Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children



Lima: Hardcover (read while drinking Not Your Father’s Root Beer) (is totally an alcoholic)
Antz: Audio book (read while not drinking alcohol because she is not an alcoholic)


Lima: Hello!
Antz: Hiiiiiiiii! So did you like it?
Lima: Basically, I loved this book so much, I wanted to run away with it and have little book babies and have a quiet, tasteful book wedding in a house similar to the one from the book.  
Antz: Ummmm… That’s a lot of love! I doubt you would have a quiet wedding though, with all the peculiar guests and the war. Lol I liked it too! I don’t know if I would have book babies with it, but it was good. It was an original story and an original take on the orphan problems of WWII.
I felt like I missed out with the audio book though!
Lima: Yes. I will have to say the pictures are beautiful and bring a whole new depth to it. I’m not sure if the audio book covers this but all those pictures were taken from yard sales and flea markets, pictures which would have otherwise been discarded. The author asked his photography fans to uncover these pictures and he’d select some for the book. All the pictures, all haunting and lovely, were real and would have been forgotten to time without the author.
Antz: Awwww, that’s such a nice thing! So the entire book was written about these pictures that were found? That’s pretty amazing. The audio book does not cover this. It comes with a .pdf file with the pictures, supposedly, but I never found it on my Scribd. Also, I listen while I drive to and from work, so it would not have worked.
Lima: I was exceptionally impressed for a first time novelist to be honest. I know he had skill as a photographer but to get out an original story, that spans decades and times, covers life perfectly in this part of Florida to the fogs of England...he is a talented man and I expect so much more from him.
Lima: This book will be turned into a movie, upcoming in September 2016. I’m excited because I understand some of it was shot here locally in Tampa, FL.  I swear if Tim Burton screws up the movie….me and my book babies are writing him a strongly worded letter.
Antz: Tim Burton can do no wrong, and I am SO EXCITED for the movie. Although by the trailer we can totally see a lot of stuff will be changed already.
Antz: The ONLY thing about the book that I was a little iffy about, is that the second half of the book is pretty predictable (as in, who’s the bad guy and what the kid is gonna do and whatever).
Lima: That brings me to a different question. Would you classify this as YA? Because in certain stores, I’ve seen it marketed as both. I believe he beautifully captures the essence of awkward, spoilt, suburban American youth.
Antz: I would. The writing is pretty YA. What would you classify it as?
Lima: There are times I could see it as both regular fiction and young adult...as I said he really captures being a young kid seeing things others don’t understand. That could be applicable to any age group, from a father reading the book and seeing his son in it, to us reading it and relating to the awkwardness of teenage years not too long ago.
Antz: Yeah, but isn’t all YA innately relatable to? We have all been through that period of life, which is why I think so many adults read YA - because they relate to the experiences, like anguished love, or rebellion.
Lima: Maybe what I’m trying to say is that it’s better written YA than Twilight or Red Queen? Which annoys me that I’d think that because is it because the narrator is male and most YA is female narrated?
Antz: There are tons of YA better written than Twilight - by both men AND women. So I would not pin this on the gender of the author. I think he is just talented and his story is highly captivating.
Lima: Wait, I’m confused? I meant the narrator, the kid telling the story is a dude? Not the author?
Antz: OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH, yeah I read that wrong. Hahahaha That’s cause you’re more of a boy than a girl. Lol Jk! I honestly could not really say I related to him, except in the sadness he felt for his losses.
Lima: Man, I must totally have a penis because I WAS him. Everything from the sadness, to his family thinking he was crazy, to not knowing how to speak to his father discussing his marriage...Omg, I’m a man.
Antz: Let’s name your penis! Hahaha ok, we are getting off track. Final judgement?
Lima: Obviously it’s already named Beowulf….Love. Book babies. 4/5.
Antz: What?! If you wanna have book babies and you are only giving it a 4...I wanna know what a 5/5 is worth! I agree with a 4 star rating.
Lima: I have intense standards!! And probably Harry Potter lol but the first 3.
Antz: So basically you gotta have a magic wand to earn a 5 with you. Got it. Take note, readers!  

tl;dr: Great read, makes you wanna have book babies, great writing.
4 out of 5 stars
Read below for a review of the drinks we paired with this review!



“THE BREWS”


The Soda That Wanted to be Beer: Not Your Father’s Root Beer




This brew was very good and what I first pictured as a 4 year old when I thought about “root beer,” thinking there was booze in it for some reason (what type of 4 year old thinks of beer?). It is a little on the sweet side as a fair warning so essentially, it begs to be made into a float! I didn’t have the right ice cream to do this but with the spice, vanilla and carbonation, the only advice I can provide is keep track of your intake, one bottle packs a nice buzz! (She texted me after 5… it was quite entertaining)

The Non-Alcoholic Brew



I was actually not drinking this as I read the book, but I am drinking it now, so it’s a winner! This tea is DELICIOUS. Especially if you are looking for non-caffeinated, herbal teas. Yes, yes, I know - no real tea should come in a bag and be made with microwaved water - but whatever, I am at the office and this is the best I can do! Do not judge me. The smell of the tea is a bit earthy, but do not let that put you off to trying it. With a bit of honey, it sweetens right up and it’s worth it (Judged).