A New York Times #1 bestseller
On the New York Times Bestseller List for more than 52 consecutive weeks
Includes an excerpt from the much-anticipated sequel and an interview with author Ransom Riggs
A mysterious island.
An abandoned orphanage.
A strange collection of very curious photographs.
It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel … Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, 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.
“A tense, moving, and wondrously strange first novel. The photographs and text work together brilliantly to create an unforgettable story.” John Green, New York Times bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars
“With its X-Men: First Class-meets-time-travel story line, David Lynchian imagery, and rich, eerie detail, it’s no wonder Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children has been snapped up by Twentieth Century Fox. B+” Entertainment Weekly
“Peculiar doesn’t even begin to cover it. Riggs’ chilling, wondrous novel is already headed to the movies.” People
“You’ll love it if you want a good thriller for the summer. It’s a mystery, and you’ll race to solve it before Jacob figures it out for himself.” Seventeen
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This book was great and can’t wait to read the next one in the series. I couldn’t put it down. I now have my 13 yr old son reading it.
I have not read yet, but would like to. I saw a comment that it is not recommended on Kindle, but better in hardcover, due to illustrations. Is that true? Thanks.
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children I liked this book, but was surprised I didn’t enjoy it more. Creepy supernatural? kids in an atmospheric setting.
Did anybody else like it?
I loved this book. Can’t wait to read the others in the series.
Strange but intriguing read.
For the record, I only borrowed this book from my local library to keep me preoccupied since I’ve been sick with no energy to do anything except read. I didn’t really have any expectations for it since I wasn’t familiar with the story except the knowledge that it’s been made into a movie that I’ve never seen.
From that stand-point, I would say I liked it. I made it through the whole thing, it kept me entertained, and I’m thinking about reading the next one too. I’m curious to see where it’s going, and there’s some real potential here for a good series.
Some things I didn’t like about it were the MC, the creepy romance, and some of the characterization.
The main character, Jacob, is ridiculously unlikeable. He’s from a rich family, guaranteed to inherit a good job and a fortune from his family’s pharmacy store chain. Knowing this, he acts like a complete asshole during his part-time shift at one of the local stores, bragging about making a game of seeing how much he can get away with before being fired, but knowing that he won’t be because his family owns the store. So from the start, we can see that the MC in an entitled brat who has some sociopathic tendencies. That’d be fine if there was any indication of character development before the end of the book, but there really wasn’t. There were some flimsy attempts at character development, but they all fall pretty flat. I hope the later books address this because I won’t make it through the series at this rate.
To make matters worse, Jacob’s love interest (because we needed one of those in this story) is literally his grandpa’s ex-girlfriend, an 80 year old in a teenagers body. Yes, you read that right.
What makes it worse is that Jacob knows it too, but goes right along with the whole thing like that’s normal.
To be fair, there was a part where it’s confirmed that the children are still actually children inside and not adults in the bodies of children, but later in the book Jacob talks about almost being able to see the 80 year old woman in Emma? If she’s still a child inside, there should be no 80 year old woman to see so which is it, book?
Lastly, the characterization of everyone in his life is just so bad. The parents are bland and portrayed as if he’s a nuisance in their lives, he has no friends except another douche guy that he openly admits to just keeping around because he needed someone to watch his back in school, and the only positive and supportive character, his grandpa, dies to kick off the story. I guess this was done to make it easier to explain him leaving his past life, and it achieves it goal at the cost of character development. The character repeatedly talks about how little he cares for his previous life so of course he’ll pick the “better” of the two. By making this choice so easy, it really detracted from the weight of the decision. How much better would it have been if he’d had loving parents he was close to, a great home life, and some attachment to his previous life that would’ve made his decision to leave it actually mean something?
I mean, would Frodo leaving the Shire have meant as much if he was miserable there? Didn’t it mean more because he loved it? This author missed a lot of opportunities to deepen his characters and make their choices mean something because he took the easy way instead.
Now, I’m sure you’re wondering why I said I liked the book after reading all of that. Really, it’s just that I liked the tone of the book and the overall story. As I said before, there’s a lot of potential here. I’m hoping the next few books build on that potential and develop into something that’s worth more than 3 stars.
A very good series. I loved reading it!
(4.5 / 5)
Throughout all of Jacob Portman’s 15 years, his grandfather has told him stories about his past. Incredible, unbelievable stories about monsters and kids with special abilities and an island where he and the other kids hid from the monsters. As he grows up, Jacob realizes that the stories are fictional, or at least an exaggeration of a childhood shaped by fear of persecution and annihilation, for Jacob’s grandfather’s family was Jewish in Poland during WWII. Then tragedy strikes, and Jacob begins to feel he’s losing his mind, haunted by his grandfather’s monsters. The only solution he can think of is to go to the island where his grandfather once lived, where he hopes someone who knew his grandfather might still be. But he could never have prepared himself for what he would find there.
