“Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” by Ransom Riggs

Age: Young Adult

Genre: Fiction, fantasy

The creepy black-and-white photograph on the cover of this novel caught my attention, as I’m sure it did many of this book’s readers.  The photo is of a young girl dressed in very old-fashioned clothing who appears to be levitating perhaps a foot off the ground. As I flipped through the book, I found it contains other old photographs, such as a girl standing alone by a pool with two girls reflected back, a girl who holds a ball of glowing light in her hands, and a young boy lifting a large boulder with one hand. I was interested to see what a book containing such strange photos was about. It had the unique ability to pull me in before I had read a single word.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is the story of sixteen-year-old Jacob, who is struggling with the sudden death of his beloved grandfather. Jacob witnessed his grandfather’s death at the hands of a monster in the woods, though no one believes him when he describes it. They chalk the story up to all the stories his grandfather told about a children’s home on an island he stayed in during World War II and its strange inhabitants. His grandfather even saved photos of some of the children from the home, which he shared with Jacob before his death. Jacob’s parents send him to therapy, where the psychiatrist convinces Jacob he imagined the whole thing and that his grandfather’s stories were all fiction. Jacob is left trying to move on with his life, but he remembers his grandfather’s last words about how he must find the bird on the island. Jacob convinces his father to take him to the island off the coast of Wales, and what he finds there leads him on a very strange adventure indeed.

While reading this book, I found myself questioning what is real and not right along with Jacob. The author presents a unique scenario dealing with freakshow-type children, time travel, and monsters who dwell in the island’s mist. Though this book wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be, it was still an entertaining read and kept me turning pages. I found the photographs used throughout the book to be a fun addition, but sometimes it felt like the author was writing the story to include them and not because they really needed to be part of the story. I would recommend this book for readers old enough to handle some foul language and gruesome scenes, though these are not a major part of the book. I look forward to the next installment in this series.

Bibliographic Information:

Riggs, Ransom. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Philadelphia, PA: Quirk Books, 2011.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children  on BarnesandNoble.com

"The Mysteries of Pittsburgh" by Michael Chabon

Age: Adult
Genre: Fiction

I picked up this book because it was set in Pittsburgh, where I spent four years of my life, and it was on clearance at Borders (before they shut down). It was a departure from my usual fare since it is a Real Adult book and I typically read children's/YA stuff. But I like to make detours every once in awhile to remind myself how serious people write. 

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh follows recent college graduate Art as he tries to figure out what to do with his life. His father is a mobster, a field which neither Art nor his father wish for Art to get into. Art works at a bookstore and spends the rest of the time trying to have fun, make friends, and move on with life. I would consider this a very character-driven book as for a long time nothing much happens in the story. Despite the lack of an exciting plot, the author got me interested in the characters and their fates, so I kept reading. The book read for me much like The Great Gatsby, an observation I was glad to find was not off base when I read in the end notes that Chabon had intended it that way. I enjoyed thinking of Pittsburgh and envisioning the scenes while reading the book, especially when it came to what Art calls "the lost neighborhood" beneath the bridge. I walked over that bridge many times and wondered about the houses below, just as Art did, and it was cool to see it used in a story. 

Chabon writes his characters in a way that feels realistic, and he has an excellent control of language. I felt like I could see the characters in the way he described them and their styles. Overall, however, there wasn't much to the story to keep me interested. Very little suspense or mystery, just a story about a guy who doesn't know who or what he wants from life. But a good story nonetheless.

Chabon, Michael. The Mysteries of Pittsburgh. New York: Harper Collins, 1988.

“Aquifer” by Jonathan Friesen

Age: Young Adult

Genre: Fiction

I have mentioned before that I like to read dystopian fantasy books (see my review of The Fifth Wave), and Aquifer once again fits this category. In the future author Jonathan Friesen presents, the Earth no longer bears fresh water on its surface. The only water safe for human consumption lies below the ground, hidden in an aquifer (hence the title), which is guarded by a race of humans who have devolved to the state of being called “Rats.” Only one person ventures down to visit the rats, and he is called the “Deliverer.” Once a year, the Deliverer follows a path that only exists in his brain through rote memorization from his forefathers and exchanges light rods with the Rats for the promise of another year’s access to water. The story follows Luca, a sixteen-year-old boy who is next in line to be the Deliverer behind his own father, Massa. Luca, and all other humans on the surface, live in a police state where they are not allowed to have any emotions or show any sign of rebellion against the set order or they will be “undone” (forced to kill themselves). But Luca senses he is different from his peers, and when his father goes missing and Luca must keep the connection with the Rats to save the Earth, he learns why he has always felt apart from others. He learns much else that blows the lid off the current state of the world as well when he descends to the world of the Rats.

