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Prompt 25: A book you were supposed to read in school but didn't
By Ann · 67 posts · 992 views
By Ann · 67 posts · 992 views
last updated Jan 17, 2023 03:51PM
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What Members Thought

from the NPR poll of great Young Adult fiction ...
This was not what I expected. Which leads me to wonder what it was I expected, and then try to contrast that with what it was that I found instead.
I guess what I expected was an exciting, engaging, adventurous, magical story involving a houseful of fairy sprites existing in an alternate plane. And what I got was an adventure story about a houseful of dull and peculiar children existing in a sort of alternate plane, but it was neither engaging nor ...more
This was not what I expected. Which leads me to wonder what it was I expected, and then try to contrast that with what it was that I found instead.
I guess what I expected was an exciting, engaging, adventurous, magical story involving a houseful of fairy sprites existing in an alternate plane. And what I got was an adventure story about a houseful of dull and peculiar children existing in a sort of alternate plane, but it was neither engaging nor ...more

It starts of strong with intrigue. I really enjoyed the mystic of the story but as the books goes on it looses itself a little bit. As someone mentioned in reviews before, i did not get attached to any of the characters either. Something was missing.
The whole idea to write a book around real pictures is just fantastic and the photographs within are just so mesmerizing. They make you wonder what the real story behind them is and who are all those people.
I am looking forward to book two :)
The whole idea to write a book around real pictures is just fantastic and the photographs within are just so mesmerizing. They make you wonder what the real story behind them is and who are all those people.
I am looking forward to book two :)

This book was not what I expected. I picked it up at the library because of the cover and the concept of mixing letters, photographs and the story intrigued me. Still, I had no idea how much I would enjoy the world Riggs creates or how deeply I would feel for the main character. The story is unique and captivating and as the mystery unfolds, readers are swept up in a completely different world full of interesting secondary characters, whom I liked immensely. But at its heart, the story is about
...more

I recently reread this over the course of a Sunday afternoon to prepare for reading the sequel (Hollow City) and discovered two things.
1) I think I liked it more the second time than I did the first and
2) I had forgotten quite how good it was.
Ransom Riggs created a world that really draws you in with characters you (or at least I) feel like you want to spend time with in person. Although protagonist and narrator Jacob is kind of annoying -- although, realistically, who isn't as a teenager -- the ...more
1) I think I liked it more the second time than I did the first and
2) I had forgotten quite how good it was.
Ransom Riggs created a world that really draws you in with characters you (or at least I) feel like you want to spend time with in person. Although protagonist and narrator Jacob is kind of annoying -- although, realistically, who isn't as a teenager -- the ...more

I felt like the story line was pretty much the same as a lot of other YA fiction - teenage boy finds out he's not like all the others and then he has to band together with others like to save the world! But the writing wasn't so compelling. I did think the idea of the story from old photos was quite novel (no pun intended) and I liked that part enough to give it three stars.
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A lot different than what I expected. I thought there would be more of a "creepy" factor, but it turned out to be a great fantasy/adventure story. I'm looking forward to the next installment and interested in how they will turn this into a movie.
...more


Apr 24, 2012
Amy Richard
marked it as to-read

May 09, 2014
Alexis
marked it as to-read


Jan 23, 2016
Karli
marked it as to-read

Nov 29, 2016
Mayumi
marked it as to-read