I really did not know what I was getting into when I started reading this book. Apparently some people expect it to be horror, but it really isn’t–more creepy at worst. It’s more of an adventure story, with some mystery and suspense, definitely sci-fi/fantasy elements, and even some historical fiction thrown in. I really liked the mystery and intrigue as Jacob tried to decipher his grandfather’s cryptic message. I also think the world-building around the safe house and the way it’s kept safe are incredibly interesting and well-done. The main character starts out as a self-important, bratty kid, and…well, he may still be that at the end of the book. But a self-important, bratty kid with a mission is better than one with no aim whatsoever, so there’s that.
I was really caught up in the book almost the whole way through, but when I slowed down to think about it, I realized the writing could have been better. And the inclusion of the photos sometimes flowed well, but other times the explanation for why there was a photo of a particular person or event just felt too forced. However, I think I approached this book the opposite of most people–rather than being excited about these creepy, vintage photos that the story is written around, I didn’t really care about the photos in advance, read the book for itself, and looked at the pictures as they came up. If you’re thinking of reading this book because you’re looking for a creepy story to go along with the creepy pictures, you may be disappointed. If you’re looking for an interesting speculative fiction world with kids with super-hero-type powers that first have to save themselves, and then quite possibly the world, this might be worth reading. Be warned, though: it ties up most of the story from the book, but the ending is a jumping-off point for the next book, which I’m looking forward to continuing.
I have to admit, I was highly surprise, and extremely satisfied with this book! I honestly did not think I would I enjoy this book, but that is my own fault. I watched the movie before reading the book, and I have to say, as always, the movie did not do the book any justice what so ever!! I loved the story line, plot, and characters so much in this book. I felt like I was always on the edge of my seat, trying to help Jacob figure out each obstacle he came across. I loved how the author used antique photos to help with the narrative of his story. If there was anything that I did not like about the book, it would just be that sometimes I found myself thinking that the chapters were too long. I would have liked for there to be more, shorter chapters, because I think it might have just made the book easier to read. Another thing I believe is that it definitely should not be considered a children’s book due to the amount of curse words include in the reading. Once again, this is just my personal opinion, it did not bother me, and I thought they were used properly and fit it perfectly with the story, however, it is probably not a book I would allow my children to read until that had reached the age to understand their dynamic behind their use. I would give this book an 8/10 recommendation, and can honestly say I am excited to see what the rest of the series has to hold!
I’ve been meaning to pull this series off my shelf for a while now. Thanks to book bingo I finally started it. I’ve seen a lot of mixed reviews on this one but I’m definitely on the positive side.
I was disappointed that it wasn’t at all creepy (which I was expecting) but I did enjoy the mystery of the grandfather’s death and finding of the peculiars. I enjoyed the photographs throughout as they are real, vintage photos. It brought to mind the Asylum series except THAT was super creepy
Another disappointing part was Jacob, in the beginning of the book. He was a tad annoying at first and whined a lot about his life when he had every privilege possible BUT I felt his heart was strong, loyal and ultimately filled with good intentions. He does grow throughout and you can see snippets of change…let’s hope that continues.
Overall, aside from the lack of creepiness, I enjoyed this one and will definitely continue the series.
I have to admit, I was highly surprise, and extremely satisfied with this book! I honestly did not think I would I enjoy this book, but that is my own fault. I watched the movie before reading the book, and I have to say, as always, the movie did not do the book any justice what so ever!! I loved the story line, plot, and characters so much in this book. I felt like I was always on the edge of my seat, trying to help Jacob figure out each obstacle he came across. I loved how the author used antique photos to help with the narrative of his story. If there was anything that I did not like about the book, it would just be that sometimes I found myself thinking that the chapters were too long. I would have liked for there to be more, shorter chapters, because I think it might have just made the book easier to read. Another thing I believe is that it definitely should not be considered a children’s book due to the amount of curse words include in the reading. Once again, this is just my personal opinion, it did not bother me, and I thought they were used properly and fit it perfectly with the story, however, it is probably not a book I would allow my children to read until that had reached the age to understand their dynamic behind their use. I would give this book an 8/10 recommendation, and can honestly say I am excited to see what the rest of the series has to hold!
Weird but a great read.
Fantastic book!!!
