Review: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Title: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

Author: Ransom Riggs

Release Date/Publisher: Published June 4th 2013 by Quirk Books (First published in 2011)

Own: Trade Paperback (352 pages)

Finished: April 7th 2014

Series:

1. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
2. Hollow City (Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children #2)

Synopsis from GoodReads:

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs.

It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.

A Little Something About Me and My Thoughts…

I was a little hesitant in picking this book up because I usually stick to a specific genre of book and a lot of the reviews/ratings weren’t the best. I’m glad I like to make up my own mind about things despite other people’s opinions because I actually really enjoyed it.  I was extremely impressed when I learned that this was his first novel because I found it to be very original and it was so well put together.

The first thing I’d like to say about it is that It’s not a scary book! I saw a lot of people complaining that they were disappointed it wasn’t because after reading the synopsis, they assumed it would be. I truly feel like the synopsis isn’t misleading and that it was dead on in giving a glimpse into the story because It makes the book sound mysterious which is perfect.

Review:

Jacob grew up believing in stories his grandfather Abraham always told him (who swore were true) but once he was old enough that he couldn’t possibly believe in them, it left him a doubtful and anti-social teenager. This whole book is Jacob’s mission to discover if his grandfather was making all of this up or if there was any truth to his stories by exploring this secluded village-like island. I enjoyed the characters a lot because they really were unique in their own way with eccentric and entertaining personalities. There’s a good amount of characters but thankfully It’s not confusing because the main focus is always on only 2-3 at a time.

I like the mysterious feel to this book because you never know what’s going to happen and are always kept wondering. The fun part is that rather than being the typical gifted superheroes or villains, there’s an actual story to tell behind all of it which is to take you into the minds and lives of peculiar people. You follow them through this crazy journey where you learn all about them and the life they currently lead, which is really interesting.

This book is unlike anything I’ve ever seen, It’s filled with (sometimes creepy) vintage pictures that correspond with parts of the story as you are reading it. I found this really fascinating because it was so much fun being able to see this world through the mind of the author and I felt like I was in it. I really liked that each page has pretty borders/decals at the bottom of the page and each new chapter has a nice decorated page. It was a pretty, very unique book and I loved that reading it felt like an adventure.

If you are looking for a different read, you should pick up this book but you need to be open-minded. Reading the synopsis is always a good idea but don’t think that that’s all there is to it and don’t have set expectations for it.

Rating: