What’s it all about?:

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of curious photographs.

A horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography,Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.

What did I think?:

I remember when I first saw this in the bookshop and I knew immediately that I had to have it. For a book like this I don’t think a digital copy would suffice as it has an amazing collection of vintage photographs of some very odd (and intensely creepy) children. They are photographs that you could look at for hours and it wasn’t until it was pointed out to me by someone else that I realised the girl on the front cover was actually levitating. Scary! It has had a bit of a mixed reception from reviewers and it seems you either love it or hate it, there doesn’t seem to be any middle ground. I am firmly in the “love it,” category and thought the photographs brought an extra intrigue and strange beauty accompanied by some great and at times chilling writing by Ransom Riggs.

Our main character is Jacob, a sixteen year old boy whom when the story begins has a beautiful relationship with his grandfather. He tells Jacob fantastical stories of when he was a boy and to escape the Holocaust, being Jewish, he was sent to an island off the coast of Wales and was kept safe in a home with many other children, managed by a kindly but firm headmistress, Miss Peregrine. The stories he tells Jacob are magical and other-worldly as there’s something a bit different about all these children in the home – they are gifted in some way and he has many old photographs he shows Jacob to back up his tales. As Jacob grows older, so too does his grandfather (obviously) and his stories become wilder and harder to believe… he appears to be warning Jacob about something but Jacob starts to question whether his grandfather is telling the truth or if he has been listening to make-believe all his life and his grandfather is merely a lonely, senile old man.

Then something terrible happens – Jacobs grandfather is murdered. Jacob is stuck, still not knowing what to believe and it is suggested that if he sees the place where his grandfather spent the years during World War II, it might help him to come to terms with his grief. What Jacob is not expecting as he wanders round the deserted children’s home is for the children to actually exist in the here and now and for there to be a very good reason for them to have been hidden away in the first place. This is something Jacob becomes involved in beyond all belief, something that may endanger his life.

I had an inkling when I first picked up this book that I was going to love it and I was right on that account but I wasn’t prepared for how much the book was going to affect me. Like Jacob, I had a very close relationship with my grandfather who sadly passed away just before I became a teenager but the pain of losing him never really goes away. So, even though Jacob was yes, slightly brattish at the beginning of the novel, I felt an instant connection with his character and he proves himself through the story to be more than he first appears.

One of the best things about this book has to be the beautiful, frightening photographs which fascinated me from the beginning and I felt it brought an extra cherry on the top of a very unique and captivating story. The children are amazing but for anyone who hasn’t read this yet I don’t want to give anything away, I’ll just say, each one of them brought something special to the narrative and I really enjoyed reading about their special gifts. Now, I’m just excited about two things. First, the sequel, Hollow City which I simply have to make time for on the strength of this novel and secondly, the film adaptation which I am really looking forward to, especially as it is directed by Tim Burton, who I know will do an amazing job.

Would I recommend it?:

But of course!

Star rating (out of 5):