The House in the Cerulean Sea + Back to the Future + Groundhog Day + The Diary of Anne Frank
Jacob Portman grew up listening to his grandfather’s stories. Some were horrific, with his family being hunted by the Nazis. Some were fantastical, like the island of peculiar children where he went when he was saved. Peculiar, like the boy that had bees living inside of him. All had pictures to go with it. As he grows up, Jacob starts to think the photos are doctored and the stories are just stories. What will it take for him to believe?
I hear people use the phrase “felt like I was coming home” a lot. That’s the best way I can describe a lot of the books I reread. There’s something so comforting about the book–from the cover to the characters, and in this book, the photos. If you go to Ransom’s IG, he did a fantabulous live last Friday, where he gave us the original ideas (it was originally going to be an illustrated poetry book, like Amphigorey). Again, I can’t praise this book enough. Not only are the characters and world extremely well-fleshed out, but Ransom has done a totally unique thing by shaping his story around old vintage photos he found. I’m extremely sad that just as I’m coming back to the series, the final book comes out next month.
Buy this book for yourself or someone looking to get lost in time. If you’re twisted, get it for someone who says pictures are for kids’ books.
My wife read Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children when it came out in 2011 and thought I’d like it. Unfortunately, I haven’t gotten to it on my reading stack until now. I liked the book well enough, but had some reservations.
Before I get to the book, I have to describe how the author, Ransom Riggs, conceived of it. He started collecting weird old black and white photographs at flea markets–things like children floating in the air, or young women in elaborate mourning clothes, or a man covered in bees. Some of them must have resulted from photographic tricks, others simply begged the question why somebody would take such a picture. At some point, he started wondering if he could make a story out of them, and the idea for his first novel was born. The photos are, in fact, scattered throughout the novel, and act as an interesting complement to the writing.
The book is about a teen-ager named Jacob whose grandfather has always told him wondrous stories about his childhood in an orphanage on an island off the English coast where kids with bizarre powers lived separate from the rest of society. When his grandfather is killed by a monster that only he seems to have seen, Jacob is sent to a psychiatrist who recommends to his parents that Jacob should go to the island, where he can work out some of his mental issues. At summer break, his dad, an amateur ornithologist who himself wants to spend a few weeks on the island searching for a rare bird, takes Jacob. It’s probably no surprise that Jacob discovers his grandfather’s stories were not just made up….
It’s actually quite a beautifully odd story, and the photos add something to the atmosphere. But they also take something away. When I read a book, I like to use my imagination, and I didn’t need the pictures of the children. In fact, I rather came to resent the way the pictures dictated how I should picture the story in my head. I have to conclude that their use was a gimmick, and Riggs would have been better served using them simply as inspiration, and letting his story speak for itself. (Of course, he would have foregone a certain amount of publicity that’s accompanied the use of the photos in his book, but that’s a different matter.)
Another problem is that Riggs is clearly a writer who doesn’t necessarily plan things out all the way, but just starts writing and sees where the story takes him. And that’s great–that’s the kind of writer I am, and I feel it lets characters breathe, and lets the story take turns that never would occur otherwise. But I do think there are one or two places in this book where Riggs writes himself into a corner and can only get out of it with plot twists that feel contrived.
Nevertheless this was a fun and unusual novel, and quite easy to read despite some of its surrealistic touches. Any adult fan of fantasy literature would probably enjoy it.
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS BOOK. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is a really great book! I loved the wacky photos in the book. The characters are so interesting, and I love the way he names them as ‘peculiars’ instead of just some basic word like a witch or something, but I did have a bit of trouble understanding it, and often times I had to set it down. Once I got to the part about the ymbrynes and the loopholes, it got really confusing, and I wound up reading paragraphs over and over again to understand them, and I usually don’t have any trouble with that. I really recommend this if you are good at understanding and comprehending whats in the book, but if not, it might be a little tough for you to read which can make you enjoy the experience of reading it less.
I recommend the book! Not the movie.
Along the same vein as “Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions” by Daniel Wallace (which was also made into a movie by Tim Burton), this magical story is of a boy searching for answers to his grandfather’s past.
All Jacob’s childhood was spent listening to his grandfather’s stories. He dismissed them as outlandish tall tales until the events of one fateful night sent him on a journey of a lifetime.
This adventurous mystery springs to life with colorful characters, loopholes in time, and suspenseful moments. The multi-layered plot is pretty light and fast paced, making it a very enjoyable read.
A great book for when you want to escape to another world.
I think this series is pretty amazing it is an unpredictable story with a lot of twist a boy named Jacobwhose live will completely change and there a lot of hard choices through the way and a twisted romance with interesting characters each one is unique and have an amazing back story and each one have its own personality and tragic events there are new characters every book and the evil character have a good background story too
Highly recommended still waiting for the new book!
good