In lieu of the movie coming soon, here is a brief review of Ransom Riggs’ "Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children"!
Our main character and protagonist, Jacob, had a grandfather named Abe that always used to show him pictures and speak of the peculiar children that he spent his youth with in hiding from the “monsters” of the war. Jacob stopped believing in his grandfather’s “fairytales” as he got older, but one day tragedy strikes and Jacob is suddenly being pulled back into Abe’s old stories, and this time they’re not just stories. An old island, an old house, an old bird, and some peculiar children await Jacob in his adventure to find out who caused this tragedy, and why he may be the only one who can help stop it from happening again.
Ransom Riggs’ writing is fluid and very picturesque. He really knows how to create an image without any excess description. So much so that I can see the island of Cairnholm in my mind right now. This writing style was perfect for this book, as atmosphere was what drew the reader into the novel alongside the action and adventure that ensues throughout. The plot was unique and unlike anything I have ever read. However, it was sometimes evident that Riggs was writing the story around some of the pictures he included. That bothered me a bit as a reader and made me wonder what the story would have been like without a few of those pictures, but I suppose that was the point: to write a story that connects to these old and mysterious photographs.
In terms of the characters, Jacob could be annoying at times as he seemed a bit airheaded and was often so lost in his thoughts that he was oblivious to what was going on around him. Very obvious dangers seemed to fly over his head, and although I understand this new world of peculiar children could leave him ignorant, I still wanted to shake him and tell him he was missing so much. The title character, Miss Peregrine, fell a little flat for me, as she was serious at times but then acted silly other times. It left the reader with ambiguous feelings about her. Emma, our other protagonist, was also bit strange, especially concerning the relationship she played with both Jacob’s grandfather and Jacob himself. I did, however, enjoy learning about each of the children and their powers, personalities, etc. Overall they really made the novel more entertaining than just Jacob, Emma, and Miss Peregrine would have.
Although this did not live up to the hype I was led on to believe in, this was still a very good book. It’s unique and the writing is fantastic. The film will probably be no less whimsical, if not more, and I am excited to see what Tim Burton has in store for the fans of this very peculiar book series.
Final Rating: 4/5 stars
