It wasn't quite what I expected. I was imagining a much more horror-heavy, stylized, Victorian-esque dark horror fantasy. It was nothing of the sort, really. It was more like a good episode of Doctor Who (think Tennant) mixed with Series of Unfortunate Events (sort of) and the X-men, with a splash of Neil Gaiman, perhaps? But the narrative was pretty unfussy and straightforward. It read like a lot of YA I've read in that sense.
The concept of this story being built around all these eerie old photos is pretty novel and intriguing, but I think the thing that really drew me in was the story. It had its moments and parts were a bit underdeveloped, but in all it was just a good story that drew me in. I liked Jacob, the main character, and found his narrative to be well-paced and easy to get drawn into. The story of a boy discovering his grandfather's tall tales were true, and that he was a part of a time travel / WWII / dark fantasy / monster fairy tale type story in ways he couldn't have even imagined, kept me interested.
The story follows Jacob as he tracks clues left by his grandfather, who died a disturbing death, to discover the home for "peculiar children" he told tales of through Jacob's childhood was real. Then Jacob gets caught up in friendship, romance, adventure, danger, and makes shocking discoveries about himself and the world around him. Vague, I know, but to explain it in more detail would ruin it! The plot has enough twists and turns that you'll want to see for yourself.
I liked the vibe--dark, but not too dark, more historical fantasy fiction than anything. My biggest complaint is, again, that some of the story's threads seemed a little thin, and could have strengthened the story if they had been woven a big tighter and fleshed out more.
But, yeah, I really enjoyed it! Enough that I had to pick up the next book, Hollow City, right away. Looking forward to the movie this fall!
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