Book review: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs

A mysterious island. 

An abandoned orphanage. 

A strange collection of curious photographs. 

It all waits to be discovered inMiss 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 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.

My opinion.

I had very high hopes for this book. I don't think I'd ever seen a lay-out more detailed, original and beautiful in a regular paperback edition. The creepy old pictures alone were such an incredible thing to have added. It really brought the descriptions to live. It did very little, however, to actually draw me into the story - it turned out. It felt like one big build up that never had its climax. In books like this the thing I like most is the escapism - loosing yourself for a couple of hours in another, magical, world. That didn't happen. Add the fact that they've now made a huge movie adaptation, I felt a bit disappointed. It wasn't a bad read, of course, it was very original throughout and at times really fascinating, but I'm pretty sure I won't be reading the rest of the series. Too bad!

 

Watch this space to find out how I liked the movie, compared to the original book.