Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

The brutal murder ofhisgrandfathersends15 year old Jacob to a remote Welsh island where he discovers that his grandfather’s stories of peculiar spirits with peculiar abilities are all true. He befriends these peculiar spirits and learns that hollow gasts are the monsters set out to kill peculiar children for their abilities, as well as the ones responsible for the death of his grandfather. To protect the peculiars and revenge his grandfather, Jacob goes through time loops and suspenseful chases with the children and together, they unravel hidden truths of identities and pasts. This book had me hooked and surprised at every turn. The writing and photographs adds a more realistic feel and makes you feel like you have also fallen through time into the world of the peculiars. All the characters are very distinguishable and special in a way where every single one is important to the storyline. The cover of the levitating young girl looked a bit unusual and haunting so that naturally appealed to me. From the start, the book’s oddity captured my attention. The vintage photographs were unique and set this book apart from the books I normally see on the shelves. You discover that the pictures have actually been lent from personal archives from people’s collections and nothing has been photoshopped. This only adds the creepy tension and the sense that it is all real. This book is definitely something that people who are interested in darker, more paranormal stories will like. It is also for anyone who is simply looking for something different to read.

Reviewed by Hazel Liang

 

 

 

 

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

A young girl Bella moved to the city of Forks to live with her father while her mother traveled around the country. She is intrigued by one of her new classmates Edward. Though Edward does not want Bella to be part of his life. Bella insists that when two people love each other they should be together. Their love takes them through a long sequence of events that continue through the next book New Moon . When reading this book I found myself, surprised, and constantly on edge about what was going to happen next. I wanted to know how their love was going to unravel. And what would become of their love. In my opinion, I absolutely loved this book. I have never really like to read, but I do not know what this book had, that made me want to read more often. They say not to judge a book by the cover. Unfortunately that is what found myself doing. I was randomly taking out books from the shelves and when I pulled Twilight out. I was very intrigued by the cover. The apple, I wanted to know what the apple meant. Even though many would say not to judge a book by the cover. I am glad I did, because it is a spectacular book. I kept reading this book, beause it constantly had me on edge, waiting to see what was going to happen next. All the events that happened before the climax were very good because when the book made it to the climax. It was amazing in every way. Next, I would probably recommend this book to my friends. They generally have the same taste as I do in books and I am sure they would love. Although for anyone who likes books that are fantasy novels with a bit of romance, I am sure they would enjoy this book.

Trailer by Analila E.

 

I am Legend by Richard Matheson

 

Daemon Hall by Andrew Nance

Summary: Five teen horror contest winners meet up in Daemon Hall. A infamous mansion said that once you enter it, you never come back out. The group enters the house and do a semi japanese style ghost story telling. Each person tells their horror story and after each story, one candle goes out. But after about two stories strange things start to happen in the house.

Why I picked it up: The title pulled me in the most. Because I love to spell demon as daemon. And seeing a book, a horror novel at that, titled like that I knew I had to get it.

Why I kept reading it: The book intrigued me from the start. And because of that I knew it would be a great book. And I was not disappointed.

Who would I give it to next: Anyone with a taste for horror.

Reviewed by Shawn P.

Cryer’s Cross by Lisa McMann

Summary: Cryers Cross, a small town in Montana, has a big secret. One they are willing to hide at the cost of anything.

Why I picked it up: Had a very eerie feel to the cover. Coupled with the old worn down school desk on it I knew this was one book I couldn’t pass up.

Why I kept reading it: This book makes you want to keep reading.  As well as when I started to near the end it was practically impossible to set the book down.

Who would I give it to next: Anyone that likes a horror/thriller books.

Reviewed by Shawn P.

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Summary: Ten people with ten entirely different personalities are invited to the same location. They have all committed sins, known only by their mysterious host. Arriving at Soldier Island, the ten people find a recording that accuses each person of committing undetected murder. One by one each of them is killed according to a nursery rhyme. There is no way to connect to the outside world. How long can they survive? Will they figure out who the killer is before they all end up dead?

Critic: An isolated and lonely Soldier Island, ten strangers, and a creepy nursery rhyme are all the elements used to make a great book. All of these elements are the perfect combination of mystery, suspense and thriller. This book, And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie has it. How Christie writes is well thought out and her effort is clearly shown in her work on this book. She explores her characters in such depth that causes the reader to feel the same emotions that the characters have felt, making the reader attached to them.

Why we picked it up: Our friends read this book and suggested it to us.

