Monday, January 14, 2013

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

When Jacob Portman was a little boy, his grandfather would tell him incredible stories about a magical orphanage on an island in Wales. Among the peculiar residents was a girl who could levitate, an invisible boy, and a child who was so powerful he could lift a boulder. When Jacob cast doubt on the truth of these tales, his grandfather produced a series of old photographs to prove that he lived there as an orphan.

However, after getting teased at school after retelling these stories, Jacob told his grandfather that he no longer believed him. In response, his granddad stopped recounting the tales of when he lived in the Welsh orphanage. Years later, when Jacob was 16, he received a panicky call from his grandfather, in which he yelled that the monsters had found him. After rushing to his granddad's house, he realized to this horror that his grandfather had been savagely attacked. As he lay dying in Jacob's arms, he told his grandson to "go to the island" where he could be safe.

The death of Grandpa Abe leads to a series of events that take Jacob to a mysterious island off the coast of Wales. On the island, he discovers the remains of the old orphanage that his grandfather told him about, where he discovers that the stories he heard as a child were true. During this fantastic journey he learns a truth that he could never have imagined.

This wonderful novel spent 63 weeks on The New York Times  best sellers list for children's chapter books. Between April 29 and May 20, 2012, it was #1 on the list (see source here). While listed in the children's category, this work is aimed at adolescents, although its great writing also makes it enjoyable for adults. A highly original book, this work combines writing with a collection of fascinating pictures. In fact, this mix of words and photos result in a wonderful work of art, with the first-half of the novel being absolutely brilliant. Unfortunately, the second-half of the story descends into a regular action packed thriller, which takes away from the originality of the book. If it weren't for the ending, I would call this novel outstanding. That being said, this is still an excellent work and I would recommend reading it.

4 stars out of 5