Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar children review

I just finished reading another fantastic book, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. From now on, I'll just called it Peculiar Children, because the whole title is a mouthful.

This is a book that I saw once and found it interesting, but didn't buy. My friend happened to have it though, and offered to lend it to me when she was done. Thinking it would just be a quick read and a nice break from the large books I normally read, I happily accepted.

I went into it thinking it would be a young adult novel, aimed more toward children than actual young adults. After only a few chapters though, I realized this wasn't the case, as an child reading this would have nightmares. You see, this is a picture book. Each picture relates to the story, and many of them are of peculiar children. This means, quite often the pictures are creepy. The very first one you see inside the book is of a face behind a small flame. That's like opening your eyes at night and seeing nothing but darkness and a pair of eyes staring at you. Despite these pictures, the writing style is still aimed more toward a younger reader. Not that that's bad, of course. It's beautifully written, with the details being fleshed out and vivid, but not to the point of being boring. However, this also means the monsters in the story are very vivid too.

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

The moment the grandpa died is when I realized that this book is much darker than I thought. It's one thing to kill off a character, but another to describe it so clearly. This is seen again near the end with another corpse.

So no, not a children's book at all, unless the child is mature enough to no longer be afraid of the dark, or see monsters in the shadows. Peculiar Children was, as I expected, a fast read, but after that it blew all my expectations. It's no wonder I'm suddenly seeing the book being sold everywhere. I would definitely recommend it to any of my friends.

The Paradise Review

Time for some Netflix reviews! I recently started, and finished, watching a show called The Paradise. It's been compared to Downton Abbey, but judging by the comments, it's better. I've never seen Downton Abbey, so I can't say whether I think that's true or not.

Anyway, it's a British show, set in the Victorian times. It follows the life of a young woman working in the first department store, called The Paradise. What I loved most about it was the costumes and props. Everything was so beautiful. Even the work uniforms, which were probably the most boring outfit in the show, were so much better than any work uniform these days. Then of course there are the accents. They all range from Scottish, to Irish, to British, and from all regions of Britain. I don't think there were more than two that were alike.

I can't say much about historical accuracy. As I said, I don't watch Downton Abbey, and I don't think I've seen any other shows set around this time period, so I don't have any references. However, everything seemed pretty accurate. The mannerisms and social standards are what most people would consider of the Victorian age, to that point that you just want to punch them in the face and tell them to relax.

The show only has one season, with eleven episodes (I think), so it's very short. I read that there is another season, just not on Netflix, then it was cancelled. Although I loved the show so far, I can't see it getting far. The plot has a good beginning, but I can tell that it would quickly peter out. I think their problem is that they crammed too much into the first season, so all the plot twists and exciting parts are already done. But still, I would say it's worth a watch! It ends before it can get boring (Though there are a few slow parts...)

The Rithmatist review *SPOILERS*

I just finished reading another book by Brandon Sanderson, this one about four times shorter than the last. It's called The Rithmatist, and is 370 pages long, so a nice quick read. I would say it's for a younger reader though, probably suitable for a middle school student or early high school.

You know way back when I said I didn't have many examples of historical speculative fiction books? Well, here's one! It's a steampunk type idea, set in a Victorian era United States. Except, the states include lower Canada, and are separated into large islands, so instead of being called the United States, they're called the United Isles. Furthermore, there are mentions of going ons in Europe and South America that do not match with history. So although it's a world that we're familiar with, it's been changed just enough to be speculative fiction.

Now the magic comes from chalk. That sounds strange, but it's kind of like the idea of witchcraft and the pentagrams, except in this book it's circles. If someone is chosen as a Rithmatist, they have the ability to bring 'life' to chalk. It's actually fairly hard to explain, but Sanderson does it very well. As in the previous book I read by him, he incorporates drawings, which is very handy when it comes to explaining all the chalk drawings that are possible.

Although I loved reading this book, it's not Sanderson's best work, by far. There was something that annoyed me every time I came across it, but I can't seem to remember what it was, so obviously it wasn't too big. But I suppose it was written for a younger reader, so there are bound to be things that I don't like. However, it was a pleasure to read, and I would definitely suggest it as a light read over a weekend.

And another beautiful cover:

The Art of Imagination: Historical Fiction

Historical fiction normally is not actually considered speculative fiction, as many of the novels are actually based on real people, and sometimes real events. However, every once in a while you will stumble across the novel that is based in medieval England, or Ancient Rome, or some other historical period and place, and that is speculative fiction. I have not read many of these, though I really would love to. Most historical fiction books I have read are not considered Speculative fiction, but I'll give them a brief mention at the end.

Dragonsword by Gael Baudino

This is a delightful book that I found at a library book sale many years back. I was hesitant to start it because  it looked so tacky. But for once, the phrase 'don't judge a book by the cover' is actually true. It starts out as a little confusing. It seems like there should be a book before it, but eventually everything is sorted out, and you get into the real story. Most of the novel takes place in an alternate Ancient Britain. It revolves heavily around Stonehenge and any magical properties it's believed to have. It's very interesting, even if it's not very historically accurate. Unfortunately, I have yet to read the rest of the books.

Stravaganza series by Mary Hoffman

The covers for these books are pretty awesome, even if they do romanticize the stories a bit. This is an amazing book series that (yet again) I have not finished. I bought the second book in a used book store, and then went on the read the first and third from the library. At that point, the fourth had not come out yet, and when it did, I had moved onto other books. The premise for this series is that an object, called a talisman, is brought from one world to our world and given to someone, therefore allowing them to travel between worlds in their sleep. The other world is a mirror to medieval Italy, with fantasy elements appearing, but not overpowering it. It has a great sense of intrigue and, as far as I know, is fairly historically accurate when it comes to the fighting between higher powers.

Interview With The Vampire by Anne Rice

Finally, one you're probably recognize! It's been a while since I've read this, and I'm going to admit that it was a little confusing, and at some parts a little boring. But hey, anything beats Twilight, right? So this is speculative fiction for the obvious reason. I can't quite remember what time it was set in. It starts off in modern times and goes into massive chunks of dialogue that tells the story of the vampire. I believe his story starts off several centuries ago, but it's hard to remember. Either way, it's a fairly good read if you're into literature. I wouldn't advise it for anyone who likes a ton of romance or a ton of action.

And as promised, a few non-speculative fiction historical fiction novels that I've enjoyed:

The Mistress of the Art of Death series by Ariana Franklin

The Light Bearer and The Lady of the Light by Donna Gillespie

Just about anything by Paul Doherty

The Eagle and the Raven by Paula Gedge