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titansgo12's review against another edition
4.0
Good pacing, atypical characters and creepy photos what more do you need?!?! lol
emilyb_chicago's review against another edition
4.0
Fast paced, but rather creepy. I was surprised at the horror elements in this book and would caution you to read it before letting your kids read it.
If you're tough, like most normal adults, I think you'll find it fun and interesting. I'll definitely read the next in the series.
If you're tough, like most normal adults, I think you'll find it fun and interesting. I'll definitely read the next in the series.
nicreads420's review against another edition
3.0
did not like it. I thought it was nothing special, I could have been reading something way better instead of this waste of time.
ladygeekface_'s review against another edition
3.0
Easy read, cool pictures, great quotes. I think I'm a bit too old to properly enjoy this, but I would have loved it as a teen. My main complaint is the relationship with Emma. If you know, you know.
katko123's review against another edition
3.0
Love the pictures, but story itself is not as interesting and for rather younger reader then myself.
litmiss502's review against another edition
4.0
I was surprised at how much I really like this book! I had wanted to read it when I first heard about it, but then started hearing some negative reviews and skipped it in favor of others I had been wanting to read. I saw it on sale and bought it on a whim just to see for myself and I'm glad I did. I thought this was a very interesting idea for a book. I may be biased because one of my family members actually collects old pictures like the ones throughout this story, and I always wonder about the people in the pictures whenever I look at them. This story really includes the pictures into the story in a way that doesn't feel forced or gimmicky. They really do feel authentic to his tale. I was pleasantly surprised by this because it seems like that would be a difficult thing to do, especially with how incredibly bizarre some of the photographs are. The author did a great job incorporating the pictures seamlessly. I also found the characters to be pretty well thought out and their back stories were enjoyable, if somewhat sad in certain instances. All in all, I thought this was a pretty good read. I've already picked up the sequel Hollow City and am excited to see how things develop.
logan08's review against another edition
4.0
This was a fantastic book, but it did have many more slow spots than are normally in books. I did enjoy looking at the pictures and I did think that the pictures went well with the story(and vise-versa). I was not quite sure what I thought of the romance between Emma and Jacob. The book did do a really good job setting up for the second in the series, which I can't wait to read.
nickynak3's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
emmettpm's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
2.5
It's.... fine.
I really love the concept of this book, which is why I think I'm extra bitter that the execution was so poor. The pacing was pretty rough right off the bat, I think LOTS could have been cut (including a full like 25% of the first act.) Every scene that was supposed to be high energy and fast-paced was constantly ground to a halt for all of the characters to be able to turn to one another and argue about what to do next and why they should do that and if its really the best course of action and how do you KNOW its the best course of action??? I understand the feeling that you want to make your story as realistic as possible, but you're not trying to be realistic, you're trying to tell a compelling story.
I also felt like none of the characters were particularly charming(least of all the love interest), though they were trying really hard to be. Basically all of the dialogue fell flat for me. (they're actually old so they're talking in old-timey speak! isn't that funny??!!)
(also not to be that guy but making your whimsical fantasy monsters doing a genocide at the same time as the holocaust and calling them... hollowgasts?????? just sort of seems like its in incredibly poor taste to me idk.)
Definitely a bummer because I know for a fact if I had read this when I was 11 or 12 and didn't have as much to compare it too I would have absolutely eaten this up. Unfortunately I think the window is starting to close on my enjoying middle grade/YA books...
I really love the concept of this book, which is why I think I'm extra bitter that the execution was so poor. The pacing was pretty rough right off the bat, I think LOTS could have been cut (including a full like 25% of the first act.) Every scene that was supposed to be high energy and fast-paced was constantly ground to a halt for all of the characters to be able to turn to one another and argue about what to do next and why they should do that and if its really the best course of action and how do you KNOW its the best course of action??? I understand the feeling that you want to make your story as realistic as possible, but you're not trying to be realistic, you're trying to tell a compelling story.
I also felt like none of the characters were particularly charming(least of all the love interest), though they were trying really hard to be. Basically all of the dialogue fell flat for me. (they're actually old so they're talking in old-timey speak! isn't that funny??!!)
(also not to be that guy but making your whimsical fantasy monsters doing a genocide at the same time as the holocaust and calling them... hollowgasts?????? just sort of seems like its in incredibly poor taste to me idk.)
Definitely a bummer because I know for a fact if I had read this when I was 11 or 12 and didn't have as much to compare it too I would have absolutely eaten this up. Unfortunately I think the window is starting to close on my enjoying middle grade/YA books...
keipotato's review against another edition
3.0
3.8
This made me miss horror movies of "realistic" settings with supernatural elements. It's got US YA horror vibes. the photos helped a lot with imagining and getting into the story more.
just it took way too long for things to happen and it being in the first perspective with one narrator, and a boy protagonist wasn't helping, gladly I got over it as more characters appeared.
And.. Emma confused me.
Also, the historical vibe isn't something I'm familiar with in fiction, the author only mentioned a part of the truth of history regarding Jews sufferings, that nobody ever accepted them which is not true. but it's certainly cool how he portrayed this whole thing and hopefully, this wouldn't justify any horrible people hurting others for the sake of tragedy. May every good soul live peacefully, amen.
I came from The Tales of the Peculiar so the setting took me off guard at first. Tho it got better and hmm now I'm curious what would happen.
Overall, I enjoyed this.
This made me miss horror movies of "realistic" settings with supernatural elements. It's got US YA horror vibes. the photos helped a lot with imagining and getting into the story more.
just it took way too long for things to happen and it being in the first perspective with one narrator, and a boy protagonist wasn't helping, gladly I got over it as more characters appeared.
And.. Emma confused me.
Also, the historical vibe isn't something I'm familiar with in fiction, the author only mentioned a part of the truth of history regarding Jews sufferings, that nobody ever accepted them which is not true. but it's certainly cool how he portrayed this whole thing and hopefully, this wouldn't justify any horrible people hurting others for the sake of tragedy. May every good soul live peacefully, amen.
I came from The Tales of the Peculiar so the setting took me off guard at first. Tho it got better and hmm now I'm curious what would happen.
Overall, I enjoyed this.