MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN BY RANSOM RIGGS

Genre: YA, Paranormal/Fantasy

Series: Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children

“We cling to our fairy tales until the price for believing in them becomes too high.”
– Ransom Riggs, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

Synopsis:
A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs.

It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he 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 were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows. [Goodreads]

I buddy read this book with Krystal @ Books Are My Thing this month! We decided (more like she did because I am horrible at making decisions) to do a dual review. We also plan on reading Hollow City by Ransom Riggs next month and out joint review will be on her blog!  We skyped to discuss and how/what we would do and let me just tell you it was awesome being able to talk/ put a face to and everything to a bloggy friend! So without further ado, here are each of our reviews!

I originally added this book to my TBR list merely because I found the idea of writing a story around old photos intriguing. Usually it takes more than that, but I’m so glad I added it on a whim because I really enjoyed this book!

I thought the storyline was quite unique, something you might find in television (hello Doctor Who!!), but not so much in books. And using the photos added a different perspective. There were a few times I felt the photos were a bit forced, as if the author really just wanted to include a particular photo and so found some obscure way to incorporate it. Still, I liked the way they were used in the plot and helped to tell the story.

The relationship that develops was a bit strange and creepy for me, haha, but I guess it works. I did think though that we didn’t get much backstory into the main character’s life, so the major decision he makes seemingly without much difficulty at the end of the book kind of had me scratching my head.

All in all, this was a quick read that had me not wanting to put it down, despite a few flaws. I’ll be curious to see how Riggs manages to continue including the photographs in the second book, Hollow City, given how the first book ended. I’d recommend this one to anyone who enjoys time travel and quirky stories, and I’m giving it a 4 out of 5!

Riggs weaved together a dark story using real (sometimes disturbing) pictures to enhance and add depth to an already strange, creepy and intriguing book. It was really well written and the way the story fell together was beautiful. The use of pictures to tell the story was such a unique concept (not saying there aren’t books that use pictures like graphic novels and such) the way in which Riggs used real pictures was an absolutely wonderful twist. Although there were times that the pictures and their introduction to the story felt forced and unnecessary. It creates the question of whether he wrote the story and included the pictures or picked the pictures and wrote the story around it?

I felt like the storyline and events were well developed and it was what really drew me in. The characters were interesting and all had their quirks, but I didn’t become invested in one in particular. I thought the character development lacked a little especially with the main character,Jacob. You do not receive much background to him besides his relationship with his grandfather. With the twists and shocks that come at the end of the novel, it is a crazy decision made from the readers perspective because you were not given any details and background earlier on. I loved that at times the main character was a perceived as unreliable and it gave the story that little extra crazy!

The book definitely ended with loads of questions and making you need a sequel. I am interested to see where the story will grow and how the relationships and characters will develop.

Overall Miss Peregrine’s was an intriguing and unique story that caught me off guard and surprised me. There were parts that I struggled to get through, but the majority of the book was fast paced and hard to put down. I was so engulfed by the story and needed to keep reading.