This novel is X-Men meets the year 1940.

What I Liked
The old photographs were eery and exciting. They added a mysticism and originality to the story I haven't encountered in a book before.

I like Jacob as a character. His relationship with his grandfather evokes sympathy.

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His power is unique and fascinating.

His relationship with his parents is also realistic. I appreciate the deviation from the majority of YA plots where the parents have absolutely no say in what their child does (which doesn't make sense). The fact that Jacob has involved parents in his life is a breath of fresh air in YA fiction.

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When the psychiatrist turned out to be the wight, I was thrilled. What a great plot twist! I didn't see it coming at all.

What I Didn't Like
At times, the plot was weak. It seemed structured solely around vintage photographs that Ransom Riggs liked, above the story's quality. Chekhov's Gun comes to mind (if you see a gun in the beginning of the story, it had better be shot sometime before the end). There were so many photographs and plot points that weren't important or even fleshed out.

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The twins that fed each other ribbons, for example (there were two pictures of them). The dog with the head of a boy. The girl trapped in a bottle that was mentioned several times. The girl with two reflections.

At the very least, why didn't Riggs have these children attend the school as minor characters? Why weren't they introduced to Jacob at some point, since he discussed and examined their photographs for a substantial amount of the novel? These photographs existed solely for the artistic effect, but they lacked impact on the story itself. Some of the photographs that are supposed to be of the same person but obviously aren't also frustrated me. The two photographs of Emma are of clearly different people. Basically, having neat old photos scattered throughout the book is a fantastic concept, but it thinned out the plot and even created some gaping holes.

One plot hole that bothered me was the tension built up around the idea that if you leave the time loop for more than a couple of hours, you will age quickly and die. After seeing the apple shrivel and turn to ash, I felt a thrilling anxiety as Emma and the others left the loop and adventured (I won't spoil any more than that) for several hours

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and then their loop is destroyed

, but shriveling up and dying never seems to be a deep concern of theirs by the end of the story

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even as an entire night passes with the children outside of the loop

. It was a conflict created by the author that was left to fade into disappointment.