Monday 19 March 2012

Review #5 Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Released: 7th June 2011
Publisher: Quirk Books
Age Group: YA, Adults
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 352
Author's Website: Ransom Riggs
Buy the book here: Amazon

This review contains spoilers!!

A MYSTERIOUS ISLAND.

AN ABANDONED ORPHANAGE.


A STRANGE COLLECTION OF VERY PECULIAR 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 Miss Peregrine's children were more than just peculiar. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for a good reason. And somehow - impossible as 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 relished an adventure in the shadows.


I went into this book with great anticipation. I'd heard great things about it from fellow Youtubers and so I bought it specially with my birthday money, which for a 26 year old is measly I have to say. So me and my £5 went to my local bookshop and picked up a copy of this book. I couldn't wait to read it and found myself keep flicking through the pages. Not necessarily looking at anything in particular I just felt the need to devour it then and there. But I took it home and carried on with my other "planned" reading.

When this book was voted for on my poll, I was thrilled and was glad it was drawn to be the March book of the Month, and I could finally sink my claws into it. I found the beginning to be fast paced, a bit like Wings was. It jumped straight into the storyline and informed the reader of all the history that had taken place before this book. This helped me get into the story, and I find if that first chapter doesn't capture my imagination, I don't hold out much hope for the rest of it. The story telling of the characters (there's quite a few of them) was made easy for the reader as well. Sometimes having a lot of characters can confuse me as a reader, but this was dealt with very well in this book.

The book was filled with both anti-climatic parts but also suspense. I found it had an equal balance of both and so made the reader want to continue turning the pages, which is a key aspect. The ending however I though could have used a little condensing, for me it was dragged out a bit too much, but that is just my personal opinion.

The way in which Ransom writes is so descriptive he really draws you into his world. There were rumors surrounding this book that Tim Burton was going to make it into a film, but after reading Ransom's website this is fact not fiction. There is also a sequel being written, which I will be buying to see what peculiar adventures we will see next.

I award this 3 out of 5 Stars ~ Peculiar, but fascinating.

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