Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children, #1) in Pick-a-Shelf

May 18, 2011 Misty rated it really liked it

Shelves: series, read-in-2011, supernatural-paranormal, sci_fi-fantasy, own, quirky, historical, timeslip, review-copy-accepted

In some ways, I'm surprised I liked this as much as I did. 聽I'm not sure why, maybe it's because I love the title/cover combo, or because I love the idea behind it, or because quirky can sometimes go horribly, horribly wrong; whatever the reason, I was kind of bracing to be let down in this one. 聽And since it reads a little dispassionately in the beginning, I had a hard time staying engaged and thought my doom-and-gloom expectations were going to be - well, satisfied doens't seem like the right In some ways, I'm surprised I liked this as much as I did. 聽I'm not sure why, maybe it's because I love the title/cover combo, or because I love the idea behind it, or because quirky can sometimes go horribly, horribly wrong; whatever the reason, I was kind of bracing to be let down in this one. 聽And since it reads a little dispassionately in the beginning, I had a hard time staying engaged and thought my doom-and-gloom expectations were going to be - well, satisfied doens't seem like the right word...
But I thought I was going to be disappointed, and I wasn't. (yay!)

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is intensely creative and unique, consistently giving me things I wasn't expecting. 聽This is not to say I didn't have issues with the book, because I did. 聽Though I love the idea of using quirky, odd photos to help narrate the story, there were certainly times when those photos seemed more forced on the story than supplemental to it. 聽There were times, too, where it just felt so damned over-written. I just wanted to say, 'Pull back a little, buddy. 聽One metaphor is fine.' 聽And as I said, it sometimes felt a little dispassionate. 聽But neither of these was a consistent problem, and the times when the book or the tone was nailed far outweighed the times when they were not.

I think this is one of those books that you should know going in whether you are going to like it. 聽If you know that you like things a little quirky, a little dark, a little macabre and a whole lot strange, then yes, you are going to enjoy this. 聽(If you don't, you probably won't.) 聽The characters the reader is introduced to certainly live up to their moniker of peculiar. 聽Some are just mildly shocking ala a circus freak show, and some are downright unsettling...(view spoiler) 聽There's a creepy "off" tone to a lot of what goes on, and the threat of violence and being, you know, hunted down and eaten, so yeah, it's a good Halloween read for sure. ;P

What I loved, though, was getting things I didn't expect. 聽It's rare for a book to surprise me, and this one did so pretty consistently. 聽There were some great lines and bits of unexpected description that just tickled me and had me pulling out my post-its tabs*. 聽And there were characters and relationships among them that I did not see coming, and aspects of the villains that I didn't see coming (and I am rarely聽surprised or pleased by a villain). 聽Most of all, though, I was surprised by the whole plot and who it all works together. Beyond the expected elements of horror and mystery, there is romance and history and - something I can't get into it without being very spoilery - there was a crucial element to the plot, hinging on an ability of the titular Miss Peregrine, that I just did not see coming. 聽And I loved it.

And I sort of feel like that's all I can say without starting to give some major things away. 聽As most people know now, there will be a second book (which, though it could be read and work as a stand-alone, I think a 2nd book was a bit of a given), and there will be a movie. <---- And this I am very eager for, as I kept picturing scenes while I was reading. 聽It's very visual and some elements of the setting I just cannot wait聽to see onscreen. 聽There is a sense of wonder that I hope they can catch and even expand on.

Oh, and I love the design of the book. 聽I know it's silly, but it gets points. 聽Almost everything about the design is just a little tiny bit聽different than other books, showing that thought went in to nearly every aspect of it, from the very squared-off binding to the end papers and chapter-pages, etc. 聽It's nice, that level of thought and attention to detail. I approve.

*"But beyond all that, above the houses and fields and sheep doddering around like puffs of cotton candy, I could see tongues of dense fog licking over the ridge in the distance, where this world ended and the next one began, cold, damp, and sunless."
Though a bit overwritten, I just adored聽the image of the 'sheep doddering around like puffs of cotton candy.' 聽;)
...more

10 likes · Like · see review

Sep 07, 2011 Jenn rated it really liked it

Shelves: kindle

Just like everyone else says, the pictures are great, if nothing short of creepy. The story does remind me a bit of X-Men, but not as much as some other reviewers say. I found the voice of Jacob was perfect. He may have been a little advanced for his 15/16 years on the planet but I find a lot of loner teenagers are that way. I found it intriguing how the children ran through their lives like the movie Groundhog Day. They found enough things to keep them busy over the years with enough changes in ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Oct 30, 2011 D.G. rated it liked it

Shelves: time-travel, reviewed, audiobook, young-adult, paranormal

**3.5 stars**

This book was good but not amazing. However, I liked the end enough that I'll read the sequel. ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Jun 04, 2011 Slayermel rated it liked it

Shelves: library, young-adult, fantasy, 21st-century, horror, fiction, mystery, thriller, suspense, gr-choice-awards-nominees

This was truly an interesting read; the story is told around a few old photographs that are very eerie and peculiar in nature. I give the book bonus points for being different from anything I鈥檝e read in the last little while.

The story revolves around a sixteen year old boy named Jacob and his relationship with his Grandfather. His Grandfather liked to tell strange stories to Jacob when he was younger about children he grew up with, children who were very different from the children Jacob knows. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Sep 25, 2011 Kathy rated it really liked it

Shelves: great-titles, time-travel

Original is the most apposite word to describe this peculiar tale. Riggs' combination of superb writing and bizarre pictures makes for a read unlike any other. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Dec 26, 2012 Joanie rated it liked it

Shelves: bookclub, young-adult, own, 2013

The idea of this book was really interesting but in the end it was really just another paranormal ya book.

1 like · Like · see review

Sep 21, 2011 Lorna rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy, fiction-adventure-survival, mysteries

This is a very strange book. Part fantasy, horror, historical, time travel, and adventure along with quirky vintage photos. I liked it and then I didn't then I liked it then I didn't and so on. So I really couldn't decide. I gave it a four instead of a three because of the originality and the critical touch the photos made to this unusaul tale. ...more

Like · see review