Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is first book by Ransom Riggs and is also first book in Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children series. It was published already in 2011, second book came out in 2014 and the third – only this year. The series are fresh and as literature now is kind of more or less in a dystopian era, this is something different, as it looks back in time, not forward. It is set both in 1940 and modern days and is mostly know for use of weird pictures in the book as illustrations. Before I dig in, I just want to point out that most of the pictures are real and collected by people who are looking for peculiar pictures, some have undergone minor editing though.
Jacob has lived with grandfathers stories about special abilities and weird monsters for years, until one day in school kids start to call him names, because he was repeating those stories. He tells grandfather Abe that he doesn’t believe it anymore and keeps to his statement, although it brakes his heart as Abe is Jacob’s favourite person on the planet. Everything change’s though when teenager Jacob follows his grandfather in the woods and starts to doubt, if the stories Abe told were really just fairy tales… could they be real? Where the monsters – German soldiers or was it something else lurking in the darkness unnoticed? Jacob decides to find the truth and visit a school Abe attended when he was just a boy, because that’s where all the stories always start.
This book has a lot of pictures in it and I really liked them, I am actually happy to find out that there are pictures like that and that some people collect them. It gives me an interest and will to remember to go through some, when I am in charity or thrift store in order to perhaps find some and guess the story behind it. I enjoyed the pictures in the book a lot, but I don’t particularly think that they are much connected to the story. I understand that it was author’s inspiration and those pictures were the ones that put the story together in his mind and he felt like it is important to add them, as well as to honor the people who collect the pictures, but as sometimes we get only one sentence about a picture and the character is never mentioned again, it seems a bit like a trick to get people buy the book perhaps just to see the pictures. So yes, I am glad that I could see them, but I don’t think that all of them were necessary in the book.
I didn’t have hopes really for this book, I just expected to like it and when I started this novel, my hopes went up, because the beginning was exciting and filled with action. And adventure or new piece of information expected me after every corner. I was really into the book and although I was frightened and really scared, it was a page turner, until a moment the action stopped, it just got slow, boring and a bit ordinary. Perhaps the author went out and told me all his secrets too soon, because not much of the things that happened after Jacob got to the school and saw it as Abe had seen it, interested me. I didn’t appreciate the cliche romance thing that happened there and everything just became so normal that I was simply disappointed.
None of the characters were of my liking and I didn’t connect to any of them. I didn’t much like Jacob, for his “we can afford plane tickets just like some time ago – train tickets” (– no we can’t! Or did he forget that he comes from a rich family?) and other things he said or thought! His character was just so plain and empty, that I couldn’t relate at all. And besides – for the whole first chapter I though that he is a girl. Yes, that’s right, it wasn’t mentioned that the protagonist is a male until we hear his name later.
The peculiar children – well, we don’t get to know many of them, I guess I liked Bronwyn, because she seemed not to contradict herself or not be just a bunch of weird actions without real explanation (like Enoch for example). I understand that there are lines to read between and emotions hidden in the book, but honestly, if the author had time to put in a day (and night) of swimming, he could have put in a few more characteristics of the children he had created.
I had a hard time understanding, how could there be correspondence between Abe and the school. I would be glad, if someone could explain that to me. Did Miss Peregrine hold a mailbox in the present school and went to check it every day? Did she bother to go to the present town to get stamps for letters Emma would send? It was never explained, though it interests me as in this type of “jumping in time” it feels like it is important.
I had trouble understanding the wights and hollows. I felt the back story on them was rushed and their abilities and life still unclear to me, which could be a reason why I didn’t much care about all the things they did in order to fulfill their plan.
As I said before – I really liked the beginning and was excited and frightened, but I loved it. Unfortunately it didn’t keep up with the awesomeness and I didn’t much care about the book by the end of it. And for the exciting start and dull ending, it received two stars out of five on my goodreads page.
I would not recommend this book for children as well as for neurotic people (as myself), they are going to have nightmares and be scared of everything, not to mention violence and descriptions of some bloody scenes. I guess this is for new adults or adults that are interested in special powers and peculiarities, but not really for those into superheroes or X-men. I think it might be much for young adults though, but I am myself very interested in the graphic novel, though – this book clearly is made to be very visual and I want more of that visual, hoping that now the pictures would make more sense (as in why they were put in the book), when some of the characters are going to be drawn all the time. And I wouldn’t mind getting a picture book with these kind of photographs.
Have you read this book? Did you love it? Were you scared? Are the rest of the series better or worse? Which was your favourite character and most importantly – how do the letters travel?
November 19, 2015 at 12:44
I’ve read it and I do agree with you. I really could not be bother about the wights and the hollow. I feel like the author were not exploring the peculiars very well and were too preoccupied with other things. But, I’m not gonna lie, I kinda liked the book and I have the second and the third one waiting to be read. Sadly I’ve shipped both books back home, so until the end of December, I would not have had the chance to read it.
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November 19, 2015 at 14:04
It is really nice that you liked the book anyway, I think that, if it would be packed with a bit more unusual (peculiar) action in the middle and end, I would have liked it better, because it would kind of bind me with the characters and plot.
I really hope you will like them. I will probably read the next books too, but I’m not rushing. Perhaps, if I let this one settle in, I will like the next two better. 🙂
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November 20, 2015 at 04:50
I agree though, I feel like the book is like a promise of a great adventure, but it was not executed nicely. It’s like the author waste an entire good book for things that should have been replaced with making the reader engage with the characters more. I don’t know if this make any sense to you, Lol. I’m pretty known to not be articulate enough. 😂
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November 19, 2015 at 13:13
I wanted to like it, but was left a bit nonplussed.
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November 19, 2015 at 13:56
I have read the first two books in the series and felt that the first book was the best. I am uncertain what the third book will bring to the mix. I must say though, that the pictures are really cool idea and I felt that they were the best part of the book for me.
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November 19, 2015 at 14:02
I would love the pictures as a separate book with stories how they were find, perhaps (if the collectors remember or keep that information). But for me – too many times something was mentioned in one sentence and there was the picture, which actually had no need to be there, because the sentence didn’t much matter.
I saw that the second and third book in the series have been rated a lot better than the first one and I surely hope they are.
I also read that the second book just feels like a bridge to the grand finale, so yeah, I really do hope that it will get better for me and am glad that you did enjoy it! 🙂
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November 19, 2015 at 14:22
I hear it is being made into a movie as well, I wonder if it would work better for the screen. I love the idea of short stories to go with the pictures, like origin stories.
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November 19, 2015 at 14:52
I haven’t read this book. I used to be intrigued by it because I love the horror genre, but most people and reviewers I tend to agree with give it mixed ratings, which cooled my ardour. And after reading your review, it’s even less likely that I will pick this up.
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November 19, 2015 at 14:56
Great review! I actually just started this and have to admit, I picked it up because I was drawn in by the pictures hehe.
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November 19, 2015 at 22:14
I enjoyed it but I didn’t think too hard about it or take it too seriously, I just read it for enjoyment and went along for the ride. I didn’t enjoy the second book as much because I felt the first was more interesting since it was a new idea but the second one was okay. I am looking forward to the movie coming out next year, especially since Tim Burton will be directing it and I think that will be a good fit.
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November 20, 2015 at 00:24
It fascinates me often that people think that I analyse books or think hard about them – I don’t, these are my thoughts after a normal reading session.
I am inclined to agree, that Tim Burton should be a great fit for this book and I dare to think that I might even like the film better, knowing, how he can pull out character and pull off weirdness. I am surprised that I didn’t see it before.
And thanks for the comment, I didn’t do any research about the book as I was afraid to spoil the next two, but this is a great piece of information! 🙂
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November 20, 2015 at 18:56
Ha, the thing about the letters really bothered me too! I was left with so many unanswered questions about logistics (maybe I was overthinking it?) that I was kind of frustrated by the end. That said, I did like most of the book, and I plan to read the rest of the series.
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November 20, 2015 at 20:09
! You are thee first one to talk about the letter at all! 😀 I thought that it is such an obvious mystery, because they’re mentioned SO many times. And because the wights also had to communicate to get that submarine do what they wanted to and other, and other things. I tried to not think much of the time travel thing (the writings on the tunnel wall also confused me a bit), but I couldn’t ignore the letters or photographs that seemed to appear right there (were they developing them there?)
I’m pretty glad to say that I have interested quite a few of my friends in this book and hope that they will enjoy it despite my opinion. And I do hope to like the next two in the series! 🙂
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November 20, 2015 at 20:16
It’s been a couple of years since I read it, so I’m a bit fuzzy on the details — but yeah, some of these types of issues bothered me enough to take me out of the story. I’m going to have to re-read this one before I tackle the next 2!
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November 21, 2015 at 01:45
Great review! 🙂
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November 21, 2015 at 12:01
I still don’t have the courage to read this book!
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November 23, 2015 at 00:30
I had no idea that it is going to be scary, when I got into it, but, if you are not very easily to scare, it should be fine for you! 🙂
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November 21, 2015 at 18:14
I really enjoyed this book, but haven’t gotten around to the second one yet… It sits neglected on my bookshelf :< I am also interested in the graphic novel. It looks well-done, and was put out by Yen Press, who I adore~
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November 21, 2015 at 18:14
(Also great review… Forgot to actually put that, sorry!)
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November 23, 2015 at 00:29
I think that this book has really a lot of potential to be a graphic novel and it cannot be said very often about books. 😀
I hope to get to the second part this year, but I have so many reading plans (and promises to finish the Throne of Glass series at last) that I really hope it will be possible.
Hope you will enjoy the second as much! 🙂
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November 27, 2015 at 19:24
Aww same!!! I have such a long to-read list… Urgh… Haha!! I haven’t heard of Throne of Glass– Is it good?
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November 29, 2015 at 00:36
For now I have read just the first book in the series and honestly it left an impression of not being professional. Little mistakes as well as a character development that didn’t seem to work (best assassin in the country wants to receive praises and weird wonderful dresses and be seen, instead of hiding and being happy that nobody knows who she is), but at the same time I saw potential in series although I disliked the first book.
I’m going to keep on reading (hopefully soon) second book as many say that it gets better and better with every next book. And it was visible that writing got better already by the end of the first book.
Throne of Glass received two stars from me. 😉 Hopefully Queen of Shadows will get more.
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November 30, 2015 at 04:39
Awesome! Will check out for sure~ 😀
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November 22, 2015 at 00:27
In my opinion, this book was really bad. I couldn’t even finish it! There is a review of it on my blog haileybrownreviews.wordpress.com
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November 23, 2015 at 00:28
Wow, that is, indeed impressive.
I wouldn’t say that I had hard time finishing it, it seemed like a light read for me by the end, hoping that I could catch some more action.
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November 23, 2015 at 08:43
Yes!!! I am not the only one! I never understood all the hype around this book. Great review
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November 23, 2015 at 09:46
So many readers have read this book. It is on my to read list, I really must buy it one of these days and read it.
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December 4, 2015 at 09:42
I liked reading Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. I think the photographs worked great in together with the text itself. They brought my reading experience to a whole new level. Great review!
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