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

Ransom Riggs

Start date: May 1, 2012

Finish date: May 31, 2012

Why we're reading this: Won the BoM poll for May
[close] Won the BoM poll for May

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Feb 05, 2012 Rachel rated it it was amazing

For those of you who read my reviews, you know I don't give out five star ratings like candy. An author has to earn it, and Ransome Riggs did.

Jacob's grandfather fills his head with stories of an orphange he spent time in during the Holocaust for peculiar children, children with extraordinary abilities. As Jacob grows older, he equates his grandfather's stories as fairy tales and his grandfather's rambling as the onset of dimensia. That is, until his grandfather's murder. That's when Jacob and For those of you who read my reviews, you know I don't give out five star ratings like candy. An author has to earn it, and Ransome Riggs did.

Jacob's grandfather fills his head with stories of an orphange he spent time in during the Holocaust for peculiar children, children with extraordinary abilities. As Jacob grows older, he equates his grandfather's stories as fairy tales and his grandfather's rambling as the onset of dimensia. That is, until his grandfather's murder. That's when Jacob and his father set out for the British island that houses Miss Peregrine's home so Jacob can learn the truth.

I just loved the way this story was told. Parts of it felt as if Jacob was speaking directly to you, and other parts immersed you in the action. But regardless, you always felt as if you were right there with him, uncovering truths and questioning them.

I was also excited to read something from another teenage boy narrator who sounded like a boy! (Probably because Mr. Riggs is a boy).

The companion photographs added to the overall feel of this novel. They gave insight into the peculiar children who resided at Miss Peregrine's home and were fairly creepy in that old-time, black and white photo way. That was another thing I really liked about this book, the childrens' abilities were darker and more unusual than other characters with other-worldly powers. It gave me a bit of a Roald Dahl feel where things are dark and strange, and also lovely in a way.

Miss P's did take some unextected turns and landed a long way off from where I expected it to, however the progression from beginning to end was logical and the way information was delivered was easy to follow and dropped little by little to keep me reading.

The characters were also extremely well-developed, including Jacob's father who made me reminisce about BIG FISH in the relationship he had with his father. Jacob's parents weren't just stand-in characters to lay out rules and worry, his father had hopes, aspirations and concerns of his own. Something refreshing to see in YA.

Will I read the next book in the series? I'm not sure if this has one either, but the ending leads me to believe it does. If so, yes.

Will I read other books by the author? Absolutely! ...more

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