The day my copy of Ransom Riggs’ book showed up in my mailbox two bizarre events took place.
1. I found a copy of an old photo of a very angry young boy laying on the floor of my basement that I thought I had lost in my move from Savannah, GA.
2. I kept having a feeling that somewhere in the woods behind my house, I was being watched.
Both of these events seem random and unconnected but Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is all about old photos and the sense that there is something out there, waiting for you, which, if you like to see patterns in all things as I do, means that the setting of the book is both creepy and terrifyingly delicious and quite possibly true (if you let your imagination run wild).
The story revolves around sixteen year-old Jacob who has always felt a bit different than everyone else and who, as a young boy, was enthralled by the tales his grandfather would tell him of an island that was home to a group of strange and wondrous children who were a bit different themselves (there are even photographs of these children in the book).
As Jacob grew up these stories became more fiction than true tales (as all the stories of our childhood seem) except in Jacob’s grandfather’s case, these “stories” might very well be the death of him.
When a horrific tragedy unfolds in front of Jacob, he is thrust into a world of fantasy, monsters, and the truth of his grandfather’s life which finally makes him realize that his own path was fated to him long before he was even born.
And that his true place might be in a world where time stands still.
Now, let me begin by saying that this is not a story for those that want their protagonist to be a rippling Greek God with a granite chest, dead but in love with a human girl, or an angel that has fallen from Heaven (because haven’t we had enough of that anyway?) This is a literary (though slightly paranormal) coming-of-age tale that begins with a broken boy who questions his place in the world and ends with a young man finding out who he is.
It is also has monsters, war, time travel, bird watching, murder and a very peculiar love story in it if you happen to be in need of any of those kind of story lines (which are always awesome and you should totally want to read about those things if you have a soul).
Hands down, this is one of the best books of recent years and while it may appeal to the young ‘uns because it involves teenagers, it is definitely worth reading if you happen to be a thirty-seven year-old woman who is tired of being asked to join a book club filled with Chick Lit selections when everyone knows you’d rather gouge out your brain with a spatula than read about shopping, dating and dieting.
The story also ends with the possibility of additional sequels which makes me happy as I truly didn’t want the book to end and now I have a reason to continue living (do you hear that Mr. Ransom “I-Have-the-Greatest-Name-Ever” Riggs, my life is now in your hands).
And as for those two weird things that I mentioned at the beginning of this book review, the picture is now safely back in my box of photos that I use to make greeting cards for my family members where it belongs and that weird feeling about being watched is still there only now I’ve come to realize it’s just a raccoon that has a serious emotional attachment to a piece of lawn art in my garden.
But seriously, buy the book, it’s really, really good.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login