Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Buy Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Teens
Reviewer: Robert James
Summary: Ambitious attempt at creating a fantasy from some strange photographs. It didn't work that well for me but has its merits and is worth checking out if you're curious.
Buy? Maybe	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 352	Date: July 2011
Publisher: Quirk Books
ISBN: 978-159474476
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After his grandfather's death, sixteen year old Jacob is sent to a psychiatrist. He swears that he'd seen a monster of some description - just like the weird and unusual things the old man used to tell him about - when he discovered the body. As you can imagine, everyone thinks Jacob is crazy. But then events set in motion a visit to the island off the coast of Wales where Jacob's grandfather grew up, and as Jacob finds Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, he discovers that his grandfather may have been telling the truth all along...

There's a lot to like in the way Ransom Riggs has put this book together - some truly spine-tingling photographs, including the striking image on the cover of a girl levitating, both capture the reader's attention from the start and do a very good job of illustrating the Peculiar Children in the novel. That said, I struggled to get into the actual narrative itself despite really liking the idea. Jacob is a likeable enough main character but somewhat bland at times, while many of the children he discovers seem to be struggling to display anything much of a personality, and a fair number of them rather blend together as extras. I also found the book to lose pace around the middle before picking up for an entertaining ending.

All in all, I wouldn't actively steer you away from this one - the photographs at least make it stand out in the crowded field of young adult fantasy - but given just how packed full that genre is of wonderful novels it's not really one I'd recommend as anything other than an interesting curiosity. One other note which slightly surprised me - there's a rather large amount of profanity which may put off younger readers (or, more realistically, parents or guardians of those younger readers!) It's not an issue for me personally but it's worth mentioning.

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

Further reading suggestion: One of my very favourite young adult fantasies of recent years, Un-Lun-Dun by China Mieville, is likely to be adored by anyone who enjoys this.

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You can read more book reviews or buy Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs at Amazon.com.

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