Book Review: "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs
- Kristen Su
- Aug 30, 2016
- 4 min read
Hello everyone! Today I am back with another book review, and I will be doing Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. I am going to be trying something new with my book reviews. I thought about the other day and realized that I might be giving away too much by introducing every element of the story, so I will be simplifying it. I will have one big plot review where I try to incorporate as many elements of my story as possible.
I have also decided on an uploading schedule— I will try to upload book reviews twice a month, and I will be posting announcements whenever I feel like I need to inform you guys about something. I hope that works, and I think I will be able to do that, because uploading once a week is too much for me to handle, whereas uploading once every one or two months is too little. So, I will be sticking strictly to that schedule, so stay tuned.
Anyway, I decided to pick up this book after I saw it at the bookstore. Since I really enjoy fantasy and YA books, this was perfect. And when I heard they were making a movie out of the book, I was elated.
So, without further ado, I bring to you my book review of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children:
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Book Review:
I'll just start out by saying that I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Though the beginning seemed to start out a bit slow, I found this to be an excellent read and I definitely recommend this to anyone who has read Harry Potter or for anyone who likes fantasy books with a hint of time-travel and action. Unlike other YA books, I feel like this story is very unique and an original. It is not a rip-off of any other YA book (like some are) and the story of all the peculiar children really intrigues me. For example, Olive, who is on the cover of the book (I will put a picture below) can levitate and and is lighter than air. Of course, you will have to read the book to find out if they really exist. *winks* Anyway, I think that this book is unlike any other YA book that I have read, and this is definitely a riveting, captivating, intricate novel that every teen will enjoy.
The book follows Jacob Portman, a 16 year old teen who has a job at Smart Aid, a store that his family owns. Though he hates his job, it has always been a family tradition to work at this store for your first job, so unfortunately, no matter how hard he tries to get fired, it isn't going to happen. He is also in a few gifted classes at school, and because he also gets bullied very often, he made a deal with a kid named Ricky to help him with his English homework if Ricky protected him from school bullies.
His grandfather, Abraham Portman, use to tell him stories about his grandfather's childhood and about this peculiar orphanage that his grandfather lived at. There were pictures of these mysterious children, all with some special talent or magical ability. Abraham also went on to tell Jacob about how he was an explorer, and how he traveled the world after he left the orphanage. Apparently, Jacob's great-grandparents had shipped Abraham from Poland to a an island in Wales, and when Jacob asked why, Abraham told him that Abraham's parents always said that "the monsters are after you" and whatnot. Jacob was particularly intrigued by these stories as a child, and at point, he even wanted to be an explorer, just like his grandfather.
Of course, he later on realized that his grandfather must be lying, but one day, when a monster causes the death of his grandfather, he goes on an incredible journey where he discovers the truth about these peculiar children and their whereabouts. Did these children ever exist? If yes, could these children still possibly be alive? Or are they long gone? Who are the monsters that killed his grandfather? Join Jacob and as he discovers the answer to all of these questions in this one-of-a-kind novel about adventure, sacrifice, betrayal, admiration, courage, isolation, and finding one's own identity, along with a little bit of romance sprinkled in.
Anyways, that's it for my book review today. It was a fairly short one today, and I might continue doing this shortened version of book reviews in the future, but who knows. I could try to post one long and one short book review each month, which makes it a bit easier to post more frequently. However, to make up for the shortened book review, I will be sure to post a movie review after I watch the movie in theaters. I hope you enjoyed today's book review and be sure to read this novel. Stay tuned next month for more!
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