Sam Reviews "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs - January 2016

Sam's Notes Taken Along the Way

Prologue

"...like anything that changes you forever, split my life into halves: Before and After."  
--I always refer to my father's death as before or after "everything went crazy".

"I think they worried that my grand father would infect me with some incurable dreaminess from which I’d never recover—that these fantasies were somehow inoculating me against more practical ambitions—so one day my mother sat me down and explained that I couldn’t become an explorer because everything in the world had already been discovered. I’d been born in the wrong century, and I felt cheated."  
--I like the metaphor or being infected with dreaminess. But, also the idea that our generations and generations before are a bunch of copycats.  At the end of the day you will probably never read an original story, watch an original movie, hear an original song. It's all just adaptions of the same old, same old.

"We cling to our fairy tales until the price for believing them becomes too high..."
--When do you think you let got of fairy tales or started feeling guilty for being too dreamy or imaginative.  I think I was 9 or 10 when I started to feel bad about playing with Barbies, even though i still pretended to be a witch.  Then in middle school I definitely let go of all of the "childish" things.

"I felt ashamed for having been jealous of his life, considering the price he’d paid for it, and I tried to feel lucky for the safe and unextraordinary one that I had done nothing to deserve."

Chapter One

I always find it awkward when a relationship is so clearly "business only" - like when the narrator introduces Ricky as the guy who helps him not get beat up in return for the narrator tutoring him through English.  Also, the whole "He was, I suppose, my best friend, which is a less pathetic way of saying he was my only friend." - so awkward even though I know a few people like that.

I really love stories that have real moments along with the impossible.  Like the Jacob finds his grandfather slashed open and he thinks "Grandpas are supposed to die in bed, quietly, not like this".  That is a very realistic thought even though this is a categorized as a fantasy novel.

Chapter Two

What kinds of things do you guys consider garbage vs. treasure?  In this chapter the collections the narrator wants to keep are the water damaged National Geographics, the bowling shirts, the weapons in the cabinet, and the Big Band and Swing 78's.  I would probably have gotten rid of the damaged magazines and the shirts but the weapons and records, while worth money also have sentimental value and are therefore worth more than pawnshop shelves, in my opinion.

I really do love plays on words, so the "bird who smoked a pipe" being Miss Peregrine herself is just beautiful to me.  Also I love the circular logic that as a kid Jake wanted to be an explorer and now he and his dad are going of on an adventure to this strange island.

"I did love her, of course, but mostly just because loving your mom is mandatory, not because she was someone I think I’d like very much if I met her walking down the street. Which she wouldn’t be, anyway; walking is for poor people."

Chapter Three

I can't imagine how awkward it would be having to ask strangers to take me somewhere, not even tour guides, just random people in town.

The rap scene was painful, although I did appreciate the mention of Doctor Who, it was still painful.

Chapter Four

There story of the bunny costume Halloween seemed really forced, like it was only written to utilize the picture in the book, it was kind of a bummer.

When the narrator is talking about how he doesn't want to believe his grandfather was a bad person, it struck a cord with me.  When my dad died and I found out all the bad stuff he'd done in the past and everything, I was mad at first, but now I don't wanna remember him for that.  So even if the grandfather had been a lying, cheating, terrible father, the narrator wouldn't remember him that way anyway.  I think part of that is human nature, not just that you shouldn't talk ill of the dead, but how we all tend to idolize people once they're gone.

The story of the Old Man who died in the bog reminds me of this movie I watched with Jeff - Jughead - where they had to sacrifice people to this well.

Chapter Five

"Yeah, he was a psychobabble-spewing prick. But that didn’t make him wrong."

Chapter Six

“'He was lucky in a way. It wasn’t long and drawn-out. No months in a hospital hooked up to machines.' That was ridiculous, of course—his death had been needless, obscene—but I think it made us both feel a little better to say it."

Chapter Seven

Which would you prefer if you were living in a loop:  To remember each day and experience it differently each time, or to not remember and go through the same motions every day never realizing that time never passed?