I thought this book had an interesting premise and I was eager to find out about the underworld and the Rat people who lived there. The idea reminded me of the Morlocks in H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine, and I wanted to see what this author had done with a similar construct. Friesen presents a nice twist on the subterranean culture, which I will not reveal here, that sets this book apart. I enjoyed reading the story as it did contain many turns, much like Luca’s memorized route, they kept me turning pages. Teens may find Luca relatable as he is a teenager struggling with his place in the world and feeling different than everyone else around him. The other characters help move the story forward and cause changes in Luca, just as good characters should. My only complaint was that sometimes the Australian phrases thrown in seemed forced.

I should also address the fact that this story is printed by a Christian publisher. However, the Christian elements are few and hardly noticeable. Depending on what the reader is expecting, this could be a good or bad thing. There is no mention of God or Jesus, though Luca is guided by a voice that is never identified. There is a book Luca finds that is more important than any other, and when quoted, it is The Bible, though not identified (the characters wouldn’t know what that was).  Because the story is a bit ambiguous, it could easily have a wider appeal among non-Christians as well as Christian readers.

Bibliographic Information:

Friesen, Jonathan. Aquifer. Grand Rapids, MI: Blink, 2013.

“The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1) by Rick Riordan

Age: Middle Grade/ Young Adult

Genre: Fiction, fantasy

Percy Jackson is having trouble in the sixth grade. He seems to be failing all of his classes (again) and has been diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia. On top of that, he is always a target for bullies, which to make life even more embarrassing, are often girls. But strange things have been happening recently that Percy can’t explain, and when he tries to talk to his only friend, Grover, about them, Grover acts like nothing is out of the ordinary. Percy’s home life is not great, either, since his step-dad is a selfish loafer who doesn’t like Percy. His mom says his real dad went away on an ocean voyage many years ago and hasn’t come back, but Percy thinks she’s hiding something. When monsters from Greek mythology attack, he knows something is definitely wrong. But those are just stories…right?

One of my friends kept telling me I needed to read this series, so I finally picked it up and listened to the book on CD. I loved it. It started out a little slowly for me, and I wasn’t always sure where the story was going since it jumped around to different scenes so much, but no matter what, I wanted to know what would happen to Percy and his friends. Even though I’m not up on Greek mythology, that wasn’t a problem. In fact you learn about it as you travel with Percy to meet the various gods and monsters. I enjoyed watching Percy overcome each trial put in his path and see him come to trust his instincts and his friends, despite being warned otherwise. The book broaches some dark subjects that may be scary for younger readers, so I recommend this book for ages ten and up. Anyone who enjoys a good adventure or quest story would probably like this first in a series. I already have the second one ready to read.

Bibliographic Information:

Riordan, Rick. The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1). New York, NY: Disney Hyperion Books, 2005.

The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and theOlympians #1) on BarnesandNoble.com

“The 5th Wave” by Rick Yancey

Age: Young Adult

Genre: Fiction, post-apocalyptic survival

Cassie is running—from everyone, from no one – and she wonders if she is the only human left alive in the world. She wanders a bleak landscape, left scarce by the alien invasion. The aliens killed her parents and the government took her little brother, who she will rescue. She promised. Sometimes she sees another human, like the guy in the abandoned convenience store, but she can’t trust him. When the aliens look just like you, how can you ever trust anyone? She shoots him and moves on. The only trust she has is in her weapon. The aliens have already plagued the earth four times, trying to eradicate humanity while leaving the Earth inhabitable for themselves. But is there a fifth wave coming? As Cassie tries to survive snipers called “Silencers” (the fourth wave) who are looking to kill all remaining humans, she wonders about the fifth wave…and keeps fighting for her life and her brother.

