Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

I've wanted to read this book for a long time just because of the cover. So eery and magical! When I received it as an Early Reviewer I told my book club about it and they wanted to read it too. Score!

Judging the book by the cover, I thought it would be a dark and scary tale. However, it's actually a YA novel that I would label Science Fiction, which sparked a little debate in my book club. One said no, it's fantasy. One thought it could be called Historical Fiction. Whatever you would like to call it, we all agreed it was a good story.

It begins with 16 year old Jacob sharing how he loves his grandfather because of all the great stories and photos he shares with Jacob from when he was a kid at Miss Peregrine's Home. Unfortunately it isn't long before Jacob finds his grandfather dying in the forest. His grandfather's dying words are pretty cryptic, but it becomes clear to Jacob that he needs to go to Wales to see Miss Peregrine's Home. What he discovers there reveals that what he knew of his grandfather was only a fraction of his peculiar life.

My favorite part of the book is how the author used unaltered vintage photographs to illustrate the story. I think of the author as a very creative person to find photos first and then create a story with them. A few times it felt like he was adding a detail just so he could share a photo, but overall the photos were an asset.

I definitely see myself reading the sequel, Hollow City, which comes out in January. All but one member of my book club agreed they would be doing the same. I'll also be loaning this book to my nephew because he's a WWII buff and this book puts a little twist on one of the battles.

P.S. This book counts as Historical Mystery for my Eclectic Readers Challenge.

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