Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

I've read through some of the reviews (hardback and Kindle) for this book with just a hint of annoyance, mostly because I don't know what the reviewers had been expecting to read when they purchased it. If it's a "real" book as opposed to an e-version, I've usually thumbed through a chapter or so in the local bookstore whilst deciding if it's worth getting and it is rare that I've regretted a purchase. And as Amazon have the 'Look Inside' option on the hardback, you get a couple of chapters to go through so you have much the same opportunity to weigh things up. I looked and I bought.

It has been marketed at young adults - same age range as The Vampire Diaries/Twilight series etc - although there are none of the trademark handsome protagonist and angst ridden heroine stereotypes or sparking vampires and brooding werewolves/shapeshifters. Whilst I agree that some of the writing appears contrived at times, I'd say that this is pretty much the case with a number of authors (including some that are long established and much raved about by their target audience). Yes, the ending is probably a bit woolly and does set the author up for Book 2, but look at Twilight - the first 3 books all inexorably lead towards their sequel and as for the last book......I could go into it but I'm not reviewing Breaking Dawn! This is, after all, his first novel and hopefully Ransom will learn from the reviews from Amazon and elsewhere and develop his approach differently for the next one.

I personally found it highly enjoyable, occasionally unsettling, and the photo's didn't distract me from the story at all. As a way of introducing young adult readers to the fantasy genre, it's certainly worth reading. As a considerably older reader, but who still enjoys a wide range of genres, I found it refreshing and different to much of the young adult literature out there that I've read and would recommend it to all.

I've sat on this review for a little while because I wanted to let Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children sink in. And, if I'm honest, I wanted time to make up my mind about this book.

It didn't work. Letting my mind breathe like a nice red wine has not allowed the flavour of my thoughts to mellow and mature. This book was like wine in a lot of ways, I guess. There was subtlety, complexity and richness. Furthermore, it was a book I could only sip. I'm usually all for swallowing books whole but I couldn't gulp at this one.

And then there was the slight... bitterness. This book left a bad after-taste with me when I was done. Just like when you indulge in a few too many glasses of red, when I was finished with this I felt the face-palm of regret. I couldn't figure out why until I sat down to put my thoughts in line about this book.

I regretted the fact that I didn't love the book as much as I had so desperately wanted to. Ransom Riggs' writing is interesting and I loved the premise of the story. Unfortunately, the only character I liked was the protagonist, Jacob. Everyone else in the story either got on my nerves a little bit or drove me completely nutty with annoyance! In some cases this annoyance came from the characters' qualities. The love interest, for example, (whose name escapes me...) was really irritating! Take that and couple it with the almost incestuous fact that she was Jacob's grandfather's ex (I know, right?) and this was a romance that just didn't float my boat.

So many of the characters had such potential. There was one creepy li'l kid who could bring clay golems to life by giving them the hearts of living creatures. He was one of the few characters who had a bit more going on other than his peculiarity. In most other cases the peculiar children's little quirks were all they had. Their personalities weren't developed and there just wasn't much beneath the surface.

The pictures were disturbing, even more so after the Afterword at the back of the book. These have me curious about Riggs' up and coming work, Talking Pictures. Other than these visual interludes, I found little else about the book creepy.

So...where do I stand? Now that it comes to thinking about how many little stars to post below, I must admit that I'm a little bit stumped. This book has worked its way under my skin in spite of my disappointment with the book as a whole. I still want to read the sequel because there really is so much potential to this premise and these characters. I'm going to give this one a 3 star rating. A cynical little voice in my head is muttering that it should be lower. A bright little voice is chirping that it should be higher. Screw them both, I'm playing it safe and sitting my butt firmly on the fence!

A mysterious island.

An abandoned orphanage.

A strange collection of very peculiar 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 Miss Peregrine's 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.

Jacob has grown up listening to his grandfather's tall tales about the island he lived on during the Second World War. These stories about monsters and strange children with powers were a delight to Jacob as a youngster, but as he grew up, he became disillusioned with his grandfather's flights of fancy. When his grandfather unexpectedly dies, Jacob finds himself drawn back to these stories. He decides to undertake a journey to try and separate the truth from the lies.

There are some fantastic characters in this novel and normally I would take great delight in describing them to you, but in this case I believe the less you know going in, the more I am sure you will enjoy the novel. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is a novel all about uncovering secrets and so to divulge too much in a review would be to do it a dis-service.

Setting the majority of the book on a remote Welsh island has given the author the opportunity to capture not only the bleakness, but also the stark beauty of the location. The island can be seen as a haven and a prison at the same time.

Before you even crack open the novel you will no doubt be struck by the strange picture that adorns its cover. Your brain will be telling you that something just isn't right. The photo is an old black and white image that shows a little girl in a dress wearing a tiara. At first glance everything appears normal but when you look again you realise that the girl is hovering just off the ground, and you realise this picture is anything but normal. The entire novel feels like this. The author is giving the reader tantalising glimpses of another world.

This debut by Ransom Riggs is a rare treat. It really feels like something special. Every time I thought I had it figured out it defied my expectations and veered off on a completely different tangent. Part mystery, part supernatural adventure, I was consistently impressed with the author and his world building. There is far more going on than I first assumed.

In addition to the strong writing, I think special mention has to be made of the striking pictures that are used throughout. These vintage photographs help to enhance what is already a gripping story. I was struck by the fact that each image tends to require more than one viewing. It is only when you look again that you pick up on small details that you may have missed the first time around. Looking at the pictures in isolation you can see small hints that there is a larger tale being told but it is only as a companion to the text that the reader gets the full experience.

Last week I heard that 20th Century Fox have picked up the movie rights. I do hope they manage to do this book justice. It has all the hallmarks of a classic and I can imagine that fans will become very protective of this story. In the books pages lies modern day gothic fairy tale that could translate very well to the big screen, I'd certainly rather watch a movie version of this than Twilight.

Oddly captivating and more than a little bit creepy, I would heartily recommend Miss Peregrine. It is a young adult novel that delights in looking at the world with an ever so slightly skewed view. Left wide open for a sequel I really do hope that there will be more.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is released by Quirk Books on 7th June 2011.