Guai qi gu er yuan

I guess I was between a 3 and a 4 for this really, in the end I plumped for the 3 because the story was a little predictable.

An enjoyable little story where magic is real but hidden. Starts off in america but is mostly set in a fictional village on an island in wales called "Cairnholm". There's a little, [b:Tom's Midnight Garden|543086|Tom's Midnight Garden|Philippa Pearce|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348198004s/543086.jpg|530403] style, time travel, but it's not what I like to think of as time tourist like [b:Just One Damned Thing After Another|29661618|Just One Damned Thing After Another (The Chronicles of St Mary's, #1)|Jodi Taylor|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1459230212s/29661618.jpg|25626746].

The characters were rich and interesting. The scene setting was good but Chekhov kept leaving his gun everywhere. Starts promising to deal with tricky emotional things, but then sort of vears off and never challenges them, bit of a missed opportunity there really.

I would say I enjoyed this, and at some point in the future I may pick up the sequel, but I'm not that bothered about it this second.

I'd give this a firm 3 1/2 stars. If only GR didn't make us decide whether to round up or round down. 

Can a collection of odd old photographs tell an interesting story?‎ Evidently yes, it can. With a little help.
‎‎
‎When Jacob was young, his grandfather told him stories about his time on a magical island where he was sent to be protected from "the monsters." When Jacob was little, of course he devoured the stories. But when kids grow up and become men/women of the world around age eight, they naturally become cynics. Grandpa even showed him some old photographs from his time on the island - of some of his friends there - but to no avail. Until somewhere around age 16, when Jacob has to wonder if Grandpa might have been telling him the truth.

‎I love the plot, and a lot of the ideas that the author uses in the story. The writing isn't great, but the story did keep me pretty engrossed. ‎‎

I loved following along with Jacob as he searched for the children's home, as he met some intriguing people and as he discovered reality is not quite what he'd thought it was.

It does have its teeny-bopper moments, but I thought it was bearable‎ since it wasn't too excessive.
‎
I think it could be improved with more character development - most of the characters seem very two-dimensional. We never get to know any of them. Some behave in odd and erratic ways without the reader seeing their motivation. This left me feeling like most of the characters are kind of nuts, and not just the peculiar ones. I can't say I really liked any of them. I liked the idea of some of them, but it seems as though that's all the author is giving us. Who needs a personality when you've got a peculiarity?‎

There's also some blatant stupidity. The characters may not ask enough questions when the answers could shed some light where it's needed for the reader, but they sure can be dense when it comes to picking up on the obvious.‎

I think more detail could help, especially in the workings of the loop and the bad guy characters. There's a lot of potential for world-building‎, but like with the characters, we only see grainy, fuzzy images.

But it's the grainy images in the photographs that give it more life. The photos themselves are fascinating. I think they're cleverly used, that it's a great concept, and the author's selection of photos works wonderfully. Though I do wonder, why Dog Boy? And there are not one but TWO photos of The Freak Twins - WHY ARE THEY NOT INCLUDED AS CHARACTERS?? Those are some of the most intriguing pictures in the book. At least I think so. 
‎
‎
‎
I want to know who they are! And what sort of personality gravitates to such an unusual clothing style? When were these taken?? And what's with the ribbon?!? What is going on in that picture?!?! Please tell me!!
‎‎
‎I was very pleased to see that The Freak Twins will be characters in the upcoming movie. :)
‎
I think it's a 5-star idea, probably a 4-star storyline, but it's 3-star‎ storytelling. The pictures bump it up another half star, because they really are great.

I'm going to venture a guess that this will be one of those rare cases in which the movie is better than the book.‎
‎‎
That being said, I'm intrigued enough by the storyline to read the second book in the series. I'm hoping ‎to find some of the detail that was lacking here. And maybe The Freak Twins. ‎:)

*EDIT: When I first wrote this review, I decided to round up to four stars. But I've found that I just can't live with that decision. It just isn't four-star material.