Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs // A Review

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of curious photographs. It all waits to be discovered in 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 bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that Miss Peregrine’s 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. (from Goodreads)

My Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐

No one told me that this book was so unapologetically Jewish. 😍 That it was structured around real vintage photographs. That the more horror-like elements were secondary to a deliciously written, fantastically bizarre story.

If anyone had, I probably would have read this a lot sooner. Instead, a $1 thrift store copy and the ghost of JessetheReader convinced me to give it a try.

It is so strange, you all. Really quite out of my usual genre, but it drew me in immediately with the mystery that spanned generations of a family, the strange yet really quite ordinary children (though it was hard to keep them straight), and the growing realization of eventually what was going to happen.

I did find Jacob rather selfish (felt so bad for his dad), but as I grow more trauma informed, I understand why he did the things he did and I can only hope his continuing character arc shows growth towards health.

CW: mentions of the Holocaust, WW2 violence, kissing, drinking. PG-13 language, though infrequent. Includes a theme of not being able to trust adults and medical professionals.

The story does center around magical/supernatural abilities (including reanimation, the child with this power uses animal organs) and monsters (the description of which may be disturbing to some readers). A couple very disturbing descriptions of wounds/corpses.

Altogether, I’m very glad I gave this a shot. As of now, I am very satisfied with the ending but I may continue the series at a later date. 😉