Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
by Ransom Riggs
352 pages
Quirk Books, June 2011
horror/mystery/fantasy/young adult
Read in 4 days
My Rating: ★★★★
Amazon.com or BN.com
My Review: Before I get into my review I must first explain I had no intention of actually finishing this book. Prior to picking it up, while waiting for a Molly Ringwald book signing, I never heard of it. My intention, at the time, was to read something to pass the 2 hour wait time. Little did I know I would end up purchasing the book because in that 2 hour time I read nearly 100 pages. I was unaware of its NY Times bestseller list appearance. All I knew was it had a rather interesting title and cover. It wasn’t until halfway through the book that I noticed it was published by Quirk, one of my favorite publishing houses which brought us bestsellers like “Pride & Prejudice & Zombies” and “Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Slayer” to name a few. It is no wonder I found myself finishing this book in 4 days!
I did do some research on the author and some background on where this book would be headed. I did this because nowadays YA books are normally series of 3 or more books. This story is no exception, its set up to be at least a 3 book series. I’m anticipating the next two books only because of the photographs (real by the way) used in this book. Just the amount of hunting and research that had to go into incorporating such real and yet peculiar photos into a well plotted story like this impressed me greatly.
If you were to judge this book by its cover you might assume it’s scary or a thriller of some sort? I mean, the girl is levitating. While I grant there is mystery and the children are peculiar by all definitions, it’s not as scary as I expected it to be on paper. Perhaps the movie (purchased by 20th Century Fox) will take up where the book left much to ones imagination? Otherwise, if you are looking for escape to another time and another world entirely, this book will easily put you in the shoes of one such man who does just that. And the pictures shared along the way only serve to better move the story along.
Summary: As a kid, Jacob formed a special bond with his grandfather over his bizarre tales and photos of levitating girls and invisible boys. Now at 16, he is reeling from the old man’s unexpected death. Then Jacob is given a mysterious letter that propels him on a journey to the remote Welsh island where his grandfather grew up. There, he finds the children from the photographs—alive and well—despite the islanders’ assertion that all were killed decades ago. As Jacob begins to unravel more about his grandfather’s childhood, he suspects he is being trailed by a monster only he can see. A haunting and out-of-the-ordinary read, debut author Ransom Rigg’s first-person narration is convincing and absorbing, and every detail he draws our eye to is deftly woven into an unforgettable whole. Interspersed with photos throughout, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is a truly atmospheric novel with plot twists, turns, and surprises that will delight readers of any age.
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