Friday, June 3, 2016

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
By Ransom Riggs
Quirk Books, 2011. 352 pgs. Young Adult Fiction

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is the first of three books in the recently completed series by Ransom Riggs. In this book Jacob Portman starts out as an utterly ordinary boy. The most peculiar part of his life are the fantastic stories his grandfather tells -- stories Jacob used to be naive enough to believe. One day, Jacob's life takes an unthinkable turn when he witnesses a tragedy that causes him to question everything he thought he knew about his family. Jacob sets out to find answers by visiting an island off the coast of Wales that just might hold the key to his grandfather’s past.

When I heard this book was being made into a movie, I knew it was time to bump it to the top of my reading list. I am glad I did! I liked the low fantasy world that Riggs created and then crossed with a historical setting; it was the perfect balance for a reader like myself who doesn't read much fantasy. I listened to the audio book of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, and while the narrator did a fantastic job I would recommend looking at a paper copy of the book so you don't miss all the creepy photographs.

CNC

1 comment:

ACS said...

I love these types of stories where they take a very real setting, but overlap just the right amount of fantasy that you could easily imagine that the story is real. It made me want to go out and search for time loops! I read the physical copy of the book and seeing the pictures while reading really does add to the atmosphere that the book creates. I don’t think I’ll be able to look at vintage photographs the same way ever again. This is something I thoroughly enjoyed and would definitely recommend to others.