by Ransom Riggs
352 pages
Middle School+
Jacob grew up listening to the strange and sometimes scary stories his grandfather told him. Based on strange, obviously doctored, photos, Jacob never takes these stories seriously. Jacob thinks his grandpa is paranoid, a bit loopy, and just telling stories.
One day, his grandpa is having a bad day, and Jacob goes over to help him calm down. When he gets there, the back door is open, and his grandpa is missing. As he goes to look in the woods, he finds his grandpa, dying. Just after his grandpa speaks his last words, Jacob looks up after hearing a rustling. In the shadows is a strange monster, which snarls and runs away.
Disturbed by both his grandfather's death in his arms and the vision of the monster, Jacob has issues trying to live a normal life. Nightmares trouble his sleep, and his grandpa's final words haunt him. In order to try to calm these feelings, Jacob and his father travel back to Wales, the place of his grandpa's childhood. Hopefully there he can figure out what really happened in his grandpa's past.
First, can I just say wow! Oh, I so enjoyed reading this! I had the hardest time trying to decide what category this fit in, so I decided to put it into all that might apply. It's a little bit mystery, little creepy, slightly historic, fantasy elements, and lots of great stuff!
One of the things that I really liked about this book is the ending. Lots of excitement and action! But more than that, it is an ending! It concludes this part of the story! There are some things that will still come, and obviously at least one sequel, but it felt like a conclusion, rather than a cliff-hanger. So many books right now are ending with cliff-hangers or end abruptly, not really wrapping things up. This book made me feel like enough was finished up, but still left possibilities for the future! Nice way to end a book. I want to read the next book, but still felt completion when I finished reading the book.
Just as a side note- this is the first book that I read on my Nook that I got for Christmas! To me, there wasn't much difference between reading it on a Nook or the actual book. The biggest difference is one that would really make a difference only to this book. The pictures that are normally full size and have lots of detail are harder to see on the Nook. Most teen and adult novels aren't going to have illustrations that are pivotal to the story, so it won't be a big deal. For children's books, even novels, that have illustrations, a simple Nook might not be the best way to read it. I need to try Diary of a Wimpy Kid on it, and see if the illustrations still come through well.
Overall, I loved this book! The story line is great. Lots of twists and turns. The unfolding of the story was beautifully done. I definitely recommend this for teens, and adults! Not necessarily something I want to read after dark or while home alone, but that only added to the beauty of the book. Love it!
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