Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages (eBook): 225
Source: Bought
ISBN-13: 9781594745133
Genre: Historical/Paranormal
Author: Twitter | Website
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.
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Overview:
Ransom Riggs has created a naturally creepy world within reality. Focusing on Jacob and the mission he undergoes after the death of his grandfather, we are introduced to some of the most unique characters YA may have ever seen. This historical fiction set September 1940 is slowly paced but packs interesting twists and riveting detail. However, the ending, while it is sophisticated and realistic, is not what one would expect from a stand-alone read.
Review:
This dual genre selection is a wonderfully, chilling creation by a talented writer. This book and its cover set you up to believe that you might just be in for the haunted thrill ride of your reading life; but instead, you get an unraveling mystery and the dangers of the peculiar world.
This book is hauntingly paranormal yet oddly contemporary even in such a historical setting. The story is deep and the vintage photographs adds a new and interesting dimension to the book. However, some of the images are difficult to really understand what is going on. I understand they're vintage and authentic but at a certain point the lack of clarity in the images hinders the usefulness of it, but they were still very unique and effective.
What was most impressive was that the images were so relevant and integral to the description of the characters. The characters all had such unique and individually defined personalities that they were all stars of this book. In some instances, the naming choices tended to run together and left me sorting through the character list to make sure I knew who I was reading about.
The implementation of the plot throughout the entire book is fantastically well done but the book still lacked a strong pace. In the beginning, before finding the house, the story was drudgery. There was no solid indication of the things that would later blow our minds, there was no significant action, just a slow introduction to what might be a delusional 18-year-old boy.
Overall, this book could very well be a stand alone but it left me with a sense of a cliffhanger; perhaps something more is in store for the peculiar children, but maybe not. The ending was a little sudden and wasn't definitive enough for me to enjoy the fact that this was intended as a stand alone.
Rating out of 5:
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