Thursday 10 September 2015

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs


I read this book a couple of months ago and I really, really enjoyed it. It was, indeed, quite peculiar  itself. 

It is about a boy, Jacob Portman, who convinces his parents to let him travel to Wales (The UK) in order to learn about the truthfulness of his grandfather's stories -- who has recently died in what seems to Jacob some very strange circumstances. The old man used to tell him stories about his notoriously exceptional adventures with some really strange friends of his in an orphanage for war refugee children when he was little. At some point he stopped believing them, but he's not so sure they're not true anymore...

I have to say I bought this book for its appealing title and wonderful cover, but it definitely did not let me down. I found the story very new and original, and I surely did not expect what was coming. I think the characters are very interesting -- the main one is quite strongly developed while the rest are not a much, though I believe it was made on purpose, so nicely done (no spoilers, you'll see!). 

Also, the writer is a former photographer, so the book contains a series of photos of the "peculiar children" which he chose himself. Those are pretty good and help you have an idea of the complicated characteristics of the children, and apparently he collected them himself from different places, so they are real picture that someone took! Also, an interesting thing to point out is that the book came from the photos and not the other way around -- meaning that Riggs had the pictures first and then decided to write a novel out of the feelings he got from those pictures, which I honestly find awesome. Great inspiration skills!

In addition, there was a graphic novel made out of this book a couple of years later, which I have not read or seen, but apparently has all the details necessary not to miss out for the next book of the sequel (Hollow City). I have not read the next book either, and honestly I found out there was a book that followed after I had finished Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, and was quite shocked because I thought the ending could perfectly fit for an open-ended, stand-alone novel. To be honest, when I finished reading the book I did not feel like reading the next one, though I might some day in the future.

Because of this reason, when I finished the book I was slightly disappointed as I found the ending not as strong as the rest of the book, which I had been loving; though it made sense when I found about the sequel. 

Overall, I will give it a 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. It was a fantastic book - I really loved it! I think people from all ages should definitely read it!


wonderful literature.


If you liked this book, you might also like...

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender

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