One for Sorrow by Mary Downing Hahn

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Category: Middle Grade
Genre: Paranormal
Content: Clean


Against the ominous backdrop of the influenza epidemic of 1918, Annie, a new girl at school, is claimed as best friend by Elsie, a classmate who is a tattletale, a liar, and a thief. Soon Annie makes other friends and finds herself joining them in teasing and tormenting Elsie.

2.5 stars. I've read a few of Mary Downing Hahn's books and liked them quite a bit. I don't read a lot of middle grade, but her books are usually fun, creepy reads. This one I did not like as much as the others I've read. Despite there being a ghost, this was not a creepy book, and that disappointed me. Most of this book was not pleasant to read. There is a lot of bullying done among school girls and although I wanted to feel badly for the girl that was being bullied, and I did at times, it was hard to because she was just as mean as the bullies. For most of the book none of the girls were really likable because of all of the meanness, but in the end the girls all do change. But it does take a vengeful ghost to get them to that point.

The thing I found most interesting about this book was that it was inspired by a story from the author's mothers own experience of living during the Spanish influenza and surviving it. The part in the book when the girls go to the different homes to pay their respects to and view the dead, mainly so they can get free cake, candy, and punch was something her mother and her mother's friends actually did, and they really did end up at a house that belonged to one of their classmates that they had no idea had died until they saw her in the coffin.

If you like reading books about mean girls or vengeful ghosts you might like this book, but for me it was just ok.

Thanks to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Book Group for giving me a copy of this book.



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Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Middle Grade, Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Content: Clean


A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of curious photographs.

A horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children was well- a peculiar book. I liked the inclusion of the vintage photos. Some of them were pretty creepy and you have to wonder what in the world people were thinking when they took them.

For me this book was just mediocre. There are a few reasons for this. For one, it took too long to get to the real meat of the story. I think it's around 30 percent in when it finally starts to take off. Even after we get there the majority of the characters are not as fleshed out as I would have liked. I also felt that the romance between Jacob and Emma was weird. In the beginning Jacob realizes that she is attracted to him because he reminds her of his grandfather, whom Emma was in love with. Emma and the other peculiar children are really in their 70s and 80s but have not aged because they are stuck in a time loop, so they all are stuck as teens. Initially Jacob shies away from her attentions for this reason. However, just a couple of days later, Jacob seems to have forgotten this and he's kissing her anyway. This resulted in not only an insta-love type relationship, but it's also a weird one because of the whole grandfather thing and it sort of seems like she just likes him because of who he reminds her of and not for who he is.

I did really like the end of the book. It packed a little bit of an emotional punch as Jacob made a decision about staying with the Peculiars or his family. This is one of those books that will probably make a good movie, and truth be told I saw the movie trailer in the theater and thought it looked interesting. That is what led me to read the book. I'm not sure if I will continue reading the series.





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