Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Amazon.com Book Description:

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. And a collection of very curious photographs. As a kid, Jacob formed a special bond with his grandfather over his bizarre tales and photos of levitating girls and invisible boys. Now at 16, he is reeling from the old man's unexpected death. Then Jacob is given a mysterious letter that propels him on a journey to the remote Welsh Island of Cairnholm where his grandfather grew up. Jacob 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 who once lived here, one of whom was his own grandfather, were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a desolate island for good reason. What Jacob finds are the children from the photographs alive and well despite the islanders' assertion that all were killed decades ago. As Jacob begins to unravel more about his grandfather's childhood, he suspects he is being trailed by a monster only he can see. A haunting and out-of-the-ordinary read, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is told in a first-person narrative that is convincing and absorbing, and every detail is interspersed with photos and letters throughout the book, this novel has plot twists, turns and surprises that will delight readers of any age.




My Book Review:


At first glance, I thought that Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children would be a horror story, and I do love a good book that can scare the daylights out of me, but when I started to read the book, I realized that the storyline was from the fantasy genre which I admit is not one of my favorites. That being said, I thought the first half of the book was strange, as in really weird! Trying to follow the author's direction with the storyline was a bit slow for me, it just couldn't hold my attention and I kept thinking about not finishing it. What kept me wanting to go the distance and finish the book were the freakishly bizarre photos of the "peculiar" children and the letters that are interspersed throughout the book, they were so intriguing that I knew I had to suck it up and continue. I am so glad that I did continue, because once I got into the middle of the storyline where Jacob meets Miss Peregrine and the children, the twists and turns and the suspense had me hooked! That is when I realized that this book may be from the fantasy genre, but it had so many characteristics of a horror book, that it fulfilled the scare ratio for me. The author does quite a good job of weaving a story of time travel with a mixture of a freak show via the "peculiar children" and a touch of murder and mayhem thrown in too. There is only two things that disappointed me: first, if you read this book on the Kindle, the photographs and letters are not really clear enough, so consider buying the hardcover or paperback editions; second, the ending left the reader hanging with no closure, perhaps the author is writing a sequel that will continue the story ... only time will tell. 

RATING: 3 STARS ***