Waukegan Public Library - books

Have You Heard About... Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

Fran J — Thu, 03 May 2012 06:27:08 +0000

…the stuck-in-a-time-loop orphanage that serves as a home for some very peculiar orphans? Jacob learns the truth about it in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. When Jacob’s grandfather is brutally murdered by monsters only Jacob can see, he is determined to find answers. Jacob hunts through his grandfather’s old photographs and finds some very peculiar snapshots of children. His hunt leads him to a remote island off the coast of Wales filled with tight-lipped locals. While roaming the moors, Jacob stumbles into a time loop and into the very orphanage where his grandfather took refuge from the Nazis 60 years ago.

The book is punctuated by the unsettling photos Jacob found among his grandfather’s possessions. I enjoyed reading the story from Jacob’s perspective, an antihero filled with fear and self-doubt, struggling to come to terms with his family’s past and his own future.

Reviewed by Sara (staff)

Have You Heard About... Rose Daughter

Fran J — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 06:49:27 +0000

… the Beauty who fell in love with a Beast as she worked to resurrect his precious rose garden? This is the third in our series of reviews of novels based on “Beauty and the Beast.”

Robin McKinley wrote Rose Daughter as well, which also focuses on Beauty but manages to tell the story in a completely different way. In this version, Beauty is given the task of resurrecting the Beast’s dying rose garden. As the Beast says, “It is the heart of this place, and it is dying.” McKinley fills the story with details, from the people who live in the town near Beauty’s family, to the ever-changing decorations in the Beast’s home.

Reviewed by Fran (staff)

Have You Heard About... Beauty

Fran J — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 16:54:32 +0000

… Beauty and her courtly Beast? The second review in this set looks at very different style of novel based on “Beauty and the Beast.”

Robin McKinley’s Beauty is an elegant version of the classic tale, with a more conventional focus on Beauty. The story follows the familiar outline, with a kind-hearted and book-loving Beauty gradually falling in love with the Beast. In this story, Beauty is a bit of a tom-boy who loves spending time with horses and digging in the garden, and she grew up feeling shy and awkward next to her sisters. The rich descriptions in this story and Beauty’s strength of character make this a delightful read.

Reviewed by Fran (staff)

Have You Heard About... Beastly

Fran J — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 06:41:12 +0000

… the Beauty who fell in love with a Beast? Some form of “Beauty and the Beast” is found in cultures throughout the world, and you can find many wonderful versions from picture books to movies. Over the next week, we will feature three great novels based on this classic tale, all filled with roses and romance.

Alex Flinn’s Beastly is the most modern of the three adaptations. It features a handsome, spoiled, self-centered high school student who is turned into a beast for his cruel, thoughtless treatment of a witch (and everyone else). Because he did one kind thing the day she cursed him, the witch gives him two years to learn how to love a woman and to earn her love in return. If he can’t, he will stay a beast forever. This version focuses more on the “beast” than the “beauty,” showing how he changes from being one of the pretty people and leading a charmed life to being rejected by his father and having to hide from his former friends.

Reviewed by Fran (staff)