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

Oct 27, 2013 ☮Karen rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: challenges, overdrive

2.5 stars. The idea of taking old photos and building a fictional story around them sounded like a very good one, and I liked the relationship of Emma and Jacob, as weird as that was. But sometimes I thought the pictures didn't fit with what the story said, some of the narration at first seemed too eloquent or advanced for Jacob to be saying, and then later it all seemed too childish for my tastes. ...more

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Sep 10, 2011 Laurel Bradshaw rated it it was amazing

Shelves: time-travel, wales, world-war-ii, paranormal, teen-fiction, 21st-century, 1st-of-series

Five stars may be a bit generous, but I was completely absorbed in the story from the beginning and it didn't lose my interest. Impossible to categorize - it isn't exactly fantasy, nor a mystery, nor a horror story. It reminded me a bit of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy with elements of Harry Potter and Alice in Wonderland. Geeky 16-year-old boy is sent on a coming-of-age journey by his dying grandfather. I won't say any more than that, because half the fun of this book is going alo Five stars may be a bit generous, but I was completely absorbed in the story from the beginning and it didn't lose my interest. Impossible to categorize - it isn't exactly fantasy, nor a mystery, nor a horror story. It reminded me a bit of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy with elements of Harry Potter and Alice in Wonderland. Geeky 16-year-old boy is sent on a coming-of-age journey by his dying grandfather. I won't say any more than that, because half the fun of this book is going along on the journey not knowing any more than the protagonist. I loved the blend of paranormal explanations for historical events. The horror and violence are relatively mild, but I wouldn't recommend this book for younger children. The vintage photographs are certainly strange and thought-provoking. The perfect test for my Nook Color, and it came through with flying colors! (No pun intended.) Warning: There is a bit of a cliff-hanger ending, so hopefully that means there will be a sequel! 20th Century Fox has bought the rights, so a movie is in the works. And a note for you Welsh-o-philes: Cairnholm Island is fictional and not based on any real island off the Welsh coast.

Update: Reread (in audio format) in April 2014 prior to reading the sequel The Hollow City. I would give the audio version 4 stars. The horror elements seemed a bit more gruesome this time around. I did not care for the "Welsh" accent that the narrator gave to his Welsh characters. It was not even remotely close. Sorry! Nevertheless I still love the story and can't wait for the movie which is "in development" for release in July 2015.

Description:
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.

Series info:
Miss Peregrine series
1. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - read
2. The Hollow City - read
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3. Don't Look Away ...more

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Apr 07, 2012 Angie crosby rated it it was ok

Shelves: paranormal, e-book

Although this book started out good, that was short lived. The book started to fail after finding out about the children and where they are from. There really wasnt a storyline. It was just Jacob learning about his grandfathers past really. The ending too wasn't well done. It just sort of ended. There was some action but
It really wasn't an ending. ...more

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Jul 29, 2011 Deb rated it really liked it

***May include spoilers***
Such an intriguing and different book, and definitely not the type I would normally read. I didn't know or realize it had elements of fantasy, and time travel, and creatures in it. Had I known I might not have been so eager to get to it. Even though it was a surprise to me, I really liked this book!
I loved the book itself, the look of it, the paper the pages were on, the details, and of course the photos.
And I loved that the story was created from the photos, as bizarre ...more

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Dec 19, 2017 Christina, Join Me on Storygraph! rated it liked it

Shelves: audio-book, 2018

This was interesting, at first, but in all honesty, by the time the action started, I'd had enough. I could barely stay focused on what was happening and the drama and the horrible accents the reader used. ...more

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Oct 23, 2016 Carolyn rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy_paranormal, read-ya_13-and-up, historical-fiction, 2016-read

3.5 stars

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Aug 30, 2011 Michelle Stie rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult-lit

A little uneven, which may account for the fact my daughter put it down only halfway finished. I made it through to the end, but I wished that we could have tightened up the plot a bit. I thought the photography angle was a nice addition to the storyline--many of the photos were downright creepy.

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