Tales of the Peculiar

Title: Tales of the Peculiar
Author: Ransom Riggs
Artist: Andrew Davidson

 

The artwork that is the head page for each story is absolutely lovely. Mr. Davidson does mostly block prints and etchings I believe, and is masterful in his work. (as an artist, I can tell you that I have not the patience for that level of detail.)

There are a few in this book I actually wouldn't mind if they released as posters. I believe they'd make lovely wall pieces.

The cover of this particular book is one I like a lot. It is cloth/canvas/faux cloth bound with gold colored stamping and feels very nice in one's hands. A very good contrast to the Plasticine, shiny book covers that frequent the markets today. 

The stories within (as it is a collective of short stories) are all within the "world" of  Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children . This is a world that intersects our own, and thus makes it more believable in some senses. 

I am a major sucker for fairy tales and folklore. Doubly interested if it's a "new" story or something I've not read before. This is one of those books. The stories rather reminded me of Aesop's fables in that they had lessons hidden within them (about greed, vanity, love, kindness, etc.) but if you're looking at it from the Peculiar's point of view (which I believe is the point, to immerse yourself in the world.) serve as warning stories very much like those of Grimm and Anderson. 

I rather liked this collective of ten stories, seemingly put together by a boy who is a character in the Miss Peregrine's book. I probably will end up acquiring a copy of this for myself at some point.

BTW, the page on which you would normally find the information of ISBN, publisher, copyright, number of pages, etc. IS WORTH READING. It is a fun little easter egg that i'm sure most people would ignore due to that page usually including non content.

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Tales-Peculiar-Ransom-Riggs/dp/0399538534

ISBN: 978-0-399-53853-7

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

Title: The Tales of Beedle the Bard
Author: J. K. Rowling

I picked this one up because I quite like the Harry Potter series, having grown up with it and read it since its beginning. I am not amused.
It is written for a much younger age group than the Harry Potter series, and I had been hoping for something within its reading range and above. This book has five stories and 111 pages, half of which are taken up by commentary from Dumbledore. The pages are no bigger than that of a chapter book, but with the formatting of the original series which minimizes the amount of writing to the equivalent of less than half a page's worth of writing for each page.

It was a very quick read, and did not hold my attention.

One good thing about this book is that when it is purchased through schoolastic, its net proceeds go to the Children's High Level Group, which is a charity that promotes the rights of children, and tries to make life better for vulnerable youth.

This charity was changed to "Lumos" in 2010? So disregard the chlg.org website as it is down. I wish they had the ability to change the website on the actual book, and have no idea if they've done so on the newer copies.
Here is the link to Lumos: https://wearelumos.org/

Find it here through schoolastic: https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/books/the-tales-of-beedle-the-bard-by-j-k-rowling/

ISBN: 0-545-12828-5

Baby Doll

Title: Baby Doll
Author: Hollie Overton

This isn't a book I would normally pick off the shelves to read but I've been trying to branch out and not be discriminatory in my reviews. The cover compares it to "Gone girl" which if I remember correctly is a murder mystery. Murder mystery (and mystery) is a genre that I dislike intensely. I do however have a weakness for stories of power, and tales of victims generally fall under this category whether it be the victim coming into their own, or being the catalyst for a bigger change that may not save them.

This story follows the tale of a young woman, part of a set of twins, who was abducted eight years prior to the beginning of the book. She was taken as a high schooler and during her abuse riddled captivity had a child by this man. The book opens with her one chance to escape, which she takes, and follows her as she attempts to reclaim her life. Only to return and find out that her world had fallen apart without her.

The villain of the tale is well written. A wolf in sheeps clothing hidden in plain sight. He is a respected member of the community. He is a teacher at her high school, everyone's favorite. He is married. (as he says in the story, when you're married and it seems a happy marriage; people are less likely to suspect you.) He even (as it turns out) spearheaded some of the search parties that were sent to look for the missing girl that he had secreted away.

It is written in such a way that it is indeed a story all the way through, but not from a singular perspective. (This is a thing that made it hard for me to follow as I have memory issues and couldn't remember who's point of view it had switched to.) Each chapter switches to a different character (4 in total I believe) and what they are going through each time.

It was a surprisingly compelling read (and the authors first book) and if I hadn't had to sleep, I would have read it through last night.

Not good enough for a second read/to put on my shelf (I cannot keep all the books I enjoy) but a decent enough read overall.

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Baby-Doll-Hollie-Overton/dp/0316268712

ISBN: 978-0-316-26871-4

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

I must admit this book was a bit of a challenging read for me this week. I ran into a few days where my migraines got bad enough that I passed out and in turn lost days worth of short term memory. ITS JUST GONE. I finally am back to remembering and my flatmates and boyfriend caught me up on all the things I didn't remember.
To show how quickly the memory was leaving, I received a late birthday present and not only didn't recall receiving it... I didn't recall receiving it four separate times. At least I seem to be consistent though, as I apparently had the same reaction to it each time. haha.
I shall be trying to do more reading and watching of movies this week while I am out dogsitting.



Title: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Author: Ransom Riggs

This book is quite well done. The first thing I have to say about it is that it is worth checking out if for no other reason than the photos within it.

