Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children, #1) in Hype or Like Friday

Dec 09, 2013 Dani ❤️ Perspective of a Writer rated it liked it

Shelves: g-t-historical, reviewed, g-a-real-combat, series-book-1, fiction-young-adult, g-t-contemporary, g-c-british, imo-neat-premise, genre-sci-fi, g-a-paranormal-powers

3.5 stars. Rounded down for lack of complications in the story.

Jacob journeys to a remote island off the coast of Wales due to the death of his grandfather whose events sent him reeling. On the hunt for Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children which is connected to a strange collection of curious photographs that his grandfather treasured. There is this creepy, abandoned orphanage Jacob learns about his grandfather and about himself.

I quite liked Jacob. Not because the kid had any particularl 3.5 stars. Rounded down for lack of complications in the story.

Jacob journeys to a remote island off the coast of Wales due to the death of his grandfather whose events sent him reeling. On the hunt for Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children which is connected to a strange collection of curious photographs that his grandfather treasured. There is this creepy, abandoned orphanage Jacob learns about his grandfather and about himself.

I quite liked Jacob. Not because the kid had any particularly compelling characterization but because he was so conflicted about how to feel about his grandfather, Abraham. And because he was conflicted about his grandfather he was conflicted about his parents who are NOT conflicted about his grandfather. They feel like he's a looney old man who has made their lives uncomfortable at times.

I bought into all the things Jacob was feeling after he found his dead grandfather. All the things he saw and I even understand why he allowed the psychiatrist to convince him he was dreaming. So many people hallucinate when they have chemical imbalances - it was very believable.

It was a little bit of a stretch when he was able to convince his father to take him to the island where his grandfather had spent some time. Still I was able to go along with it. I enjoyed meeting the Peculiars and all the mystery surrounding them and the secrets they withheld from Jacob about himself. All of this so far is what is called setup. This isn't actually the story, story yet! It's all the details that the story should proceed from and this is the point when the story becomes really murky.

While there are events that take place once the setup is done it is very thin. Half hearted attempts to learn things on his own and random things that happen to force Emma into telling him some of it. Very thin motivations and I don't really buy how Jacob feels. Really there is one big finale scene where the kids are stupid and have to face the villain who has all been laid out for us before hand. I was surprised by who the bad guy was but it was very anti-climatic because really Jacob didn't have much of an opportunity to spar with this guy. The villain went from knowing all and manipulating Jacob to defeated at his first confrontation with Jacob and the Peculiars.

If not for the shallowness of the plot and thin plot points this would be a rather lovely book. I thought the pictures were a bit of a gimmick and there were a lot of stretches for me in making some of the pictures pertinent. I did like the ones showing the different kids. I wanted the story to stand stronger that the pictures but this is not the case. Some of the thinking too was random. Abraham, the grandfather was a real ass and I hated that. At least do them the service of letting them know you refuse to go back. And Emma pinned in a way that really irritates me!

I loved the idea of loops and the magical ladies who create them and protect the kids. The creation of the hollowghasts was pretty neat too and I liked how they had to work to get back to where they had been. I hope the world isn't as shallow as what we learned in this book and that more depth is added to round out what we already learned in book 2 and 3.

BOTTOM LINE: Excellent world building, so-so plot. ...more

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Oct 19, 2016 Anne rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook-storytel

October’s Book of the Month @Hype Or Like Friday is Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, and...it's was the last Friday of the month ~~today~~ yesterday, so here's my take on the book!

Okay, I will start by saying that I own a paperback of this book as you can see on the picture up here, but I listened to the audiobook version via my new app ( Storytel ; totally recommended but not available in many countries yet, unfortunately) for about 75% of the book. Hence, my final jud ...more

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Feb 02, 2017 ❤ Aly ❤ rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2017

I have been wanting to read this book for a long time. My students kept recommending this book to me over and over. I finally could get it from the library after being on a wait list for over a month!
This book did not disappoint me. Ransom Riggs is a great author. He had a great story and plot line for the readers! I also enjoyed seeing the story from a male perspective! It is very rare to 1)have it from a male perspective or 2)be a good male perspective.

(view spoiler) ...more

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Nov 18, 2016 Zezee rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: did-not-finish, fantasy

As posted on Zezee with Books.

Though well-written, I didn’t find this story as enjoyable as everyone claimed. I got swept up in the hype surrounding the release of the movie adaptation, which made me want to sample this new franchise myself.

I began with the movie. I liked the previews, especially Miss Peregrine’s costume, so one Sunday I bought a ticket and attended the movie. It was good at first, but slowly I became uninterested in the show. I began tuning out and daydreaming and eventually st As posted on Zezee with Books.

Though well-written, I didn’t find this story as enjoyable as everyone claimed. I got swept up in the hype surrounding the release of the movie adaptation, which made me want to sample this new franchise myself.

I began with the movie. I liked the previews, especially Miss Peregrine’s costume, so one Sunday I bought a ticket and attended the movie. It was good at first, but slowly I became uninterested in the show. I began tuning out and daydreaming and eventually started to nod off. It was a bore. I didn’t find the characters or their abilities compelling and the villain was such a caricature that I often laughed at his antics. I left the theatre hoping the book would be better, as I’d already bought it.

But when I started reading it, my reaction was the same as with the movie, I slowly began to lose interest. I didn’t like the protagonist, Jacob, and wasn’t much amazed by the other characters, the setting, or the story. I know Riggs developed the story around the old photos he found and included in the book, but sometimes it seemed that certain sections were written just to lead to a photo and not to progress the plot.

