Miss Peregrine Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (2011)

In celebration of the event this April 26, I'll do a review on both of Ransom Riggs' books! YAAAAY! But First off, is his debut novel.

Title: Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children

Author: Ransom Riggs

Publication: Quirk Books, 2011

Format: Trade Paperback, 352 pages

Source: Own Copy bought from NBS

Buy it on: Amazon | National Book Store | Fully Booked | The Book Depository | Barnes and Noble

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Synopsis: 

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.

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Misfit's Review:

When I first went to a bookstore and saw this, I think I stood in front of the book screaming at it, not because I was scared of it, but because I was so happy to see it and it felt like I saw a thing of beauty. The lady at the counter shushed me, so I slid at a corner, but glanced at the copy again and screamed again, and yeah, they kinda wanted to throw me out. Anyway, after quick deliberations, I bought the book and I do not regret anything about it ever since!

The photographs used are hauntingly fascinating and you keep on staring at them to get a feel of them, intertwine them fully with the character, and you'd realize how intrigued you are by the characters and eventually intrigued by the real people in the photographs. It's amazing how the photos have so much relevance to a particular scene in the story. You'd think that the book can't achieve the same type of charm as it did with the photos in it. Ransom is a genius.

It takes a lot of great effort to find the right photographs for this story so it would seem. Especially with the wide array of characters, finding the right one to fit their peculiarity, is a task on its own and Ransom was able to deliver by giving us wonderful characters like the beautiful, hot-head Emma, to the charmingly optimistic Olive. 

The main character Jacob, may have become one of my favorite male protagonist. He's honest, very brave and would never think twice in order to help his friends when they're in danger and his curiousity is a charm. 

You'd think that you'd be swamped with the number of characters involved in the book, but no! You'd actually look forward to them, and that's what's so beautiful about it. Not only that, Ransom made sure that no one is forgotten. Each character has this specific role that plays well in the situation. No matter how many they were in the picture, they mattered.

One other thing about this novel is the play on the past and present; fantasy and reality. Ransom was able to bring us the merge of the present life, with the standstill of the past in the Miss Peregrine's loop. Of course, the fantasy element of the peculiarities of the children, like Enoch's way of bringing the dead back to life for a matter of minutes, or Horace's premonition of the future. 

Since the past they are living in is set in the time of the Nazi Regime, there are some sort of military references along the way, but still minimal. What is amazing is the peculiar language and the antagonists of the story, the wights and the hollows. Ransom was able to make these horrifying creatures that could possibly haunt you endlessly in your dreams if you think about them too much. And then there are the wights. All too cunning and mischievous, I hate them. 

Style-wise, Ransom's way of writing isn't at all shocking and is easy on the eyes. You won't exactly need to burn a hundred brain cells to understand. It is comprehensible enough for any young reader or teenager out there! Of course, the terminologies may throw you off sometimes, but there aren't a lot so, you'll be fine. What's amazing is that Ransom was able to embrace the British slang quite well and use it to further make the people of Cairnholm, realistic to the readers.

Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children is a spice of eccentric you need on your bookshelves.

Rating:

About The Author: 

Ransom Riggs grew up in Florida but now makes his home in the land of peculiar children—Los Angeles. Along the way he earned degrees from Kenyon College and the University of Southern California’s School of Cinema-Television, got married, and made some award-winning short films. He moonlights as a blogger and travel writer, and his series of travel essays,Strange Geographies, can be found at mentalfloss.com or via ransomriggs.com.

(Author Bio from Barnes and Noble)

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Thank you for reading this review! If you want to participate in the giveaway to win a copy of Tahereh Mafi's UNITE ME, please click here .

Yay! Please leave comments below! It'll be lovely to read them and reply to you all! The review for Hollow City is up next, so stay tuned!!! MORE POWER TO YOU MISFITS AND BOOKNERDS