by Ransom Riggs

4 Stars

In the second installment of Ransom Riggs’ bestselling series, Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children escape the island of Cairnholm, where most of them have resided for the past seventy years, en route to London. They have just three days to make it there and find Miss Wren, the only ymbryne who evaded wight capture at the end of the last book and their only hope for saving their own ymbryne and guardian. Putting their abilities to the test and Miss Peregrine’s fate in their hands, the peculiar children set off on the journey of a lifetime. On it, they will meet new friends—some peculiar and some not, some human and some not—face off against new enemies, and explore worlds more dangerous than any they’ve ever known. 

*** 

I know they say sequels are never as good as the original, but I was actually quite pleased with this book. In fact, I think Ransom Riggs must have felt the same about the first book as I did because he made a much greater effort to flesh out his characters this time around. I can now differentiate between the children, and I can now identify Emma as “the leader,” Bronwyn as “the protector,” and Enoch as “the pessimist.” Jacob’s character, who becomes increasingly confident in himself and in tune with his abilities, has also been developed nicely. I suppose my biggest criticism of this book is that I don’t feel I’ve been properly integrated into the world of what Riggs calls “peculiardom.” Certain things about it are beginning to make sense, but I can’t seem to wrap my head around the loops—one of its most important concepts. I think I understood J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World better after two chapters than I do “peculiardom” after two books!

Catey F.

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by Ransom Riggs

4 Stars

A family tragedy sends sixteen-year-old Jacob Portman looking for answers. What he finds is a mysterious island off the coast of Wales, on that island an abandoned and crumbling orphanage, and beneath the ruins of that orphanage a collection of peculiar photographs. He’ll soon discover that the children in the photographs—a girl who seems to levitate, another that juggles fire, an invisible boy—were more than just peculiar. They might have been powerful. They might have been hunted. They might, impossible though it may sound, still be alive. 

*** 

I must begin by saying that Ransom Riggs’ writing really impressed me. He has a strong vocabulary, is very witty, and has a clever way of wording things. Unfortunately, I think his writing suffers an annoying fate most readers will be familiar with; it’s too descriptive at the beginning, which means he takes a long time to get into the story. And not descriptive enough at the end, which results in a rushed climax that’s hard to follow. Regarding the pictures, I was a little conflicted. On the one hand, I thought taking a collection of totally unrelated photographs and stringing them together in a single narrative was wondrously imaginative. On the other, I felt slightly disconnected from the characters in this book, knowing the photos of them were not really them. I think this is made worse by the fact that, in my opinion, Riggs fails to add much depth to any of the children besides Jacob and Emma (I really couldn’t tell the difference between Hugh, Enoch, Millard, and Horace until I watched the movie). I hope Riggs develops these personalities more in the second book. I tend to be overly critical in my reviews, but I still really enjoyed this book. Would definitely recommend!

Catey F.

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by P.C & Kristen Cast 

5 Stars

Zoey lived a normal life, went to a normal high school with her best friend and was even dating one of the football players- well, kind of dating him. But that all changed when she saw the dead guy standing by her locker. Instead of worrying about a geometry test, she now had to face a whole new life- as a whole new species. Zoey Redbird, newly turned fledgling, now has to live at the House of Night, The school of vampyres. It’s bad enough her life has already been turned upside down, but she quickly starts learning that she may be more special than she realizes. After a run-in with the Vampyre Goddess Nyx, she learns she has affinities for not one element, but all of them: Fire, Water, Earth, Air, and Spirit. So much for blending in. But she’s not the only one with special powers. The leader of the elite Dark Daughters club is abusing her goddess-given gifts, and Zoey has to find the courage the embrace whatever destiny awaits her- with the help of her new friends, of course.  

At first, I had no desire to read this book. But once I started, I couldn’t stop. This book is not only dominated by strong female characters, but it also includes LGBTQ+ characters that aren’t just there for “diversity.” The story is intriguing, there’s drama and conflict, love and loss, no character is there just because. Everyone plays an important role. Overall, this is a great book and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is willing to dedicate themselves to not just this book, but the series as well, as there are twelve (12) main books in the series. However, it is definitely worth it. 

Jordan M.

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by Randa Abdel-Fattah 

5 Stars

Amal is a sixteen-year-old Australian-Muslim-Palestinian living in Australia during the 2000s. She decides to start wearing a hijab, a religious head covering, in order to practice her religion to the fullest. She lives in a very “white” neighbourhood yet she doesn’t let the constant taunting get to her.  

The kids at her school along with many teachers judge her based on prejudice, yet she doesn’t let them get to her because she just could not care any less about anyone’s opinion-almost everyone’s opinion. She does, however, care deeply about Adam, one of the few kinder kids in her class who she is sure she can win over. As the book progresses, she does start to get affected by the words and all the other struggles in her life- such as her friend Laila who does not want to get married at seventeen, much to her parents’ wishes, winning Adam over, and helping her friend Simone get over her body dysmorphia. Her parents, as kind as they are, just do not understand what she’s going through, as much as they like to say they do. Like every great book, the antagonist, Tia and her “army” are always at her neck and belittling Amal for her faith. Her source of strength are her friends, who are outcasts as well, due to being Jewish, nerdy, “fat”, and Japanese. Will anything ever go right for her or will she always live her life in constant misery, especially being Muslim in a post 9/11 era? 

The novel will appeal to anyone who has ever felt like an outsider, ever. The thing that makes it such a great novel is that it is funny, yet still sad, all whilst being entertaining- which is very hard to do. I’ve read the book at least seven times, but it never gets old or repetitive. The many different storylines tied up into one makes the book so interesting because not only are we following Amal’s journey, but her friends, and the world after the 9/11 attack.  

The novel will appeal to anyone who has ever felt like an outsider, ever. Due to language, the book would be suitable for anyone 13+. 

Khadeeja F.

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