Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Lately, I have been terribly impressed by the caliber of writing coming from the young adult genre as of late. I had been of the opinion that it was full of nothing but fluff and romance and the occasional boy wizard story that devolves into a romance. Stories like Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children written by Ransom Riggs gives me hope that our youngsters won't have to slugg through the mush and brainlessness that had so frequently plagued the young adult section of book stores.

This book was more than a good read, it inspired me to dig through old moldy photography books and find really creepy pictures too!

Speaking of Miss Peregrine's Home, this story had a little bit of everything in it: ghosts (but not really), abandoned buildings, the sea, submarines, Nazis, potential I'm my own grandpa moments (but not really), monsters, children, orphans, teens, a better take on the X-Men than the movies ever managed, time travel, old guys who are obsessed with guns, sheep, islands, not so abandoned buildings, a Welsh pub and most importantly not American accents (though it had those too). Also, there was a kid who called himself a dandy and that is worth the entire book in my opinion!

This is a coming of age tale, Jacob Portman thought he was normal and then gets pulled on a fantastical adventure as young adults/children often are. Don't you remember when you went on your first life changing adventure? You don't? Well then, this book is the perfect one to fill that void in your life.

What I find the most interesting about this book are the photographs. Apparently they are all real photos that the author collected himself or borrowed from friends and they are integral to telling the story. Some of these photos were downright disturbing. One I think of in particular features two little girls on a reindeer and a terrifying Santa Claus sneaking up on them. Others, some of them just simple portraits, seemed disturbing in ways that were hard to put the finger on, probably due to the descriptions of them.

I first began this book expecting a ghost story, but that wasn't what I got at all. I got much more, and am pleased about it. Behind all of the glamor, this story is about a kid who is finally able to make his own choices and find himself. There were questions about what happens to people if they are forced to live the same day over and over and over again. The reader was shown what might happen to people that were born with superpowers.

The ending is left open for a sequel, and I hope Ransom Riggs is able to deliver.