I have always been an avid reader; indubitably making me a firm believer that one should always read the book before watching the movie. I read Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children a long long time ago and I was absolutely delighted that it was made into a movie, though I did have some skepticism because let’s face it- some of the best books get turned into horrible movies
*cough cough* I’m looking at you Percy Jackson movies but alas let’s save that for another article
The Book
Ransom Riggs's Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children describes itself perfectly in its title- peculiar: a mysterious island, an abandoned orphanage and a strange collection of photographs.
After the horrific and mysterious family tragedy, sixteen-year-old Jacob journeys to a mysterious island off the coast of Wales where he discovers the crumbling remains of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, an orphanage from World War II. *enter peculiarity* The children sequestered on the island may not have only been peculiar, but dangerous as well, and there's a good chance they might still be alive.
A good comparison of Riggs's spine-chilling thriller is to call it an "elementary version" of Xavier's Home for Gifted Children. Think of it as a more haunting and suspenseful version to the X-men series.
I give the book a 7.5/10 simply because thrillers are not my favorite genre though this was a good book.
The Movie
Described as an “unforgettable motion picture experience”, Tim Burton’s vision of Riggs’s best seller brings the Young Adult fantasy to life with excellent performances from Eva Green as Miss Peregrine, also seen in The Golden Compass and most recently gave an excellent performance as Ms. Ives in the wonderful Penny Dreadful, Asa Butterfield as the lead Jacob, who starred in The Boy in Striped Pajamas and will be starring in The Space Between Us, and the wonderful Samuel L. Jackson playing the villain.
In my opinion, the movie followed the book "perfectly" and I don't say that often about books being made into movies. I give the movie an 8/10 for being extremely similar to the book thought I envisioned a few stuff differently in my head when I read it and there were a few points of confusion.
