I first reviewed this book in February 2014 and LOVED it. Quirk Books, the publisher, is celebrating the five year anniversary of its release and have sent a really cool Miss Peregrine tote bag to give to one of my readers in honor of the anniversary (and the upcoming movie that releases in October). Here’s my original review and, at the bottom, you can leave a comment to be included in the drawing:

I’d seen this book in bookstores and on book fair tables for a while, but whenever I picked it up or thought about buying it, I’d end up putting it down. I just couldn’t decide if I wanted to read it or not. So when I found it in the school library before Christmas break, I grabbed it thinking it wouldn’t hurt to start it.

It took me a while to get into Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. I didn’t immediately feel connected to this odd story of kids that do magical things, stories from an old grandfather everyone thought was a little off, and pages filled with weird vintage pictures. I just couldn’t get a feel for it in the beginning.

But I kept on, thinking it must be good because I was starting to pay attention when people talked about it and was hearing that it was well-loved.

And then one day, it clicked: I couldn’t put it down, couldn’t believe what was happening, and couldn’t take, on the last page, when it was over.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children centers on Jacob, a sixteen-year-old only child, who has grown up hearing stories from his Jewish grandfather about the time he spent living in a children’s home during World War II. His family had sent him there for safety and, when the war was over, he didn’t have a family to return to so he came to America and started over. The stories he would tell his grandson were accompanied by pictures as proof of the wild tails about boys who were full of bees and a girl with two mouths. But as Jacob got older, he became cynical, believing more and more that these were just Photoshopped pictures his grandfather used to rationalize his made-up stories.

Soon after, the pictures went away and Grandpa stopped sharing the stories. Years later, Jacob witnesses his grandfather’s death in the woods by, what officials declare are wild dogs, but Jacob knows it was something else. This claim prompts his parents to send him to a local psychologist to help Jacob with his post-traumatic stress.

While in his recovery, the shrink suggests Jacob travel to the home where his grandfather says he lived and do some investigating. Let Jacob learn that they were just stories and it will help him recover, the doctor says.

So Jacob and his dad take off. And what Jacob learns about his grandfather, his stories, and those pictures changes everything. And now Jacob can never go back.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs is historical fantasy where real world events collide with magical tales. If you love when authors take inspiration for history to help them create stories, this book is for you. It was definitely out of my normal realm of reading, but I’m so very glad I read it. At times, I felt I was reading the first draft of a really good, visually stunning movie script. Not that it was rough and unedited, but that the imagery was so well-written and would play out so well on the big screen that it would be a travesty not to make it into a movie. (This coming from someone who normally hates when they turn a book into a movie…)

I didn’t realize until I neared the end that this book isn’t the end, it’s the beginning of a trilogy and the second one is already out (edit: called Hollow City–which I’ve now read and it’s just as good!). So I’ll be on the lookout for that one now. Because I have to know how this ends, it’s too important to leave things unsettled.

Have you read this one before? What did you think? And what about Jacob and Emma?? Did that weird you out a little bit?

Want to win a Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children tote bag to rock this summer and carry to the movie in October? Leave a comment below telling me why you loved the book or why you’d like to read it! I’ll randomly select a winner on  July 26th so make sure you leave your email address.

LOVE TALKING ABOUT BOOKS? ALWAYS LOOKING FOR A GOOD BOOK TO READ? WANT TO KNOW WHAT I’M CURRENTLY READING? FOLLOW MY INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT DEDICATED TO ALL THINGS BOOK-RELATED: @THEMARYGRAHAMREADS.

DISCLOSURE: THIS IS A SPONSORED POST, BUT ALL OPINIONS ARE MY OWN.

There’s just something about reading about other people’s finances, budgets, and debt-elimination plans that gets me going. I don’t know if it’s because money is something that many people don’t like to talk about or what, but I love hearing other’s money stories. I find them encouraging and I always learn something new.

So when I read Slaying the Debt Dragon by Cherie Lowe and heard her family’s story of getting rid of over $127,000 in debt, I was geeked the whole time. Lowe shares her mess, her faith, and her God-honoring plan that helped get her family from overwhelming debt to debt free. She’s upfront about this journey being hard, really hard, but something that can be done. And Lowe’s book is full of ideas and tips that help you get there. She’s encouraging, real, and funny, all things I appreciate in a writer.

As we prepare to start 2015, it’s easy to think about fresh starts and big goals. Why not decide to get a handle on your finances in 2015 also? Slaying the Debt Dragon by Cherie Lowe would be a great first step.

Bonus! I’m giving away a copy of Slaying the Debt Dragon because I loved it so much and I just know you will too. Comment below with one finance-related goal you have for 2015 and I’ll announce the winner next week. Good luck!

DISCLOSURE: THIS IS A SPONSORED POST, BUT ALL OPINIONS ARE MINE.

Can we talk about how I keep getting pushed out of my reading comfort zone and I’m loving it? Take Dark Hope by Monica McGurk for example. It’s got angels and prophesies, sex-trafficked kids and Asian mafias, all things I wouldn’t normally be drawn to, but once I got into this book, I was hooked.

Dark Hope is the first in a trilogy (and we know how much I love a trilogy!) about Hope, a teenage girl who has lived an extremely sheltered life. It all started when Hope was younger and was kidnapped while at the local playground with her father. Thankfully Hope was rescued a few days later but her father never fully recovered from the incident he felt was his fault since it happened while she was at the playground with him.

Fast-forward a decade and Hope’s parents have separated (although never divorced) and have been living a part for years. Hope lives with her overly-religious father who can’t hold down a job because he’s too focused on keeping his daughter safe, training her for survival in case she goes missing again, and cramming her head full of Bible verses.

Finally at fifteen, Hope makes a request to the judge to move in with her mother and her mom welcomes her home with open arms. Hope immediately enrolls in public school, starts making a few friends, and enjoys the freedom that was unheard of while living with her father. One friend Hope makes, Michael, seems to be almost angelic in his appearance and demeanor. And he only has eyes for Hope in a way that could either be super-romantic or super-creepy.

As Hope gets to know Michael better, she learns secrets that make her past come back clearer and brighter than ever before. And as Michael reveals his true self to her, she has to decide what to believe about God, angels, good versus evil, and how to stand up for those that don’t have a voice.

It took me a little longer than normal to get feel connected to the characters and to care about them, but once I did, I couldn’t put Dark Hope by Monica McGurk down. I read it during class, I read it sitting in my car in the driveway at my house, and I read it late into the night until it was finished. And there’s a love story that’s pretty hot in an unconventional way that kept me pretty entertained. I loved that every time I picked up the book, another plot twist was waiting for me. It made putting it down, especially near the end, really hard.

And here’s the great news! I have a copy to giveaway to a lucky reader! If you or someone you know loves young adult novels or is looking for a new trilogy to obsess over, this would be the one!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.