I may have gone into this book with some erroneous expectations, as the cover and blurb invoked impressions of A Series of Unfortunate Events (minus the whimsy) accented with pieces from half a dozen Tim Burton movies. 
 The story is told solely from the first-person past-tense perspective of 16-year-old Jacob Portman. In a compelling use of historical interweaving, Jacob also happens to be the grandson of a Jewish immigrant and WW2 veteran who was orphaned by the Holocaust. The use of the eerie and ethereal "vintage photos" depicting Peculiar children is a prominent highlight that sets this book's concept apart from other paranormal YA reads. 
 "We cling to our fairy tales until the price for believing in them becomes too high." 
 The book starts out exceptionally well--engaging, mysterious, and fast-paced. But once Jacob leaves the U.S. and begins exploring the island, things stall a bit. Even once he locates the home for Peculiars (taking on a huge increase in characters), things move slower than I would have preferred. My attachment to Jacob stalled at about that point as well, and most of the Peculiar children--while interesting in the moment--quickly faded from my recollection. I'll chalk this effect up to the story being more plot than character-driven. 
 The toying with the historical timeline felt a bit confusing and over-complicated. It was clever to have these hidden children kept safe (view spoiler)[ within a "pocket" of time they were forced to relive, and so forestall the aging process. But things started getting muddled with the concept of leaving the loop within the historical period instead of the present day and then using other loops of essentially hop around. (hide spoiler)] I appreciated the WW2 tie-ins, but the way the time-travel element ultimately works proved a bit off-putting for this reader. The rushed pacing toward the end was a bit of an impediment as well. 
 Not a bad read on the whole, but this reader is on the fence over whether or not to invest in the second installment.