At least Millard has the right idea, finding a project that will most likely keep you busy until the end of time, writing a record of how a day went down through the eyes of every single person (and animal) who experienced it.

I think I would have felt so bad for the kids stuck in 1940 that I would want to bring them as many books as I could stand to carry so they could at least experience something new.

Why would having to turn away from the mutilated sheep be seen as an admission of guilt?  And why would they lock criminals up in the museum?  Wouldn't they potentially do more harm there by breaking things or vandalizing out of spite?

Why didn't he just show his dad a picture of Emma to prove he had at least one friend on the other side of the island?  Then he would just have to avoid them ever meeting.

Chapter Eight

If Miss Peregrine was that concerned with the children not being tempted away from the loop then she really should have said something to Jacob before his 3rd visit there.

If items within the loop will age and die, or shrivel up and disintegrate, then what would happen to items from the current time going back into the loop?

Why does Miss Peregrine not die when she is outside of the loop?  Is she more magical or more peculiar than the children?

"So it’s not even a decision, really. You stay. It’s only later—years later—that you begin to wonder what might’ve happened if you hadn’t."  --  Isn't that true even in our world?  You don't choose to stay in Michigan where the winter isn't hardly worth the short summer you'll have, and most of the big cities are notoriously rotten.  But one day, before you realize it, you've built a life here and can't imagine leaving now.

Chapter Nine

Did the "seeing monsters no one else can see caused me to be seen by a psychiatrist for stress reaction" remind anyone else of Fallen?

Again, I felt the explanation for the pictures of Wights were forced, the Santa was creepy but the dentist was clearly altered and the "cowering girl" was clearly smirking, not scared.

Chapter Ten

What would happen if people tried to have families within the loop?  Would pregnancy just be impossible cuz time doesn't really pass so the baby couldn't grow?  Man, a life full of no-consequences sex haha

When they say that Jeffrey Dahmer is a wight that would imply that he was blind, but that isn't true so it puts a hole in the story.

Are wights shape shifters?  Or did the wight attacking the island just play on a boy's lack of attention to people like gardeners, bus driver's and etc,?

“A bigger reaction?” I said. “Last time you blew up half of Siberia!”
“If you must fail,” he said grandly, “fail spectacularly!”

Chapter Eleven

The "leapfrogging" concept seems insane, but a very clever way to keep the story going.

Carole Reviews: Splintered by AG Howard

Author: AG Howard
Title: Splintered
Genre: Fantasy, YA, Retelling, Adventure, & Fiction
Pages: ebook
First Published: Janurary 2013
Where I Got It: My shelf (Borrowed from friend)

Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.


When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

*Sorry I could not make it to the meeting. :/*

Soooo addicting! From page one, I could not put the book down! In one sitting, I fly through 80% of the book. Luckily, I had the day off in order to not feel guilty. haha. I love the original tale, but this was a nice "sequel"/remake of it! I loved how things in Wonderland are little different then what an innocent 8 year old recounts; its a wee bit darker, but her innocence would be blind to that. LOVE it!

Now...the last 20% of the book did slow me down. It was still fast-paced and lots going on, but it never seemed to end. It is hard to explain, but the last little chunk just was not as good as the rest of the book. I was NOT happy with what happened. I cannot say, but I was not pleased with what happened to Jeb and how Alyssa used her tear wish. That should've never happened, because I felt like the last 80% was for naught. *SPOILER ALERT* She wished that he never even came on the adventure at all, so time was reversed and he did not step through with her. So he is all safe and at home, so everything they went through was for nothing! UGH! Frustrating *SPOILER ENDED (I had to use black instead of white bc you can totally see the white with the new look of the blog - haha) 

ANYWAYS...