Why we kept reading it: There was a lot of intriguing suspense in the plot. We had many questions about the story, but for them to be answered we had to keep reading.

Who would we give it to next: We would suggest this book to anyone that likes a good mystery and suspense book.    

Reviewed by Megha K. and Vaishnavi P.

 

Review #2 And Then There Were None is a detective novelwritten by Agatha Christie, one of the famous crime novel writers. Ten people are invited to an island and find themselves are trapped in the games of their unknown host, Mr. U.N. Owen. They are murdered according to the rhythm which known as the ‘Ten little Indians’. Why do they get killed? Each of them, with incredible secret, has an unknown past that fascinates every single reader. Agatha creates an extremely mysterious and horrible atmosphere which you can never stop reading from it. Are they going to survive? Are they able to escape before they are killed? I personally like this book because Agatha creates an interesting setting and plot for the story. Her writing makes you feel like you are one of the characters in the story! I strongly recommended it to persons who like detective stories to read this book! And Then There Were None is a suspenseful and mysterious story for questions with an unexpected ending.

Reviewed by Hannah K.

Cirque Du Freak by Darren Shan

When you hear the word “Vampire” what comes to your mind? Is it sucking blood, sharp teeth, garlic and crosses? That is the typical answer, but the book Cirque Du Freak by Darren Shan, goes in dept about vampires from a whole different view. The horrific scenes and the grotesque and detailed description allows the reader to feel as if they were really there. This heart pounding book will provide you with the excitement that will feel even bigger than watching a horror movie at a theater.
Most books about Vampires are just stories of vampires sucking blood from humans and being evil. But in this book, the author creates another world about vampires, describing their complicated lives. Also, in this book, vampires are not evil. This interesting view of vampires that has never been seen before adds to the uniqueness and newness to the theme of the book. Also, the fact that the name of the main character is the name of the author, makes the reader believe for a second that some part of the story might actually be real. This also adds to the horror of the book.
It all started when Darren Shan and his group of friends find an advertisement to a freak show. None of them believed it could be real, after all it was a freak show, describing that there would be actual “freaks”. No one would have ever thought that going to this freak show would change Darren’s life forever. Darren’s friend Steve, was in charge of buying the tickets for the group of friends, but he was only able to attain two tickets. There were four people in his group of friends, so their only option was to fight for it. Darren and Steve were the ones that ended up with the tickets. And their story began from here.
When arriving at the freak show, Darren and Steve could not believe their eyes. After witnessing a half wolf half human boy, a man who had two bellies, a man who controlled a deadly spider, and many more, they knew for sure that the freak show was real. After the freak show, he overhead his friend Steve talking to one of the people from the freak show. When he heard his friend begging the man to turn him into a vampire, his jaw almost dropped. The man refused, so they both went home. All seemed well until one day Darren decided to do something that was completely insane. No one had any idea that his next decision would alter his life forever.
This book provides excitement, and provides a whole new view about Vampires. All of the material in this book was new, and exciting, causing me to never want to put the book down. The author not only talks about vampires, but also touches on the meaning of appreciating things, especially life. Before Darren went to the freak show and witnessed all of the abnormal people, he didn’t think twice of what he had. And before he became a half vampire, and found out he could no longer stay with his family, he realized for the first time how important his family was to him. It is interesting and amazing how the author can include so much meaning and make the book horrific at the same time. This book is a must read not only for horror lovers, but for those who read in general.

Reviewed by Erika F.

The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

The Notebook, a romantic novel by Nickolas Sparks, is a tragic story of two hearts meeting at a festival in New Bern. Noah and Allie’s love ended soon when she was forced to go back after summer. They both never forgot the summer they spent together. Noah worked on the house he had his eye on and Allie had met a guy. A week before her wedding, she felt like she had left something behind in New Bern. She showed up unexpectedly to Noah’s house and they shared an amazing night. Allie’s fiancé Lon was curious about why she went to New Bern and he was scared of losing her. She loved Lon, but Noah was the one that she could be herself around. She knew her parents would definitely not approve her life with Noah. There comes a time where people have to decide between the happier life and the better life.

This novel is a romantic story about two hearts reuniting and the decision she makes will change her life forever.

I recommend this book to girls that like romantic stories, because this story can relate to them. It is very realistic and detailed. As I read it, I could imagine every part like a movie. I like how it teaches us that no matter what the right way is, we should still decide what makes us happier. It is an amazing story and I think everyone should read it, even if you have seen the movie.

Reviewed by Rosa Y.