As I read the book, I became frustrated with the movie because they switched Emma’s ability, making her able to manipulate air rather than fire. Sure, the air ability helps with romantic scenes in the movie, but fire could have worked as well. I find that Emma in the book has more passion than the one in the movie, and it’s not because of her fire ability. The one in the book just seems more strong willed. In both the book and the movie Jacob is the same. He goes with the flow and harshly judges everyone around him, especially his parents, without trying to do better himself.

Actually, I didn’t like how judgemental Jacob is of his parents in the book because he’s not much better. He isn’t even very considerate toward his father. And his father seriously needs to grow some balls and man up. He needs a good shake, something to liven him up so he runs headlong into his bird book project and complete it.

I also wasn’t impressed by the villain in the book. Actually, I didn’t think much of him. I think it was after the chase scene with the hollow that I decided to give up on the book. I think that was just a few pages from the end but I just didn’t care anymore.

Overall: ★★☆☆☆ 1/2

As I said before, the book is well-written but I didn’t like it. It just lacked that spark that makes a story engaging. ...more

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Jul 23, 2014 Elizabeth Green rated it liked it

3 stars.

A wonderful historical fiction, mystery, science fiction book all rolled up into one. I love the writing style and how the author incorporated pictures. As much as I like the book I would understand how some people wouldn't because it's hard to get attached to the characters. This is common with mysteries, where in the fun is solving the end.

I did find my self bored at times and the story isn't very memorable. ...more

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Nov 27, 2012 Elisa rated it it was amazing

You can also find this review on my blog:
http://liisadventuresinbookland.blogs...

I have had this book in my TBR list for a while now and when a good friend of mine got it for me as a Christmas gift I knew I had to read it as soon as possible.

'Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children' is nothing like I have read before. Filled with amazing vintage photographs - which have been slightly altered in order to fit the books intentions - this book is a diferent reading experience. The author did an ...more

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Apr 07, 2017 Kirsty rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, library-copy

Where to start with this review?

I’m sure you have a vague idea of what this book is about but it’s basically about the types of people you would find in a “freak show” at an old style circus, all trapped in a time loop to save them from dying. I know sounds a bit silly right? Which is why it’s better to go into this book not knowing much about it.

However I still found myself pretty disappointed. I thought from the way people went on about this book that it would be some crazy adventure with peop ...more

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Oct 01, 2016 Poulami rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal-fantasy-young-adult

Originally posted on Daydreaming Books. Click this link to read my thoughts on the movie as well!

This book was quite a unique read. I enjoyed the characters and the worldbuilding so much.

Jacob doesn't believe in his grandfather's tales about the mysterious island and the people living in it but when things take a turn for the worse Jacob is determined to find out about these peculiar children. What he finds out could actually lead him to more complication as he realizes the peculiar children cou Originally posted on Daydreaming Books. Click this link to read my thoughts on the movie as well!

This book was quite a unique read. I enjoyed the characters and the worldbuilding so much.

Jacob doesn't believe in his grandfather's tales about the mysterious island and the people living in it but when things take a turn for the worse Jacob is determined to find out about these peculiar children. What he finds out could actually lead him to more complication as he realizes the peculiar children could actually be dangerous and all of them might still be actually alive. Will Jacob fall into more danger in his quest to find about these peculiars or is danger already following him?

The plot was really refreshing and I enjoyed reading the way everything was executed in this book. Jacob is just a sixteen-year-old kid who used to believe in everything his grandfather said but as he grows up, he thinks all the stories are just his grandfather's imagination until tragedy strikes. I liked the detailings of this book and the pictures although not terrifying were definitely creepy.

There were so many characters in this book and that added a lot of layers to it. I liked Jacob, although he was sometimes unsure about his decisions but he did handle them maturely. Miss Peregrine was a unique character, I definitely enjoyed reading about her and all the other peculiars were quite fascinating as well. Emma was another character on which this book focused more than the others, that was quite obvious with her history and I did like her character but

Emma was another character on which this book focused more than the others, that was quite obvious with her history and I did like her character but the romance between her and Jacob felt a bit odd. It felt a bit forced. Nonetheless, all the other aspects of this story were quite enjoyable.

Overall, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children was a great read! I enjoyed the plot and all the characters were unique. This book took us to a wild adventure which I greatly enjoyed. The writing was smooth and easy to read and the pace was even throughout the book. I haven't picked up the other books in this series yet but I hope to pick the up soon!

Recommend it?

Yes. ...more

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Jun 03, 2013 Jean ~ Kindle Queen rated it liked it

The beginning/first half of this book was so intriguing and promising, but the second half felt almost like a different book. The gimmick of the vintage photos was interesting at first but couldn't carry the book once the mystery surrounding the titular peculiar children was solved (about halfway). I think it would have been more poignant to make this a standalone and focus on the plight of the secondary characters. As it was, they all blended together, and the romance was quite strange and unne ...more

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May 05, 2011 Sarah A rated it liked it

Shelves: completed-in-2011

It was an interesting story, albeit somewhat predictable & unoriginal for an adult reading YA/children's fiction. The photography included, however, made it much more interesting and was a new twist. It's also obviously set up for a series, which I would possibly consider reading. Good read, for the intended audience. ...more

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