-like reflections the characters have *after* were just a bit much for me. There was sniffling.

If I Stay by Gale Forman
For those unfamiliar with the story, If I Stay revolves around a girl who finds herself in a coma. She has been in a carcrash. Her parents and brother have died. Her boyfriend, friend and grandparents are left. She has the choice to wake up. The whole premise of the book was heartbreaking and as she weighs up how heartbreaking a life without her family would be, she also considers whether taking another person from her friends would break them. Misty eyes and croaky voice.

13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher
A girl commits suicide and leaves a set of tapes recording her 13 reasons for killing herself. She sends these tapes to the people involved in these reasons, for them, and only them, to know. This book was so sad because you could see all the different possibilities, so many futures, and you know how it ends. Well, not always... it's a pretty awesome and inspiring ending. Tummy twisting in horror knowing that suicide is not fiction. Very watery.

The Book Thief by Macus Zusak
Liesel is a regular book nerd growing up in Nazi Germany. The story is told by a grim reaper character who sees the best and worst of humanity. Although I was outright sobbing by the end, there was a poignant beauty in the prose that has lingered ever since. This is a truly heartbreaking and inspirational story. Click
here to see my movie review.

Perks of Being a Wallflower by Peter Chbosky
Charlie is the most innocent, sweet and sympathetic character I think I have ever read. This book is told in letter form throughout Charlie's high school journey as he tries to make friends, falls in love, grows into himself and then remembers an awful part of his past. One of the best book to movie adaptations I have ever seen as well. There was shaking and sobbing well after I finished.

On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
As you can see from my extensive list, I am a sucker for a tragedy. This book's ending was perfection. Everything was full circle. Everything was tied together. I felt so complete that all I and the characters could do was cry a small river. This is one of my favourite books which many people haven't heard about.

All the book titles are linked to Goodreads if you want to check them out. Let me know if you have read any of them or which books have triggered a good sob. Ciao! 

Review of These Broken Stars

Hello again, back for another book review.

These Broken Stars promised me a wild space adventure with high stakes and, generally, the types of things you would expect from a YA dystopian (corrupt government, advanced technology, etc). I was disappointed. Unlike many of my favourite dystopians such as Hunger Games and Legend, this book lacked the excitement I was looking for. The whole plot can basically be summarised by one word: Titanic.

I will not insult your intelligence by retelling the Titanic/book's storyline. The main deviation is that the crash happens early and then turns into a little adventure on an unknown planet until help arrives. I try to read books generously and I will admit that it was an alright way to spend an evening, but it did not challenge my worldview or surprise me in any amazing way. It was a romance with a bit of sci-fi thrown in. The characters Lilac and Tarver were futuristic versions of Rose and Jack. If you prefer romance to dominate a storyline then this may be the perfect book for you, I just expected different.

Best parts: the title is perfect. The cover is pretty. One book down for my Goodreads challenge. In conclusion, I gave this a 3 star rating on Goodreads. So what book are you reading this Easter? Leave it in the comments. Ciao!

How to spot the interesting.

Hey there,

So I've been looking at some of my blog statistics (now that I actually have some haha) and my most popular post is called Writing letters. If you haven't checked it out yet click here. I won't go into the reasons why I wrote it but I do want to talk about why it might have been popular. Guesses anyone? (I am now looking intently at the computer screen expecting your voice to somehow come out)

The best conclusion I could come up with is that this post was a little personal and a little reckless: you got to see some of my inner thoughts and I shared them at the risk of someone I actually know finding them. I'm wondering if you'd like these little posts about my life to continue.

I consider myself to be quite an observant person. I notice body language and oddities and interesting accents and such. The world, to me, is a very interesting place. I'd like to share some of these observations with you in an attempt to brighten your day and help you spot the interesting too.

Leave me your comments about this idea. What should we call it? Spot the interesting, observations, thoughts from places? Leave me your blog links too so we can share the love around. Ciao!

Review of The Distance Between Us

Hey guys! Welcome to another little book review of The Distance Between Us by Kasie West (click here to see Goodreads). Sorry I haven't blogged in a while because apparently law school means a lot more textbook than novel reading. Sigh.

I read this in about 3 sittings because it is one of those books that just makes you feel happy and alright with how life is playing out for you. It is the story of Caymen Meyers who works in a doll-shop in a town of rich people while not actually being rich. Her mum's experience with Caymen's father has taught her one thing: rich boys are trouble. Lucky for us, trouble strolls in, all arrogant and handsome by the name of Xander Spence. This is a slightly Cinderella story with a very cute prince, a lot of hilarious characters and a whole bunch of awwwwwww.

The story-line is quite straightforward and is fast-paced. This is one of the main reasons I got hooked so easily, that and the aforementioned awwwwwwws. It is perfect for a light read with a bit of humour, a bit of unbelievable things that we all wish could happen to us and a crisp ending. It felt finished, I had fun and I could forget about how hard life actually was for a while.

Like Sarah Dessen, the author chose to introduce some depth into the story through the college dilemmas of someone who can't afford it and a single-parent family struggling to make ends meet. It was by no means a Dessen masterpiece but this book was a solid effort. I had a little bit of issue with the ending but, you've got to be expecting a little bit of corniness.

All in all, this was a light-hearted read which is great for unwinding after a long and hard day. I gave this book a 4 star rating because it made me awwwwwww. Let me know if you've read it and how you're going on the Goodreads Challenge (I am failing miserably >.< ) Ciao

Favourite quote:
"Caymen."
Please don't turn it into a nickname.
"Good to meet you. Caymen."
Five points.

The best plot twist since Snape turned good

Alright. So this little show called Teens React on Youtube got some teenagers to react to The Fault in Our Stars trailer, a trailer that you lovely people may remember I posted here not too long ago. I try not mention books over and over because I know it doesn't really serve much as a recommendation, but can I just say.... please watch this video if you are a fan of the book, movie, author, Youtube or life in general. No spoilers but the plot twist at the end of the video made my little fangirl heart sing.



Let me know your thoughts and what your reaction would be if this happened to you. Ciao!