Publication: June 7th 2011 by Quirk Books
Source: Library Book
Goodreads Summary: A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of curious photographs.
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.
A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.
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My Thoughts:
This is a very unique, interesting book. When it first came out, I wasn't sure if I wanted to read it. I wasn't into horror stories and read very few paranormal books. However, my tastes have changed and I decided to go ahead and pick this book up at the library.
The plot drew me in from the very beginning. I loved seeing the old vintage carny photographs and looked forward to seeing a new photograph as the story progressed. I think this added an eerie, intriguing touch to the book and made it unique. This book is definitely not scary. Creep maybe. But not scary. I expected a true horror story (mostly because I never bother to read summaries before reading a book. I much rather read it and figure it out on my own as I go.) and was surprised to find that other than the vintage photographs, there isn't much of a horror element to it. It's more of a mystery novel with a bit of action thrown in it at the end than anything else. I enjoyed reading about all of the characters and their individual peculiar abilities. It did become a bit difficult for me to keep everyone's names and their abilities straight throughout the book so I wish that Riggs would have repeated their abilities again when mentioning a name so I wouldn't have had to flip back to the beginning to remember who was who. I also think that Riggs did a decent job explaining and setting up the world that the peculiar children live in. After reading some disappointing dystopian novels when it came to world building, it was refreshing to read this and find a writer who was able to sufficiently write a world.
I think this book is another John Green element to me. I like the idea of the book, but I don't think it was written to its full potential. There are very few true horror books in the young adult genre and I really wish that this book had been more of a horror story. I feel like I kind of got jipped after finishing it. The book seemingly promises you horror and creepiness with all of the cool vintage photographs laced through it and you come out with a mystery novel with a touch of creepiness. The writing was also pretty lackluster in my opinion. If the book didn't have the photos in it, it wouldn't have been as enjoyable and I don't think the writing is strong enough to have been able to carry the plot on its own. The plot started out strongly and engrossed me, but then it lost its captivity element for me when Jacob meets the peculiar children. The writing quality deteriorates from there in my opinion. Regardless, I did enjoy reading this book.
Likes: Vintage carny photographs. Emma. Unique characters with interesting abilities.
Dislikes: Doesn't deliver what it promises (no horror element to it). Writing is lackluster and loses its captivating-ness after Jacob arrives on the island.
Overall:
Recommend? Yes.
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