Review: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children #1) by Ransom Riggs

SUMMARY FROM GOODREADS:

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

MY TAKE:
I put off reading this book because I thought it would be terrifying.

In Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, Jacob's grandfather used to tell him stories of his childhood and the scary creatures he fought against. Jacob and his parents didn't really believe him until things happen that suggest that maybe his grandfather was right. Jacob decides to journey to a place that meant a lot to his grandfather in the hopes that he might find something there that can shed light on his grandfather's stories.

While the pictures were as creepy as I thought they would be, the story itself wasn't as scary as I anticipated. I was expecting ghosts or something, but the truth behind Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is more cool than frightening.

The kids that Jacob meets are actually quite interesting, and while there are some that are a little nuts, for the most part, they're actually more human than you'd expect.

The enemies in the story are definitely dangerous, but again, I wasn't really scared. Mostly, when I read the description, I kept imagining the villain from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.

I really liked the premise of the book. The use of existing creepy photographs made me think of writing prompts, which I thought was nice and I kinda wish I'd thought of it. As for the existence of the Home for Peculiar Children and how it all works, the basic concepts and basis of the whole story was pretty solid. It just got a little odd and sort of forced when the villain was explaining their motives.

THE GOOD:

1. The pictures are creepy.
2. The mystery behind the Home for Peculiar Children is a good one.
3. The children and their powers are cool, in a freak show kind of way. 

THE BAD:

1. Things got a little complicated at one point. 

FAVORITE QUOTE/S:

I didn’t know what to call it, what was happening between us, but I liked it. It felt silly and fragile and good. 

READ IT IF:

1. You find old photos fascinating.
2. You like stories that are a little creepy, but not too creepy.
3. You like time travel stories. 

RATING:


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