Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Riggs Ransom

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

By Riggs Ransom

Published by Quirk Books, 2011

352 pages (hardcover)

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. (from barnesandnoble.com)

At first I was wary of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Not because I didn’t think it would be good; I had only heard good things about book. It was just that the book seemed so creepy. The pictures were weird and I wasn’t sure if I was adventurous enough to read it. But, alas, I picked up the book and I pretty much couldn’t put it down.

The beginning, in particular, was unique and it was refreshing to read something that wasn’t similar to so many books out there. I have read/seen plenty of books about dystopian societies, love, vampires, etc. lately but this was really quite different, especially the use of real photographs to tell the story.

Toward the end of the book it did become a bit more fantastical/paranormal than I thought it would, but overall it was an interesting and fun read. I just hope a sequel comes out because I really need to know what happens to Miss Peregrine and all her peculiar children!