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Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children, #1)

Ransom Riggs

Start date: January 1, 2018

Finish date: January 31, 2018

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What Members Thought

Jan 09, 2019 Vikas rated it really liked it

Shelves: part-of-box-set, owned, hardcover, first-editions, nbtr

After months of deliberation, I was able to buy the trilogy hardcover box set and then again it stayed there waiting for me to read it, well wait no longer because I am done reading the first book in the series and I loved it. Wow the wonderful photographs and the story bowen around them loved it. Of course I am also a photographer so I can appreciate the photos a bit more. My very first thought after watching their powers was X-Men but yeah. So an island stuck in time, a teenager in US who grew ...more

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Jun 25, 2017 Brenda H rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Jacob has grown up listening to his grandfather spin fantastic tales of adventure and exploration. Now that Jacob is older, he realizes that that is just what they are – stories. Following a family tragedy, Jacob comes across information that makes him wonder if everything that he had been told really was make-believe.

To find out more about his grandfather’s life, Jacob convinces his father to travel to a remote island off the coast of Wales to visit the orphanage where his grandfather lived. On ...more

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May 12, 2017 Angela Blount rated it liked it

Shelves: forget-the-space-time-continuum, ya

I may have gone into this book with some erroneous expectations, as the cover and blurb invoked impressions of A Series of Unfortunate Events (minus the whimsy) accented with pieces from half a dozen Tim Burton movies.

The story is told solely from the first-person past-tense perspective of 16-year-old Jacob Portman. In a compelling use of historical interweaving, Jacob also happens to be the grandson of a Jewish immigrant and WW2 veteran who was orphaned by the Holocaust. The use of the eerie an
I may have gone into this book with some erroneous expectations, as the cover and blurb invoked impressions of A Series of Unfortunate Events (minus the whimsy) accented with pieces from half a dozen Tim Burton movies.

The story is told solely from the first-person past-tense perspective of 16-year-old Jacob Portman. In a compelling use of historical interweaving, Jacob also happens to be the grandson of a Jewish immigrant and WW2 veteran who was orphaned by the Holocaust. The use of the eerie and ethereal "vintage photos" depicting Peculiar children is a prominent highlight that sets this book’s concept apart from other paranormal YA reads.

“We cling to our fairy tales until the price for believing in them becomes too high.”

The book starts out exceptionally well—engaging, mysterious, and fast-paced. But once Jacob leaves the U.S. and begins exploring the island, things stall a bit. Even once he locates the home for Peculiars (taking on a huge increase in characters), things move slower than I would have preferred. My attachment to Jacob stalled at about that point as well, and most of the Peculiar children—while interesting in the moment—quickly faded from my recollection. I’ll chalk this effect up to the story being more plot than character-driven.

The toying with the historical timeline felt a bit confusing and over-complicated. It was clever to have these hidden children kept safe (view spoiler) I appreciated the WW2 tie-ins, but the way the time-travel element ultimately works proved a bit off-putting for this reader. The rushed pacing toward the end was a bit of an impediment as well.

Not a bad read on the whole, but this reader is on the fence over whether or not to invest in the second installment.
...more

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Feb 04, 2014 Diandra Knutson rated it liked it

Shelves: new-closet-bookshelf, 2017-physical-library, 2022-physical-library, gothic

This wasn't what I expected at all. Everyone had hyped up this book SO much. Don't you hate when people do that? They make it seem like a book is equivalent to the Second Coming and you're so excited that you already put the book on a pedestal before you even read it. In the end, you are so disappointed because it didn't reach that standard you had placed for it.

That was "Miss Peregrine's" for me. I wanted MIND EXPLOSION. Instead, i got a little piece of paper with ka-plow written on it.

We follo This wasn't what I expected at all. Everyone had hyped up this book SO much. Don't you hate when people do that? They make it seem like a book is equivalent to the Second Coming and you're so excited that you already put the book on a pedestal before you even read it. In the end, you are so disappointed because it didn't reach that standard you had placed for it.

That was "Miss Peregrine's" for me. I wanted MIND EXPLOSION. Instead, i got a little piece of paper with ka-plow written on it.

We follow Jacob, a teenage boy who idolized his grandfather more than anyone in the world. Grandpa Portman was a man who had constant stories to tell about his childhood at an orphanage filled with kids with powers and monsters. When Grandpa P dies, Jacob is hurt the most and the only way for him to begin the "healing process" is to go to the island where his grandfather grew up and learn more about him. A lot more than he expected, like all the stories? Yea...they might be true.

Jacob as a character is really interesting and not once did I pity him or wish he grew up. He was easy to care for, independent, headstrong, and logical. His journey was great to follow and I was actually pretty shocked at how accepting he was of the situations placed before him. I'm so used to characters who dont accept what's going on, then they whine and cry. 40 pages go by and that character is STILL whining and crying. So, I applaud you, Jacob! Others can learn a thing or two from you.

Now, the book itself! I rather enjoyed it, but there wasnt anything that has stood out and is branded on my mind. I don't have any favorite moments, to be honest. The story is very creative, a parallel world within our own. A secret gateway into an unknown land or, in this case, a known moment in time.

The home of the peculiar children was great to get into. I liked the dialogue and the interaction between characters. Riggs introduced a large amount of characters, but I was so grateful that he didn't go in depth on everyone. All the children had such interesting (and some useless) powers and that would have been extremely hard to follow. Instead Riggs introduced his mains and stuck with it. Shockingly enough, I dont believe Riggs gave the characters any true back story as well. All that mattered was the life they lived at the orphanage and the new adventure they were embarking. That really worked for me.

I give this book:

3 Stars

Now, it was slow at some pieces, but when it got good, it got good. But again, this book was an entertaining and filling read to pass time. Plus it was very refreshing to read a YA book by a male author! I heard that the sequel "Hollow City" is better than this one, so maybe i'll end up buying it one day. I am curious about the ymbrines and their time loops.... ...more

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