Mini reviews #4

Hello guys!

Here’s another mini reviews! Today’s titles are Choke, by Chuck Palahniuk and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs.

Choke, by Chuck Palahniuk

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I’ve only read Fight Club before but it’s one of my favourite books ever, probably. I know about the whole stigma behind it but I honestly loved it. Palahniuk’s novels are always edgy and definitely much more provoking than what I usually read.

Choke is tells the story of a sex addict who works at an historical reconstruction theme park and, in the nights, pretends to choke on food at restaurants in order for someone to feel responsible for him for the rest of their lives. The thing is that his mother, who has Alzheimer’s, is hiding the truth about his father.

First of all, this book is hilarious af!! It’s so ridiculous at times, you can’t wonder but think “what the heck is going on?!” constantly. I have a soft spot for things like this. Then, there’s Palahniuk’s writing, which is probably one of my favourite things in the whole world. I love how he uses repetition to prove a point and make the whole work cohesive. In Fight Club it’s “I’m Jack’s ….” and in this one is something like “… isn’t the right word but it’s the first that comes to mind”. Also, his style is very simple, which is a good change from the usual flowery stuff I like to read often. But, the best thing about Palahniuk is how he likes to screw with your mind. It’s really difficult to know what is real and what is simply there to confuse you. I find it super fun to read. Although, I think this book, and probably his other ones, are either a hit or complete misses to some. I think you even need to be in a certain mood to read them and, if you don’t have the right mindset for the kind of story he tries to tell, forget it, this book is going to be terrible.

Personally, I loved Choke and it’s definitely the weirdest book I’ve read this year so far.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs

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I’ve had this book since my birthday in October but I insisted on putting it low on my TBR because, like all hyped books, I was reticent in starting this.

In this book, it is told the story of Jacob, whose grandfather used to tell the most amazing stories revolving around some photographs and the peculiar children in them. When his grandpa dies, Jacob decides to visit the place where those pictures were supposedly taken, in order to see if they are true or not.

I think the worst thing anyone can do is going into this book expecting it to be a horror story. I know the photographs give away that feeling but it’s totally wrong. To be fair, all old photographs look creepy af: it’s the blurriness and the grayscale. I knew that beforehand and it was awesome for me. I really liked this book. It may not be mind blowing-ly good but it was a really enjoyable read. I’m less used to read YA books with male narrators but this change was really nice. The book can be very gory and violent at points, which was a total surprise. The fantasy elements are entertaining too, and the peculiar children were all absolutely lovely. What really stood out to me where the photographs. I didn’t feel like their insertion on the story was forced, at all. To me, they seemed to complement the story beautifully and I also love visual aids in literature. It also helped emerge in the whole nostalgic feel I thought the book had.

Overall, I really liked this book. I just need to have an opportunity to buy the next title, I’m dying to read it!

I hope you enjoyed these two little reviews and I wish to see you in here soon. Let me know what you guys think of both these titles, which couldn’t be more far apart from each other!

Until soon,

Cat.