Spring-Summer Reading Challenge (2017): The Results

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2017, Amelie Nothomb, books, Charlotte Vale Allen, Daphne du Maurier, Diana Gabaldon, Jojo Moyes, Me Before You, Miss Peregrine, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, Ni d'Eve ni d'Adam, Night Magic, Outlander, Ransom Riggs, Reading, reading challenge, Reading List, results, spring-summer reading challenge, summer reading challenge, The Infernal World of Branwell Bronte, The Light Between Oceans, Tokyo Fiancee, Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackeray

For the past two summers, I have given myself a reading challenge consisting of 10 books to finish within 4 and a half months. Although this seems very reasonable since I tend to read at least 20-30 books during the summer (on average), I don’t always follow my own reading challenge. Honestly, my whole life could be summed up in this quote from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland:

She generally gave herself very good advice, (though she very seldom followed it)” – Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

My own disregard for my own rules surprises me sometimes…

For my 2017 (April 15 – August 31) spring-summer reading challenge, I planned to read the following books:

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Book Review: Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children by: Ransom Riggs

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Book, Book Review, Fantasy, Miss Peregrine, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, novel, Novel Review, Ransom Riggs, Young adult, Young adult fiction

I used to dream about escaping my ordinary life, but my life was never ordinary. I had simply failed to notice how extraordinary it was” –Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Ransom Riggs

Initial Thoughts: When this book was first released in 2011, the cover image of the miserable looking girl apparently floating in midair was featured everywhere. Critics couldn’t stop raving about this book. And so, sometime in 2011 to 2012, I had checked it out at the library. The title Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children reminded me a lot of the television show I used to watch when I was a kid Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends. Anyway, upon reading the first ten pages, I gave up and I ended up returning the book a few days later. Recently, I decided to give this book another chance after watching the movie adaptation.

Plot Summary

Ever since he was a little boy, Jacob has been told fantastical stories by his grandfather about a mysterious island off the coast of England inhabited by strange children with peculiar gifts. When Jacob’s grandfather dies under mysterious circumstances, Jacob decides to investigate by venturing to the mysterious island.

Goodreads

The Review

As I have said earlier, there was a lot of hype surrounding this book when it was first published. It was featured on Goodreads, Indigo, Amazon, Barnes & Noble etc. etc. Upon reading the first ten pages, in 2011-2012, my first reaction was: