Saturday, May 19, 2012

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Cover image

Riggs, Ransom.  Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. 2011. Quirk Books, 352 pages. $17.99  ISBN: 9781594744761

Plot Summary:
Jacob grew up listening to his grandfather’s stories about his childhood on the run from monsters, except for a few blissful years he spent on an island off the coast of Wales with peculiar children who had abilities like levitating and super strength.  All the children lived together in a big house looked after by an old bird.  As Jacob gets older he no longer believes his grandfather’s fantastical stories, choosing instead to see the monsters as a metaphor for the Nazis.  The is until the day his grandfather is brutally murdered by some kind of monster that only Jacob sees fleeing the body.    Jacob’s grandfather’s last words were to tell Jacob to go to the island in Wales.  Jacob travels to Wales with his father, hoping to bring news of his grandfather’s death to his friends who remained on the island, but instead Jacob discovers his grandfather’s stories about monsters and peculiar children were far from stories and there is more to the island than meets the eye.

Critical Review:
Riggs first novel is a fantastically woven story made richer by the inclusion of beautiful and haunting antique photographs.  Riggs builds a suspenseful and multi-layered story with richly developed characters.  Reader’s will be itching to find out what happens to Jacob and his peculiar friends in this spine chilling and inventive tale.  Rigss suspenseful writing combined with creepy photographs will make this the perfect novel for readers looking for a good scare.  Reader’s will be eagerly awaiting the next installment of Jacob’s adventure, I know I am!

Genre:
Fantasy
Horror
Mystery

Interest Level:
Grade 10 and up

Similar Books:
Clay David Almond
Clockwork Angel Cassandra Clare
The Secret Hour Scott Westerfeld

Subjects/Themes:
Grandfathers
Orphanages
Wales

Awards/Honors:
YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults 2012

Author’s Website:
Annotation:
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is a spine tingling adventure of monsters, time travel, and children with special abilities, in which Jacob finds himself on a mysterious island hunted by monsters only he can see.

Book Talking Ideas:
Anyone in the mood for a truly scary and unique horror story, will love Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.  Jacob grew up listening to his grandfather's creepy tales of monsters and children with unusual abilities who lived on an isolated island guarded by an old bird, but he never imagined the stories were actually true.  After his grandfather's death Jacob travels to the island where his grandfather grew up and soon finds himself in a living nightmare.

Why I chose to include this book:
I included this book because it was recommended to me by several coworkers.

No comments:

Post a Comment