Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

I was going to review a book from my "Favorites" list, but since the trailer came out not long ago, I thought it would only be fair to review this book, since I read it not many weeks ago.  Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.

If you haven't seen the trailer yet, directed by the creative and unique Tim Burton, then you can check it out here (just so you get an idea of what it's about, and so that you can get as excited as I was watching it).  It looks promising.  Eva Green and Asa Butterfield are, in my opinion, perfect for the roles of Miss Peregrine and Jacob respectively.  Can't wait!

Okay, so, Miss Peregrine and her Home for peculiar children.  It's the first of a trilogy (Hollow City being its sequel followed by Library of souls).  


The book is quite simple, easy to read, fun and unique.  It's narrated in the point of view of sixteen-year-old Jacob, as circumstances put him on a path to search for a house his grandfather has always called Home.  Upon reaching there, things are not as they seem.  The house is battered and abandoned, with clues that something really, really bad happened there.  He comes face to face with its inhabitants, who, apparently, were never actually gone.  Not only that, there are monsters in the world that would stop at nothing to get Jacob while he visits a gloomy and foggy town in Wales, trying to find the Home for Peculiar Children.

Seems scary, right?  Like a ghost story or something.  I mean, look at the cover!  It screams horror!  And if you browse through the pictures included in the book, without the need to even read the first sentence, you get nothing less than a disturbing feel of it all.  You feel like it's going to be the scariest thing you're going to read.

But it's not.  It's not a ghost story, there's nothing nightmarish about.  In fact, it's more of a Harry Potter-type book, but much more modern and contemporary.  That's actually the only big complaint about the book and its description: it's misleading.  Other than that, the book is worth the read.

I first heard about it when I started seeing it around Walmart and other stores.  It was becoming more and more prominent, so I got curious.  I saw that it incorporated pictures into the story, vintage pictures, and my curiosity piqued.  I was even more excited when reading the description.  From GoodReads:

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of curious photographs.

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.  

I was in desperate need for a horror book, so I thought this one would suit me.  It had no obvious "Young Adult" characteristics (which, at the time, I was trying to avoid such novels), so I went for it and bought it.  The sequel, Hollow City, was next to it so I bought it too.

At first I felt cheated.  I mean, I bought a horror book, thinking there would be ghosts and things that would keep me up at night.  But it wasn't like that.  It leads up to something similar, but it takes a different path altogether.  There are also monsters (which are supposed to be scary), but I felt like I was cheated.  Still, I kept reading, because something in the story hooked me.

Then the book started building up after the first appearance of the monster, and it took a darker tone.  At the peak of what I considered the darkness of the story (when he finally visits the sleepy town where the House is), the book changes atmosphere completely.  From darkness to something close to fantasy and magic.  I found it very weird for a book to do that so abruptly, but I stayed.  And I enjoyed it immensely.

Even though I came for the horror, I stayed for Ransom Riggs' world.  I'm not going to tell why or how it changes, since it's a considerably important plot point in the book, but it was nice.

My Experience?

Again, I was misled at first.  It's not clear on what the book is about or what direction it's supposed to go just by reading the description or seeing the cover.  You learn half-way through the story that the book is actually more Harry Potter (without witches or wizards) and less Turn of the Screw, as it is described.

Did that ruin or undermine the book and its story?  Not at all.  I really liked it.  Even though it is too simple for my liking, it's very enjoyable.  It was not what I expected, but I ended up making this exact face half-way through:

The pages practically flew by.  It got more and more interesting, the vintage photographs kept me hooked in the story until the very end and made more real and tangible.  By the time I knew what was going on, I found myself absorbed into the story and it didn't let me go until I reached its last page.  The second one, Hollow City, is on my "To-Read" list, and seeing that the movie is coming out, I may read it next.

Do I recommend it?

'Nuff said.  It's a really fun book.  It's not the best book I've read, and it doesn't have the most elaborate plot... but it's interesting.  And unique.  Even though it's not usually the type of book I look for, it was a very good read.  I liked it, and I know most people would certainly do too.  I think the book is more directed towards a younger audience, maybe young adults or teenagers, but as a twenty-three-year-old guy, I found it VERY entertaining.

In my opinion it's suited for all ages, but there are some elements that might actually be scary to younger readers.  Like the monsters in the book, called hollows, which threaten Jacob's life at some points.  Also, the atmosphere of the book shifts from a gloomy, slightly disturbing feeling to one more family-friendly and nice.  Back and forth.  There are also a couple of deaths in the book, some very early in the book, that could be unsettling when described.  Other than that, I think you should read it, or encourage others to do so, even your kids.  Believe me, it's worth it.

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Thanks for reading!  I hope it was very informative.  I'm trying out a new style, incorporating GIFs in the post, so I hope you guys like it.  If you have any comments or suggestions, feel free to post them below.  Happy Reading!