This book got a lot of positive press before its release, so when it came out, I was excited to read it. I’m not sure why, but I like novels, movies, and TV shows about dystopian and post-apocalyptic futures (The Hunger Games, TNT’s Falling Skies, etc.). As a fan of this genre, I was not disappointed by The 5^th Wave. It took me awhile to get into it, mostly because I found Cassie’s character so cold and distant. It’s hard to like a character you can’t warm up to. I also found it hard to grasp the comparisons between her old life and the one she now lived, but I guess she found them hard to grasp, too. Early in the book I felt like her character was confusing because of the flashes back to her old self that didn’t click with the current self, but by the end she had established herself as a strong, tough teenager. Once the author stuck with that and didn’t look back, Cassie was easier to understand. I enjoyed the intertwining story lines, though sometimes it took a little while to figure out who was talking in a particular section of the book. The story moved slowly at times, but once I got to the last 100 pages or so, it just didn’t stop. It was hard to put the book down until the end. I recommend this book to readers who like alien invasion or dystopian literature, and even though it was written for teens, as an adult, I think other adults would enjoy it, too.

Bibliographic Information:

Yancey, Rick. The 5^th Wave. New York, NY: Putnam Juvenile, 2013.

The 5^th Wave on BarnesandNoble.com

“The Bulldoggers Club: The Tale of the Ill-Gotten Catfish” by Barbara Hay with illustrations by Steven Walker

Age: Middle Grade (third-fifth graders)

Genre: Fiction

What is a “bulldogger,” you ask? Lucky for those uninitiated into the world of rodeos, author Barbara Hay explains the term early in this first book of the “The Bulldoggers Club” series. The club featured in the book is a set of young boys named Dru, Bo, Cecil, and Scotty who want nothing more than to compete in bulldogging at the rodeo. Since they aren’t allowed yet due to their age, they focus on the calf-roping event. However, the rodeo aspect of this story is hardly present. The main narrative follows the boys as they catch a record-setting catfish somewhere they shouldn’t have been fishing in the first place (private land owned by an older woman they call a witch). The boys struggle with hiding the truth about where the fish came from while also dealing with bullies and trying to fit in time to practice roping. In the end, the story shows the boys’ emotional growth and the strengthening of their friendship, both important topics to the intended audience of elementary-aged children. Though the characters were likeable, I found myself a little bored by the story. Then again, I am not a young boy.

There was just not a lot moving the narrative forward. In other words, it’s not a page-turner. But if you are looking for a wholesome story about country boys, fishing, and rodeos, then you could give this one a try.

Technical Note: I read this as a preview copy on my Nook e-reader and the illustrations kept freezing up the system. I wouldn’t recommend reading it on a Nook.

Bibliographic Information:

Hay, Barbara. The Bulldoggers Club: The Tale of the Ill-Gotten Catfish. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: The RoadRunner Press, 2012.

The Bulldoggers Club on BarnesandNoble.com

“The Cats of Tanglewood Forest” by Charles De Lint with illustrations by Charles Vess

Age: Middle Grade

Genre: Fantasy

Lillian lives on a farm with her aunt, and she enjoys wandering the nearby forest, looking for fairies. One day she decides to follow a deer and ends up lost in the woods. While she lies under a tree to rest, a snake bites her. As the venom sinks in, Lillian knows she is dying. The world fades away, and cats of the forest surround her and decide to use their magic to save her by turning her into a kitten. What follows is a tale of Lillian trying to set her world right again through the help of magical creatures including a possum woman, a friendly fox, and some mean bear people. Along the way she learns the importance of considering consequences and remembering the past.

This book is filled with folktale-like characters and events, such as magic spells, potions, talking animals, and people who are part animal. The author uses language that suits the folktale medium as well. I don’t know that this will necessarily appeal to young readers, but I suppose it could. I found the story dragged a bit, especially in the middle, and I didn’t like how it occurred in a non-linear fashion. I also wanted the cats to be a more central part of the story since they are in the title. The story is really about Lillian, not the cats, so I found the title misleading. The book is interesting as a look at folktales and magic, but not enough to be really good.

Bibliographic Information:

De Lint, Charles. The Cats of Tanglewood Forest.  New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2013.

The Cats of Tanglewood Forest onBarnesandNoble.com