I was not a huge fan of Jeb OR Morpheus as suitors for Alyssa's love. If I was her, I would say no to both of them. I can see why she was attracted to both of them and why they liked her. However, Jeb is a control freak to her, even when he is dating Taelor! They are "best friends", but he tries to control her and it made me shake my head. I get that Alyssa loves him, but I would not stand up for controlling ways and I would be blunt with him, "You are not my father or my boyfriend - you have no say what I do. You can give me your opinion, but DO NOT go to my dad and try and control my life with him." Then slap his hand, "BAD FRIEND, BAD!" Bleurgh. 

And then there is Morpheus...selfish, selfish man. Hot? Yes, but not someone to trust. Jeb can see through his string of lies, but Alyssa is as naive as her great-great etc grandmother. At first I didn't mind him too much (I get it...everyone has their own motives and they want what they want), but then there was a reveal and nope...bad guy. A good bad guy? Yes and I applaud how bad he was. However, I hate how many characters he represents. Can't he just represent the Wise Caterpillar? It was annoying. 

Overall, this was such a fun ride! The writing style was amazing (even with the last 20% and a certain event that made me shake my head - too easy of a fix), the characters were SO 3D and intriguing, the twists were awesome, and I was in love with Alyssa and her adventure. I totally recommend this to those that like a little dark in their YA and retellings of Alice in Wonderland. So fun. Out of five stars, I stamp this with 4. 

Favorite Character(s): Alyssa, Alyson (her mom), Morpheus (a complex baddie...I like it), and Queen Ivory
Not-so Favorite Character(s): Taelor (snot), Red Queen, Morpheus (meh) & Jeb 

12th Meetup - February 2015

We have officially been a book club for one year!  I am so excited and happy that I started this little group.  We may struggle to get everyone involved every month but we have such a great time no matter how big or small the turnout is.  Here are some pictures from our 12th Meet-up where we discussed the book "Splintered"; an Alice in Wonderland adaptation (thus our costumes).

Our "Singing Flower"

Our "Mad Hatter"

Our "Cheshire Cat"

Our "Red Queen"

Sam Reviews: "Splintered" by A.G. Howard - February 2015 Book Choice

Sam's Notes Taken Along the Way

I love that they use the name Jebediah in a modern story.

Can you actually keep eels as pets?  Where would you buy one?

No matter how well the descriptions were I’m bummed there weren't pictures.  Alice in Wonderland isn't a book that can go without some visuals.

It’s kind of disappointing that Morphious represents so many of the characters.  He’s her guide into Wonderland, he’s the caterpillar, and he’s the hatter (more or less – always calling for hats to suit the occasion).

I wish they would've hidden Morphious’ “bad guy” character til the end.  It would have been a great twist if you couldn't tell his motives were impure until Alyssa landed in the palace.

--||--

Quotes Worth Mentioning

"From a distance, we look like we’re riding fireflies across the northern lights, sweeping in and out of one another’s glowing jet streams."

“They could be twins with their huge mustaches and walrus-shaped bodies stuffed in brown coveralls.”

-I thought this was a clever allusion to Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum & the Walrus characters from the original story.

"Hundreds of sketches, and I still can’t get enough of your face."

"My insides tickle with an unfamiliar power, knowing that he’s flustered.  Knowing that I caused it."

"I prepare to push him off before he can taste my lips … but instead, Morpheus kisses my forehead, warm, chaste, and gentle. Then he lets me go."

"I smile, then give him a kiss he’ll never forget, to replace all the ones he’ll never remember."

Sam Reviews "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern - May 2014

"A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world."
-Oscar Wilde

"There are girls in feathered costumes who spin at various heights, suspended by ribbons that they can manipulate.  Marionettes that control their own strings."

"The finest of pleasures are always the unexpected ones,"
"How much is payment?" he asks
"Whatever you wish to pay for a glimpse of your future," the fortune-teller says.  Bailey stops to consider this for a moment.  It is strange, but fair.

"The future is never set in stone."

"I suppose there will never be a lack of things to say, of stories to be told and shared."

"Just because you could never decide which one of us you were in love with does not make us interchangeable."

"You believe you could not live with the pain.  Such pain is not lived with.  It is only endured.  I am sorry."

"You are no longer quite certain which side of the fence is a dream."