Click for Source Image By Ellie Bowker
‘Peculiar’ doesn’t even begin to cover it. Riggs has composed a quirky, spellbinding story that combines elements of adventure and supernatural horror. A mysterious island, an abandoned orphanage and a strange collection of curious old photographs all adds up to make an unforgettably thrilling reading experience.
‘Peculiar’ doesn’t even begin to cover it. Riggs has composed a quirky, spellbinding story that combines elements of adventure and supernatural horror. A mysterious island, an abandoned orphanage and a strange collection of curious old photographs all adds up to make an unforgettably thrilling reading experience.
Click for Source Image The story begins when sixteen-year-old Jacob witnesses his grandfather’s horrific death and is plagued by his last words that instruct Jacob to find out more about his grandfather’s mysterious past. After being referred to a specialist psychiatrist, Jacob discovers various clues that his grandfather hinted at in his last moments of life. Determined to find out more, Jacob and his father venture to the island of Cairnholm off the coast of Wales where Jacob’s grandfather lived for a few years during his childhood. Whilst rooting around the orphanage that was destroyed after being hit by a bomb during the Second World War, Jacob uncovers that his grandfather’s tales of peculiar children were true and that those peculiar children are still alive. Jacob is able to travel to September 3rd 1940 (the day the bomb hit the orphanage) where he meets the children with peculiar abilities, the headmistress, Miss Peregrine, and is shown that September 3rd has been repeating itself in this world for decades. Emma Bloom, a peculiar child, reveals to Jacob that both he and his grandfather are peculiar with the ability to see hollows, dangerous monsters that feed on peculiars and who killed his grandfather. The orphanage is under threat from hollows and wights and it is up to Jacob and the other peculiar children to defend their orphanage and their beloved Miss Peregrine
As enjoyable as this book was to read, it is not the creepy horror story that it was built up to be which lead to some minor disappointment. However, this disappointment soon evaporated as the story began to come alive. Of course, there were moments in the book that had me terrified, particularly towards the end of the story when the action began to kick off, but overall it was more of an adventure/fantasy read than the horror story many expect once they first pick up the book. Originality is something that is hard to come by among young adult books these days but this novel is full of it. There was no moment in the story where it could have been easily compared to another story among the YA genre as the plot is cleverly intertwined with many unsettling vintage photographs of children exhibiting their peculiar abilities.
The plot is complex with mysteries and the photographs add to the realism of this novel that hooks and draws you in so much that you just can’t pull away. It was engaging with elements of humour to keep the reader entertained and to give the characters more personality other than their peculiar abilities. It has been said that once the mystery of the house has been uncovered, the story starts to drag on with a few meaningless and unimportant scenes and interactions between characters. This is not true. Each moment in the book is there to develop and build on the story and it was during these “meaningless and unimportant scenes” that everything started to click in to place to create the battle between the peculiars and the hollows and wights.
It is good to finally see a YA paranormal/fantasy book that ventures outside the realms of werewolves and vampires which can be overused. Ransom Riggs manages to capture the voices of different eras with witty accuracy whilst conjuring up perfect imagery to feed our imaginations. Jacob is a wonderful character to follow as he grows up from a whiny teenager to a beacon of hope and a saviour for peculiar children so following his narrative was highly enjoyable. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is a refreshing change from most of the young adult literature that is out there today and I would recommend it to all who are willing to be drawn in to a world where impossible childhood stories become possible and all who love beautifully written stories such as this one.
As enjoyable as this book was to read, it is not the creepy horror story that it was built up to be which lead to some minor disappointment. However, this disappointment soon evaporated as the story began to come alive. Of course, there were moments in the book that had me terrified, particularly towards the end of the story when the action began to kick off, but overall it was more of an adventure/fantasy read than the horror story many expect once they first pick up the book. Originality is something that is hard to come by among young adult books these days but this novel is full of it. There was no moment in the story where it could have been easily compared to another story among the YA genre as the plot is cleverly intertwined with many unsettling vintage photographs of children exhibiting their peculiar abilities.
The plot is complex with mysteries and the photographs add to the realism of this novel that hooks and draws you in so much that you just can’t pull away. It was engaging with elements of humour to keep the reader entertained and to give the characters more personality other than their peculiar abilities. It has been said that once the mystery of the house has been uncovered, the story starts to drag on with a few meaningless and unimportant scenes and interactions between characters. This is not true. Each moment in the book is there to develop and build on the story and it was during these “meaningless and unimportant scenes” that everything started to click in to place to create the battle between the peculiars and the hollows and wights.
It is good to finally see a YA paranormal/fantasy book that ventures outside the realms of werewolves and vampires which can be overused. Ransom Riggs manages to capture the voices of different eras with witty accuracy whilst conjuring up perfect imagery to feed our imaginations. Jacob is a wonderful character to follow as he grows up from a whiny teenager to a beacon of hope and a saviour for peculiar children so following his narrative was highly enjoyable. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is a refreshing change from most of the young adult literature that is out there today and I would recommend it to all who are willing to be drawn in to a world where impossible childhood stories become possible and all who love beautifully written stories such as this one.
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