Author: Ransom Riggs
Title: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Place Published: Philadelphia, USA
Publisher: Quirk Books
Year Published: 2011
No. of Pages: 348
Price: US$9.99
Place Bought: Fully Booked, Greenhills Promenade
One of my greatest joys as a reader is buying a book solely based on it's front and back cover--on a whim that it'll be an awesome read--and realizing in the end that I was right. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, a young adult novel written by writer and filmmaker Ransom Riggs, is one such book.
His novel tells the story of Jacob, a sixteen-year-old who travels to an island off the coast of Wales, in search of the orphanage his Grandpa Portman grew up in. He is looking for closure, for answers about his grandfather's storied past, and whether or not his unbelievable stories are true.
Jacob finds the orphanage lying in ruins. His search leads him to a collection of old photographs of the children his grandfather grew up with. These photos were similar to the one's his grandfather showed him years back: a photo of an invisible boy and a levitating girl. There was also the photo of a boy carrying a giant boulder with one hand and of a boy with a second mouth at the back of his head.
All of them are peculiar. And Jacob realizes that they may actually be real.
Ransom Riggs signing copies of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Review:
Before I read Ransom Riggs's Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, I actually browsed through all the black-and-white photos in the book. Many of them are indeed peculiar, and I still wonder if they are real. Nevertheless, the photos are amazing, and the story, even more. The story doesn't use the photos as a crutch, and can stand on its own.
It's easy to relate with Jacob as the protagonist. He is traumatized by Grandpa Portman's dying in his arms. He believes he saw a monster nearby, one of those from his grandfather's stories, but nobody else believes him. It's an animal attack, they say. So he begins seeing a therapist, who diagnoses him with acute stress disorder.
When Jacob expresses his desire to travel to Wales and visit the orphanage, and his therapist agrees, I didn't think anything was amiss. I was too excited to find out more about the peculiar children living there--and Miss Peregrine! As I read on, I was treated to all that and more.
Each child has his or her own powers, from invisibility to prophetic dreams to fire-casting. Of course, Jacob has probably the most important power of all: the ability to see monsters that are invisible. There are plenty of monsters, action, and even a bit of romance in this story.
I also enjoyed the concept of the loop, which was explained adequately, while still kept mysterious. This book was written with sequels in mind, so it's best that plenty of revelations be reserved for future books.
I found the story exciting and enjoyable. It's not as scary as it looks, though it does touch on a number of deep subjects including World War 2, a bit of mental illness, and plenty of death. I recommend this quality read to anyone longing for a good story and some cool vintage photographs.
My Rating:
5 out of 5
Title: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Place Published: Philadelphia, USA
Publisher: Quirk Books
Year Published: 2011
No. of Pages: 348
Price: US$9.99
Place Bought: Fully Booked, Greenhills Promenade
One of my greatest joys as a reader is buying a book solely based on it's front and back cover--on a whim that it'll be an awesome read--and realizing in the end that I was right. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, a young adult novel written by writer and filmmaker Ransom Riggs, is one such book.
His novel tells the story of Jacob, a sixteen-year-old who travels to an island off the coast of Wales, in search of the orphanage his Grandpa Portman grew up in. He is looking for closure, for answers about his grandfather's storied past, and whether or not his unbelievable stories are true.
Jacob finds the orphanage lying in ruins. His search leads him to a collection of old photographs of the children his grandfather grew up with. These photos were similar to the one's his grandfather showed him years back: a photo of an invisible boy and a levitating girl. There was also the photo of a boy carrying a giant boulder with one hand and of a boy with a second mouth at the back of his head.
All of them are peculiar. And Jacob realizes that they may actually be real.
Ransom Riggs signing copies of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Review:
Before I read Ransom Riggs's Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, I actually browsed through all the black-and-white photos in the book. Many of them are indeed peculiar, and I still wonder if they are real. Nevertheless, the photos are amazing, and the story, even more. The story doesn't use the photos as a crutch, and can stand on its own.
It's easy to relate with Jacob as the protagonist. He is traumatized by Grandpa Portman's dying in his arms. He believes he saw a monster nearby, one of those from his grandfather's stories, but nobody else believes him. It's an animal attack, they say. So he begins seeing a therapist, who diagnoses him with acute stress disorder.
When Jacob expresses his desire to travel to Wales and visit the orphanage, and his therapist agrees, I didn't think anything was amiss. I was too excited to find out more about the peculiar children living there--and Miss Peregrine! As I read on, I was treated to all that and more.
Each child has his or her own powers, from invisibility to prophetic dreams to fire-casting. Of course, Jacob has probably the most important power of all: the ability to see monsters that are invisible. There are plenty of monsters, action, and even a bit of romance in this story.
I also enjoyed the concept of the loop, which was explained adequately, while still kept mysterious. This book was written with sequels in mind, so it's best that plenty of revelations be reserved for future books.
I found the story exciting and enjoyable. It's not as scary as it looks, though it does touch on a number of deep subjects including World War 2, a bit of mental illness, and plenty of death. I recommend this quality read to anyone longing for a good story and some cool vintage photographs.
My Rating:
5 out of 5
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