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What Members Thought
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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 :)
A young boy has been fed odd stories by his grandfather for his entire childhood. When the grandpa dies a violent death, Jacob heads off to a remote island off the coast of Wales to find some answers -- only to be found by some peculiar children.
What I REALLY liked about this book is the originality -- using bizarre vintage photographs to create a story. That really worked for me. I was less impressed with the writing, character development and lack of resolution. When I was toward the end and q ...more
What I REALLY liked about this book is the originality -- using bizarre vintage photographs to create a story. That really worked for me. I was less impressed with the writing, character development and lack of resolution. When I was toward the end and q ...more
Quirky book full of interesting characters and twists. Loved how the photographs added to the story. Fun read.
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
Interesting story. It reminded me of a mix between Harry Potter and Night Circus. Will definitely read the sequel, I want to know what happens next!
A nice amount of creepiness and horror without going over the top.
I enjoyed this quite a bit. Found it strangely scary at the get-go- reading at 3am while nursing really amps up the terror factor. But it is not actually a frightening read, not really. Very interesting! Would have been better in a print book than on the kindle, but so it goes.
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.
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The over-reliance on the historical photos interfered with the story at times. And the plot holes! Absolutely painful. But there were some good suspenseful moments, and the story was unique enough to keep me interested...most of the time.
I really liked the book and thought that the ending was open enough that there could be follow-up in the future if the author chooses to pursue it.
3.5 out of 5
Mar 27, 2015
Sam
rated it
really liked it
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review of another edition
Shelves:
2016-reading-challenge
Apr 08, 2019
Heather Wescott
rated it
liked it
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review of another edition
Shelves:
heather-s-popsugar-2019-challenge
