Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

 

        Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

           Riggs, R. (2013). Miss Peregrines’s home for peculiar children. Quirk Books. ISBN 9781594746031  

        🚨Content warning:  death of loved one, mild swearing,  🚨

        Sixteen-year-old Jacob has just witnessed his grandfathers' death and arrived just in time for him to hear his last words. "Find the bird. In the loop. On the other side of the old man's grave... Tell them what happened, Yakob." Determined not to let his grandfather's death be meaningless, Jacob's search takes him to a coast off Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruin of a home his grandfather used to live. While searching the ruins, Jacob discovers the fairy tales of the peculiar children his grandfather used to tell him were true. It is up to Jacob to discover the truth about Peculiar children as danger looms after. It will be up to Jacob to risk his life and help the Peculiar children.

         Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children was a unique but interesting concept for a book. I have not read anything like it before, but that makes it much more enjoyable. Ransom Riggs was able to masterfully interweave photos that perfectly represented the person or situation described in the book. Not a photo felt out of place. At the end of the book, Riggs talks of the photos and how a majority of them are "authentic, vintage found photographs, and with exceptions of a few that have undergone minimal postprocessing, they are unaltered." Riggs credits the ten photographers who have curated a collection of photos that have been collected at various places such as flea markets, antique malls, and yard sales, and it was through these collections that he was able to find the perfect images for the book. It seems as if vintage photos like these inspired the novel. 

        The tone for the majority of the book is eerie and unsettling as Jacob attempts to uncover the truth about his grandfather's death. When the children are introduced to the book, the feeling does not go away as we are provided with images alongside vivid and accurate descriptions. Jacob is presented with information in a way that is manageable to him and to the reader. He is presented with bits and pieces of information along the way that helps him slowly understand the new world that he has entered. Once the Peculiar children's ages were revelated to be anywhere from seventy-five to one hundred and eighteen, I did find it odd that Miss Peregrine (the caretaker) kept referring to the Peculiars as children and would at times treat Jacob as if he were the oldest. It was easy to overlook it, and it did not take away from the story.  

        The book's climax is when Jacob learns of the villain of the story, Hollowgasts, and Wights, creatures created when an attempt to become immortal failed, have been hunting the Peculiar to feed on. From this moment on, the plot becomes fast-paced. Jacob and the peculiars are now being hunted, Miss Peregrine has been kidnapped, and everyone is trying their best to survive. Each page takes you deeper into the story, and you are rushing to get to the end to see if Jacob is able to save everyone. To do so, Jacob must accept the risk of never being able to return to his family. While his home life wasn't the best, he was rash in his decision. He quickly accepts the possibility, and that is where the novel ends, with Jacob, the Peculiars, and Miss Peregrine in tow in hopes of finding a new home. The ending has you reaching for the next novel to see what adventures they will go on next, and they try to save their home.

         Fans of the book will be happy to learn that this series has five more books, so if you enjoyed the first, make sure you check out the others! In addition, the book does have a movie adaptation with the same title that came out in 2016 that you can watch on Disney+ after reading. A New York Times article published in 2013 talks about Ranson Rigg's inspiration that came from the photos, and you can read it here. Sophie L., a teen reviewer for Pikes Peak Library District, says, " It is an extremely fun reading experience that keeps you engaged and on your toes at all times. I would recommend this book to everyone and would encourage people to read it before seeing the movie." TikTok user @kswezereads describes the book as having "a lovely spooky atmosphere, and I thought it was incredibly engaging, and it made me excited to read the second book."

Awards and recognition:

•           The #1 New York Times best-selling series
  

Sources

Katie. (n.d.). Thatssokatie on TikTok. TikTok. https://www.tiktok.com/@kswezereads/video/7010834261833944326?_r=1&_t=8dwG98tyMCU

L, S. (n.d.). Book review: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Book Review: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children | Pikes Peak Library District. https://ppld.org/book-reviews/miss-peregrines-home-peculiar-children-1

Riggs, R. (2013). Miss Peregrines’s home for peculiar children. Quirk Books. ISBN 9781594746031  

Russo, M. (2013, December 30). A book that started with its pictures. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/31/books/ransom-riggs-is-inspired-by-vintage-snapshots.html#:~:text=with%20a%20ghost.%E2%80%9D-,Mr.,add%20to%20its%20uncanny%20atmosphere.