Tales of the Peculiar by Ransom Riggs

Tales of the Peculiar by Ransom Riggs
Buy Tales of the Peculiar by Ransom Riggs at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Teens
Reviewer: Amy Etherington
Summary: Tales of the Peculiar is a charming collection of short stories full of wonder and magic. Even if you're not familiar with the Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children series, I'd highly recommend giving these delightful tales a read.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 160	Date: September 2016
Publisher: Penguin
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-0141373409
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A fork-tongued princess. A boy who can control the currents of the sea. Cannibals who feast on the limbs of a village of peculiars. These are just a few of the brilliant stories to be found in Tales of the Peculiar, all of which hold mystical information about the peculiar world - a place familiar to many of us since its first introduction by Ransom Riggs in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. The stories in this collection explore peculiar history and folklore in a wonderfully imaginative way, and also include some beautiful illustrations to accompany each of the tales.

Ransom Riggs has successfully created a selection of stories that manages to be both delightful but also educational. The stories and the world of the peculiars are of course fictional, but that doesn't mean the morals of these tales lose any of their merit. At their core they explore ideas concerning fate and destiny, finding love, the dangers of possessing a peculiar talent, fighting prejudice and sticking to your principles. Plus, they are thoroughly enjoyable to read! The writing style is sophisticated and thoughtful, with each story feeling more imaginative and quirky than the last.

If you enjoy reading classic fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm or Charles Perrault, then I'm sure you'll take great delight in reading this collection. Tales of the Peculiar is full of macabre events but the stories are also injected with a brilliant, kind of deadpan humour, which I loved. It's a magical collection of stories, but also thoughtful in its execution. I felt as though I was reading something truly different as I explored each of the tales, which is exactly what I want from a reading experience – to be surprised yet enchanted.

A couple of my favourites included The Splendid Cannibals, which tells the tale of a group of wealthy cannibals who feast of the discarded limbs of peculiar folk. It's fantastically written and explores the consequences of how wealth can lead to corruption. Another tale that stood out to me was The Girl that Befriended Ghosts, which follows a young woman who can talk to ghosts and wishes to connect with the spirits who live in her house. Again, this was a lovely story that was both funny, yet heartfelt.

Thank you to the publishers for sending a copy to The Bookbag. Tales of the Peculiar is an excellent collection that's suitable for young adults but also for adult readers, who don't need to have read Riggs' original trilogy to enjoy this. However, for further reading I would recommend Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children if you want to read more about the fascinating world of peculiar folk.

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You can read more book reviews or buy Tales of the Peculiar by Ransom Riggs at Amazon.com.

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