Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Original Title: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine, #1)
Turkish Title: Not available
English Title: Original Title: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine, #1)
Author: Ranson Riggs
Pages: 352
My Rating: 4/5

WHY THIS BOOK?
I came across this book first on Leslie’s website: Working for the Mandroid. I found the title of the book really interesting. After googling the book a bit, I saw that it was a novel together with really eccentric photos. Then, I asked my coworker who helps me get e-books for my kindle and in less than a day, there it was, waiting for its turn to be read on my kindle. Similar to Starters I read earlier this year, I started reading it short after I got the book.

THE STORY:
It is the story of Jacob (16). He is a funny, curious, intelligent boy who has a close relationship with his grandfather. His grandfather always told him fantastic tales about an orphanage in which he grew up. His tales are generally supported with odd old photos. As Jacob becomes a young adult, he loses interest in his grandfather’s stories about his earlier magical life.

As Jacob’s grandfather is aging day by day, he gets murdered one day and Jacob’s life turns upside down. He sees something hard to believe and starts to question his grandfather’s magical stories. Meanwhile, Jacob’s parents worry about his mental health. So as to help Jacob deal with his grandfather’s sudden and unexpected loss, his father takes him to Cairnholm Island in Wales. That’s where the main story starts. Jacob has much to discover on the island about himself and about his grandfather’s magical fantastic world.

MY COMMENTS:
Putting the story aside, I really liked the photos used in this book: They were truly peculiar like the children themselves. I also liked to learn the fact that the photos were real and gathered together from various collectors (including a few shots by the author himself).

When I started reading the book and showed my friends the cover and some of the freaky photos, many found it quite disturbing rather than interesting. I am known to be a fan of weird books so they were not surprised by the fact that I would read and enjoy it. They were right. It was a joyful read for me. The book was mysterious starting from page 1. I was not certain about where the story will take me and most of time I felt like I myself was actually in Jacob’s peculiar world. Although I read many books and watched many TV series & movies about people with supernatural powers or eccentric talents, I still enjoyed learning about the gift/talent of each and every child in Jacob’s grandfather’s orphanage (namely, Miss Peregrine’s Home).

I found the book really well-paced. I think it is mainly because the author had already writing a sequel in mind so he didn’t rush. There were almost no holes in the plot. As I expected, it was mysterious and creepy.

Unlike many early readers of this book, I knew that the author had the intention of writing a sequel to this book so I was expecting such a final chapter. Now I hope to learn more about what Jacob’s grandfather had been through in the second book. I’m also happy to learn that Ransom Riggs has already started collecting photos for his sequel.

APPLICABLE CHALLENGES:
It was my first Ransom Riggs novel so I can count it for New Author Challenge.
It wasn’t until this book I knew that the word “peregrine” was actually a kind of falcon so I can count this book for What An Animal Reading Challenge.
I chose this book for Summer Reading Challenge 2012 as “a book I judged by the cover”.
It turned out to be a book about time travel so I can also include it in my list for WFTM Science Fiction Reader Challenge.