I just finished
Miss Pergrines's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. It is a very fine YA Fantasy with a few overtones of
Lost Horizon,
Groundhog Day, and even a touch of
X-Men all wrapped up with a number of other very different. interesting and original ideas. It has a slow start, but everything in those earlier chapters is very relevant to later events and decisions. Throughout it is illustrated with genuine vintage photographs which add another layer of enjoyment to the novel.
The main character is well-drawn and has psychological depth. The subsidiary figures are interesting and by no means a set of stereotypes. The sense of place is very effectively conveyed and the villains. . . . !
While it does have a satisfactory conclusion to the main events of the novel, it is clearly the first volume of a longer sequence. In fact the sequel is due out in January of 2014 and can be pre-ordered from Amazon.
It is available as an ebook and on Overdrive.