Vintage ‘found’ photos of weird children were the inspiration for this book. It’s unusual for a novel to include photographs. This is the creepiest element of the book and I think gives a misleading impression of what the story is about.
The narrator is 16-year-old Jacob, who gets drawn into a mystery involving monsters, ‘peculiar’ children and his grandfather’s life. He’s a great character, intelligent, witty and brave. It’s a coming of age story because he really grows up along the way, finding friends and facing his demons. I have to say, based upon the title and photos, I thought this was going to be horror or supernatural fiction. It turned out to be less dark than I anticipated and after the first few chapters was not frightening at all. I would class it as fantasy. I liked the pacing, the humour and the ideas. However, my interest in the story lessened towards the end and I probably won’t read the other books in the series.
I think the novel is categorised as YA, due to the ages of the characters and the themes, but it’s one of those crossover books which adults enjoy too. It’s interesting to have more of a visual element to the book. Ultimately it didn’t deliver on its promise of weirdness, which got increasingly sidetracked by storylines about romance and friendship.
First published in 2011. The film adaptation was released in 2016.
I watched the film at the cinema a few years back. The book sounds so different from the film (which is typical these days)
I haven’t encountered the film yet but I can well believe it might be quite different from the book! I would watch it if the opportunity came up.
I read this one a few years back and thought it was fine, but never bothered to carry on with the series, which I suppose speaks for itself! A shame, as it felt like there was a lot of potential in the initial concept and setup.
Hmm yes, you know a book has failed to capture your interest when the rest of the series doesn’t appeal. It was a good enough read, but I wouldn’t re-read.
I’ve not picked up any of these books because I thought they were gothic horror, which isn’t always my thing. I was surprised to learn this one wasn’t. I might give it a go, but won’t have high expectations. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! 🙂
The is an element of horror in the first few chapters but it’s generally not a scary book. I would recommend if you’re looking for something unusual with a visual element. Thanks for your comment 🙂
I’ve been meaning to read this for a while now. I confess the pictures did confuse me a little, I too thought it was a horror book or something and I was not very much in the mood for scary. I’m thankful for your review now, happy to see someone else reacted the same regarding the pictures
I would have preferred a horror or supernatural story really, to match with the photos 🙂
What I really like about this book is the idea of using photos as writing prompts
It was a great idea and some of the photos are so weird 🙂
Ik!! It really added a fun aspect to the book. I read the book bc I wanted to see the movie but I felt like the movie was about a completely different story. It didnt feel the same
That’s interesting, I want to see it now 🙂
I liked them both in different ways