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Friday, October 21, 2011

MVL Book Club #6 - Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

A Haunting Tale?
Not so much....


I was so excited when I first read about this book release.
I first learned of it because Joni of Cote de Texas shared this
fascinating video shot by the author when he traveled to find the perfect
spooky house for the book trailer.

This is the video she shared...
Then I quickly found the actual book trailer and I was hooked.
I had to immediately order it from Amazon.

I read it last week. I do think its a clever idea but I was not very impressed.
I think most likely a preteen would enjoy but I did not find it very compelling.
I've read the movie rights have already been sold and I can imagine it becoming
a series of books and movies.
(The New Harry Potter, I'm sure, they hope.)

There are many eerie, strange actual old photographs used throughout the book.
And all these photos turn out to be characters in the book.
I think this is a very good idea for spurring an author's imagination when 
he can't think of interesting characters on his own.

I felt although a few of these characters seemed thought provoking and inspired from the photos -
some seemed like a real stretch.  Just a forced reason to include a creepy photo.

The central character in the book is Jacob, who seems to be a spoiled sixteen year old boy of means
in America.
He has spent his childhood hearing the unbelievable stories his grandfather tells him of
a place in Wales where he was kept safe during World War II.

He loves his Grandfather dearly but as he grows older he begins to think none of the things he said
could possibly be true.

Early in the book he witnesses his Grandfather's death which seems to be caused by an evil monster 
lurking in the woods by his house.
His dying Grandfather manages to whisper a last message to him.
It is from his dying words that Jacob sets out on his adventure to learn about his Grandfather's childhood.

Although Jacob is suppose to be sixteen at the beginning of the book and seems so...
I felt like most of the time I pictured him much younger and I'm sure he will be in the movie.

I thought the dialog lacking and not very interesting.

I didn't feel the characters were fleshed out very well. 
An interesting detail would be told and then it seemed like nothing much came of it.
I do think there were a few characters I liked.
The invisible boy and the floating girl were my favorites.

I truly felt this book is just a set up or introduction for all the other books and movies 
to come in this series.

I think it might be the perfect scary book for a child of eight to fourteen but for an 
adult, it falls short of any suspense and fright.

Still I am sure the author Ransom Riggs (could that really be his name?) will become 
a very rich man from this franchise. I just wish it had been written like a real book
instead of like a movie pitch. 

But then what do I know? I read the first Harry Potter and was unimpressed too.
I never read another.
Oh...and I can't stand the Twilight books. 
I think they are very dull and I normally love vampire stuff. 
Although I did read the first three Twilight books because all my friends were reading them.
Two of them were given to me.
If I remember correctly, I liked the second one best but not very much.
The third one I barely got through because it was so boring.
The fourth I refused to read and made a friend tell me what happened.
When she did I exclaimed, "Thank goodness I didn't waste any more time on that." 
"That book sounds even worse than the other three!"

But most will disagree with me. 

Want to read a really scary book? 
The Witching Hour by Anne Rice.
That first one in the series had me enthralled right to the end.

Anybody else looking forward to Tim Burton's Dark Shadows with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter? 
I loved Dark Shadows so much when I was a kid...Barnabus was so sexy which seems impossible to 
imagine now. 
Now that is scary! 
I'm sure Johnny Depp will add the sexiness quotient needed for the modern version.

12 comments:

Natasha in Oz said...

It sounds like we have similar tastes but with one exception-I really love the Harry Potter books. Twilight is not my cup of tea at all...give some Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights and I'm a happy lady!

Best wishes,
Natasha.

Rashon Carraway said...

Okay. That seems like it would be the makings of a great tale.

I have got to get to a castle. Soon.


Mr. Goodwill Hunting

Crystal Rose Cottage said...

Thanks for the heads up on these books Nita! I don't read too many "scary" books and like you I love anything vampire! I have watched 2 of the Twilight movies..the first two, and they were just okay. I used to watch "Dark Shadows" when I was a young teen. That is going to be interesting with Johnny Depp! I think I seen a pic of him in makeup, and I didn't like it. It will be interesting to see when it comes out. I may have to check out "The Witching Hour". ~Hugs, Patti

Olive said...

I also adored Dark shadows. Two years ago we watches many episodes with CC and she fell for the show too. She keeps asking me to get more episodes from Netflix. Thanks for telling us about the books. I think Meyers best book was The Host which was really more sci fi and very long but much better than the vampire ones.

Anonymous said...

Great Book Review Post! I love the look of your blog for Halloween! Something about it pulls me in. I don't even plan on reading any Haunting books!!

Lina Thomlinson said...

I felt pretty much the same way about this book. Lots of potential and I love creepy freak show-type stuff but I wish it hadn't been written for a YA audience. Not that there aren't good YA books out there but this one seemed simplified and dumbed down a little to appeal to the young audience. A shame because I had high hopes for it.

Ricki Treleaven said...

My 14 year old is reading this now. :D

Lynn said...

I feel the same way you do about this book. I just couldn't get into it and stopped reading it. Normally I don't like to do that but I just couldn't keep reading. A great one I just read was A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. Excellent. Can't wait for the second book next summer.

Cindy said...

I don't think I will bother reading this book. I'm not into scary books or movies, I'm a scaredy cat!
Have a lovely weekend.
CIndy

Cindi Myers said...

I'll take your word for it and not waste my time.
Too bad, because the trailer made it look so spooky.
But I will get the Anne Rice book.
Funny that you thought Barnabus was sexy! LOL!
I lusted for Quentin! (Well, whatever a little kid does, I think I was like 10 or 12!)
And Angelique scared the hell out of me!
Great book review!

the cape on the corner said...

i've never seen dark shadows, but i read an article on the new cast. just based on that, i can't wait to see it!

this book is on my list to read-i think i'll still go ahead with it.

are you watching american horror story? fabulously creepy. perfect for this time of year.

toodles to the noodles said...

I too read this book a couple of months back. I loved the beginning and the whole idea of the book, but then the story just was sort of ho hum.

Too bad, it was such a great idea.