Miss Peregrine was the December selection for my book club, and I know people LOVE it and there are over 100 people waiting for my library copy, but I can't with this book. I always feel a bit traitorous when I hate a book my friends loved, but in this case... 
 Most writers start with a character or an idea. When Melina Marchetta was asked why she chose to write about Tom Mackee and not, say, Jimmy Hailer after Saving Francesca, her response was that Tom spoke to her. I think if Ransom Riggs were asked why he chose to write about these children, his answer would be: 
 My expectations going into this book were admittedly pretty high. Aside from the hype, the cover and title were really intriguing. Add to that creepy vintage photographs and I figured I'd be in for a good read or at least a good scare similar to 
 The Others 
 -- and I scare pretty easily. Seriously, sneeze loudly behind me and I'll duck and cover. 
 My actual reaction to this book was utter boredom. The writing and the pictures turned out to be a giant letdown. 
 Here's a picture of a woman and a bird! 
 And? 
 It's vintage! 
 Here's a picture of a man holding a child! 
 So?? 
 Vintage again! 
 Those pictures actually had some loose association to the story though. Usually the author would describe a character with some peculiar ability and then there would be a picture depicting that. It got to be overkill because I actually don't need someone to show me a picture of a man on a couch with a gun after I just read about a man on a couch with a gun. My imagination can handle that. But then there are times when the author is obviously desperate to use a picture even if it makes no sense at all. Description: Fiona is a girl who can control plants and make them grow to whatever height or shape of her choosing. Picture: A girl dressed in rags holding a chicken. Explanation: Isn't it cool how we dressed her up for this picture?? Me: Kill me. Another picture that reeked of the general desperation of this novel was a letter "handwritten on fine, unlined paper in looping script so ornate it was almost calligraphy." If you used to read The Baby-Sitters Club books, picture Kristy's writing. That's what this "so ornate almost calligraphy" writing looked like. 
 So why would the author use all these unnecessary pictures? Oh wait, lookie here, Ransom Riggs has a book coming out early next year called Talking Pictures, which is just a book of pictures he found! Ransom Riggs should make a hat with all the money he's raking in. 
 See, I can pull a Ransom Riggs too! Find picture ---> write sentence. 
 So anyway, plot. I'm making the plot secondary in my review since that was obviously the case in the book. Blah blah blah, then the last quarter of the book enough happens to require a sequel. To be fair though, it's hard to write when your hands are busy doing this: