I read this in a week, more or less. At first I had the same disambiguations as you had: I thought this would be a psycological horror/thriller of some sort, and really wanted it to be so. When we fall into the Island and into the Orphanage, and the notion got twisted - no evil or psychological abuse, no "orphanage of the horrors" kind of thing - I was surprised. I was surprised and at first didn't like it; then I got accostumed to the crew which I loved, and the book just flew away. I liked the twists and the loop-notion, but I don't know if I'll grab the sequel as soon as it gets out :)
Just putting together stats for the bookclub and noticed you didn't fill out the poll for Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. Would you mind filling that out for me?
As I mentioned before I enjoyed this book. I had a few issues here in there, but I was mostly pleased with it.
And why is it that there are no stand alone YAs written nowadays? I enjoy a series as much as the next person but there's something nice about a self-contained story.
The Valente we're reading for this month is self-contained... I think. I know she's got a short story she's written on Tor.com that's in that world, and it was all inspired by Palimpsest, so I'm not sure you can make the argument or not...
I had put this on hold at the library way back when it was announced as our November selection, but I still haven't gotten it! I think it's still on order.
I think I need to re-read this at some point. I really enjoyed the story, but still had an overall feeling of "meh" when I was finished. I blame these contradictory feelings on being stressed out with school. I'm definitely going to be picking up the sequel, but I don't think I'll be waiting for it with bated breath or anything. I'd still like to see which direction the stories takes.
I love how you described the "pull between enchantment and horror". That really does encapsulate this book perfectly. :)
Outside activities can definitely influence our reading, that's for sure. You may have been too stressed out to enjoy much of anything, but hey, maybe not. You'll see whenever you get around to reading the sequel. :) Regardless, I'm glad you read it, especially since it sounds like you were busy. :)
I found it less than successful. The premise and photo inspirations both are great, but the latter does grow contrived; the writing and plot are easy to get lost in, but not particularly fulfillingin part because it's another series*, in part because I wasn't particularly taken with the ultimate direction of the world building and action-emphasis of the plot, and in part because ... well, ultimately I think it destroys its own magic. The brilliant photos become predictable and trite, and nothing swoops in to fill the void they leave, to writhe that tantalizing dance between enchantment and horror. It becomes action, dressed up in circuspunk clothesand the costume's great, no doubt, but it's only so deep.
So far, I'm prefering Riggs in video form, where there's just no time for him to run his themes thin and they manage to maintain their intrigue. Because he has a fantastic eye for the intriguing, the odd, the fascinating, the disconcertingwhich is what this book promised but didn't quite provide.
i also thank you for the link to his video page :) [i hate the name "youtube", though "channel" doesn't directly bug, when you've got literally millions, it seems odd]
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At first I had the same disambiguations as you had: I thought this would be a psycological horror/thriller of some sort, and really wanted it to be so.
When we fall into the Island and into the Orphanage, and the notion got twisted - no evil or psychological abuse, no "orphanage of the horrors" kind of thing - I was surprised.
I was surprised and at first didn't like it; then I got accostumed to the crew which I loved, and the book just flew away. I liked the twists and the loop-notion, but I don't know if I'll grab the sequel as soon as it gets out :)
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And thanks for reading!
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Just putting together stats for the bookclub and noticed you didn't fill out the poll for Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. Would you mind filling that out for me?
Thanks!
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As I mentioned before I enjoyed this book. I had a few issues here in there, but I was mostly pleased with it.
And why is it that there are no stand alone YAs written nowadays? I enjoy a series as much as the next person but there's something nice about a self-contained story.
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Anyway, I still really want to read this book!
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I love how you described the "pull between enchantment and horror". That really does encapsulate this book perfectly. :)
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I found it less than successful. The premise and photo inspirations both are great, but the latter does grow contrived; the writing and plot are easy to get lost in, but not particularly fulfillingin part because it's another series*, in part because I wasn't particularly taken with the ultimate direction of the world building and action-emphasis of the plot, and in part because ... well, ultimately I think it destroys its own magic. The brilliant photos become predictable and trite, and nothing swoops in to fill the void they leave, to writhe that tantalizing dance between enchantment and horror. It becomes action, dressed up in circuspunk clothesand the costume's great, no doubt, but it's only so deep.
So far, I'm prefering Riggs in video form, where there's just no time for him to run his themes thin and they manage to maintain their intrigue. Because he has a fantastic eye for the intriguing, the odd, the fascinating, the disconcertingwhich is what this book promised but didn't quite provide.
* Somehow I didn't ( ... )
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Good point. :)
I didn't know Riggs was in video form, so thanks for the link. I'll be adding your review to my post. :)
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