Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Reviewed by Meygan Cox

“I don’t mean to be rude,” I said, “but what are you people?”

“We’re peculiar,” he replied, sounding a bit puzzled. “Aren’t you?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think so.”

“That’s a shame.”

Jacob is a teenage boy born into an affluent lifestyle. He states that he loves his mother only because that is what he is supposed to do and even though he likes his father, he is frustrated that his father never finishes a project (e.g. the numerous novels with a beginning but no end). The only person Jacob feels connected to is his grandfather who is a very peculiar man. Ever since Jacob was a child, his grandfather told him stories about other peculiar children he grew up with in an orphage on an island. Jacob, enjoying his grandfather’s stories but at the time same time concerned about his sanity, finally admits to his grandfather that he doesn’t believe what he is hearing. After that moment, his grandfather no longer tells Jacob about the peculiar children or the island until the night Jacob and his friend, Ricky, find his grandfather’s mauled body in the snow. Barely clinging to life, Grandfather tells Jacob that he must find a bird in the loop on the other side of the old man’s grave. He also tells him to remember September 3^rd, 1940, whatever all that mumbo jumbo means. As Jacob watches his grandfather take his last breath, he can’t help but feel that he is being watched. When Jacob looks up, a monster is staring at him from the bushes. Ricky shoots at the movement in the bushes but doesn’t get a good look at whatever it is. After losing his grandfather and seeing a monster, an overwhelmed Jacob passes out. 

Months later, Jacob is taken to a therapist. No one believes what he saw in the woods that night, and the therapist convinces Jacob that the monster was just an illusion. However, Jacob discovers where the orphanage is located and with the help of his therapist, he persuades his father to take a trip there. His father is reluctant at first but then agrees. (He hears that there are rare bird species on the island and studying the birds will allow him the opportunity to finish his new novel!) Jacob finally gets to the location, but to his dismay there is only an abandoned house. Not wanting to travel thousands of miles just to go back home, Jacob decides to explore the house. After finding peculiar pictures (there’s that word again) in a trunk, Jacob hears a girl ask for Abe, Jacob’s grandfather. Jacob follows the voice until he eventually catches up to the girl. Except for not only has he caught up to a girl who can ignite fire from her hands, but he has also entered a “time loop” that has taken him back to the 1940s.

I am still perplexed by this book. I finished it thinking, “What did I just read?” I read Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children because I had been asked for it so often. Apparently, it is quite popular. When I was finally able to lay my hands on the book, I checked it out immediately. Let me begin by saying why I didn’t care much for the book. First, I thought the author worked too hard with TRYING to make the unusual (trying to avoid “peculiar”) pictures fit into his story instead of writing his story and then inserting the pictures. I thought some of the pictures were neat and freaky looking, but some of them made me laugh out loud because I thought the placement was too “worked into” the book. I give him a B+ for his use of creativity, but I can’t give him the full A+ because there were some pictures that didn’t add anything to the story. 

Also, I had a difficult time liking any of the characters, including Jacob. I felt that the author only scratched the surface with character analysis. By the last page of the book, I felt that I hadn’t learned anything at all about Jacob except that I thought he was dull. I wish Riggs would have delved more into their backgrounds even if that meant eliminating a few people to invest more time in the main characters. His friend in the beginning, Ricky, is never brought up after the first few chapters, which I found pointless. Why introduce a character that isn’t that very interesting anyways just to never mention him again? However, there is a second book so perhaps we will see Ricky again. 

Not to give too much away, but I also feel that the “powers” of the peculiar children are cliché. Where else have we read about invisibility (Marvel’s Invisible Girl), pyrokinesis (again, Marvel’s Dr. Storm from the Fantastic Four), the power of levitation/flight (a numerous amount of superheroes), those who are animorphs (can turn into animals i.e. Jacob from Twilight, shape shifters from True Blood), etc., and the characters who were “original”, well, they just weren’t that special.  

So what did I like about the book? Honestly, I am not sure. I don’t have an “I have to read the second book right away” kind of feeling, but I do have the feeling of “Eh, I may get to the second book sometime this year”. I am excited that Tim Burton is directing the movie in 2016. Hollywood couldn’t have chosen a person more suitable to give Miss Peregrine the spooky feeling it deserves. Due to the ominous cover, I felt that Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children should have made me sleep with my night light on. (Not that I still own a night light. Cough, cough!) But sadly, while there were parts that I found revolting, I was able to go to sleep right away after reading. Hopefully you will enjoy this book more than I did!

Note:  An earlier review of this book appears here.  Every book is not for every person, which is a good thing! The sequel to this book is entitled Hollow City.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Reviewed by Jeanne

Jacob Portman was an ordinary kid living an ordinary life.  He was very close to his grandfather, Abraham, who’d lived a life of adventure.  Grandfather Portman had been born in Europe, fought in World War II, and traveled a good deal.  The best stories, though, were the ones about the children’s home in Wales, where he’d been sent to escape the monsters that infested Poland.  The monsters were horrible, but the home was an enchanted place where it was always sunny, the children all had incredible talents, and they were cared for by a bird. He even shows Jacob old photos of odd and amazing things: a baby floating in the air, a boy covered in bees, one girl with two reflections. It wasn’t until he grew older that Jacob began to doubt the veracity of some of these stories, and his skepticism drove a bit of a wedge between the two.

Then his grandfather is killed in a horrifying incident, causing Jacob to wonder if he is losing his mind—or if his grandfather could possibly have been telling the truth.

This is a YA book, but as I’ve said before, I never let a label get in the way of a good book.  Besides, the reviews were strong and it popped up on the NY Times Bestseller lists for many weeks in a row.  I was quickly caught up in Jacob’s story and wanted to know what happened next.  A good part of the appeal for me was the use of actual vintage photographs to illustrate parts of the story: I’ve always loved old black and white photos and all of these are worth a second or even third look.  (As an aside, I’d love to know which came first:  did Riggs create a scenario and look for photographs or did he find the photos and create a story around them?)  The characters are well done and the plot is imaginative and suspenseful.  It’s a fairly quick read and I certainly enjoyed it. 

 If I hadn’t already heard that a sequel was planned, I would have suspected that it was the first of a series.  It’s not that you’re left hanging, but it’s obvious the strong possibility is there for future adventures.  I’m more curious how the attraction between Jacob and a teenage girl will play out.

Update:  the second book is entitled Hollow City:  The Second Book of Miss Peregrine’s Children and is due out in January 2014.