I am a complete and utter sucker for these kind of vintage and manipulated photos, as well as pitch cards from sideshows and circuses around the world. This book has at least 30 such images. I love them all.

The story follows a boy named Jacob who is sixteen. He gets sent on an adventure to uncover the truth about his grandfathers past and discovers many strange and compelling things. Both about his grandfather and himself. I am quite happy to say that this story focuses less on the hocus pocus sort of magic but more on the unknown, and in doing so makes the magical elements seem not commonplace but instead misunderstood and still within the boundaries of our world.

I will definitely be reading more of this series, and I hope to watch the movie to compare very soon. It is a quite wonderful work of young adult fiction.

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Miss-Peregrines-Home-Peculiar-Children/dp/1594746036/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1404317948&sr=8-3&keywords=ransom+riggs

ISBN: 978-1-59474-603-1

OISHINBO: vegetables

Title: Oishinbo a la carte: Vegetables
Author: Tetsu Kariya
Artist: Akira Hanasaki

This was a quick and easy read. It looks as though you may be able to read this series in any order, as each book is a different food subject.
As an informative comic this one does an ok job. It is a bit heavy handed with the willingness to eat simply as well as the enforcing of "everything tastes better without genetic modification or pesticides."
The characters are likable enough, and it even includes a recipe or two outlining foods found within the book.

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Oishinbo-%C3%A0-Carte-Vol-Vegetables/dp/1421521431

ISBN: 978-1-4215-2143-5

Dragon's Milk

Title: Dragon's Milk
Author: Susan Fletcher

Dragon's Milk is book one of the Dragon Chronicles. 

This book is one that I first read in fourth grade when I spent my recesses working in the library. I wasn't allowed to do recess due to health problems and so instead I spent my time among the stacks; reading, putting books where they belong, checking out books to others, inventory. The whole shebang. I picked it specifically because I recognized the cover art as that by artist Rebecca Guay (who also has done art for Magic the Gathering cards, -embolden- -blessing of leeches- shes done more than 20 at my last count.)

Anyways, this book is about a girl who is an outsider in her own world. Her name is Kaeldra. She is the opposite of those around her. They are medium height, dark straight hair, dark eyes. She is tall, blonde, and has green eyes.

No one has green eyes. 

Late one night, as her favorite younger sibling lays dying of vermillion fever she hears a sound. IN her head... and her whole world comes crashing down around her.

Her grandmother through magic shows her that the unthinkable has happened. Up on the hillside near her town, a dragon dam has returned for a hatching. Dragons have not existed in this world for lifetimes, as they had been hunted furiously and decided to leave in a great migration for their own safety. 

No one can call the dragons back, or talk to them except for the girls of a lineage belonging to Kara. A girl who was nursed back to health and raised by dragons. A girl who's eyes were turned green due to dragon's milk.  

Kaeldra is related and has the green eyes, and realizes that the only chance of saving her little sister is to go and try to barter with the dragon.

In doing so, she forms a bond and gets tricked into the bargain of milk in return for child care while the dam goes hunting. To keep her sister alive. She agrees.

Three baby draclings to watch and learn from and take care of.

Milk for her sister to heal.

And then the dragonslayer arrived. Looking for the girl with green eyes, and the lair to the dragon that she must know of.

This is a very exciting book. I'm not going to spoil it, there is much more that goes on in the story (and it's part of a 3 book series, though if i recall correctly there might be an additional book that is another story of the world)

IT IS VERY SAD.

There are two or three parts in this book that have terror and sadness occupying the pages. So be warned.

You get really attached to the draclings as you read too. I think that is wonderful.

I don't recall reading the rest of this series, but i'm going to do so soon. This is a book that if I don't already have it, I will be purchasing for my bookshelves.

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Dragons-Dragon-Chronicles-Susan-Fletcher/dp/1416997121

*NOTE* the book link is not the same cover art as the one I read. I was unable to find a reliable link for the cover I have shown here.

ISBN *of the cover shown here* -  0-689-71623-0

The Midwife's Apprentice

Title: The Midwife's Apprentice
Author: Karen Cushman

Karen Cushman has a habit of writing books that can really draw in young girls. Whether or not this is her goal (to get girls into reading) or not, she does a wonderful job of it.

Her stories are often have young people finding out who they are, and the woman really does her research and applies it in such a way that it is easy for a younger reader to understand. I highly recommend her as an author to look into.

The midwife's apprentice follows the story of a young peasant girl who has never known home nor family. She has known, however, what is necessary to survive. She shows this when she enlists herself as help to a village midwife who is a formidable woman. Soon she starts coming to the realization that she is a person, and that she too deserves to be thought of as such; finding herself a name, some friends, and the fortitude to stand on her own two feet against the world.

This is a very short story at 112 pages (in a small sized book) and an easy read. It has no "hero" and no "villain" but peeks into the girls mind in a year of her life. A time of great change.

I highly recommend this book to children capable of reading chapter books and beyond.

This is one that I might get a copy of if I don't already have one, and one that I may do fanart of in the future.

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Midwifes-Apprentice-Newbery-Cushman-Hardcover/dp/B015X54I90/

ISBN: 0-395-69229-6