Book Review: "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs

(Guys Im on a lot of cold medicine as I'm writing this. I will try to make this as coherent as possible.)

On other book blogs, I kept seeing reviews popping up for this book's sequel. I forgot that Miss P had been languishing in my mental TBR file, and decided that now would be the time to get at it, knowing that I wouldn't have to wait for the sequel.I'm so glad I don't have to wait for the sequel (besides being hold number 33 of 33 holds at the library, of course) but I'm sad I waited so long to read it because I LOVED it!

So Jacob is our main character. He is 16, comes from a well to do family, but only has one friend and is a bit of a loner. The most constant force in his life has been his grandpa. He would tell Jacob stories about how when he was a young boy that monsters came after him and that he had to run away and hide from them in a home with other special (read:peculiar) children at a special home in Wales. He tells Jacob stories about what made the kids special: super strength, levitation, having a mouth on the back of your head (ew, personally). He even had old black and white photos of these kids. As Jacob got older he "got wise" to the stories. His grandfather was Jewish and was sent away to Wales for his safety during the Nazi invasion of Poland. He never saw another member of his family of monsters. Jacob figures these stories are just how he dealt with the huge trauma of his childhood. But then something terrible happens and he isn't sure what to believe anymore...

Jacob and his father, a somewhat distant man who is also an amateur ornithologist, travel to the remote section of Wales where his grandpa spent part of his childhood. Jacob isn't sure what he exactly expects to find. He assumes that many of the other children who were with his Grandpa have moved on, or possibly died. The home's pipe smoking headmistresses Miss Peregrine is almost certainly dead, or else incredibly old. He wants answers but isn't sure how to get them or what they will mean for him. As is so often, for every half answer he gets he gains about a zillion more questions. He meets people that are unlike anyone he's ever met before and he learns more about himself than he could ever imagine.

Having said all that stuff about self discovery I feel like I'm missing telling you part of the book. There's creepiness, jars of bodily organs, murder most foul, 2 really creepy little boys, sorrow, broken hearts and betrayal. And it kind of ends on an adventurous/ominous note.

I loved this book, as I said above. I liked the settings, I was genuinely surprised by the twists and turns, I loved that it was in Wales, I liked/was disturbed by some of the creepier moments. It is all good. I give it a 4.5 out of 5. Also there is going to be a movie based on the book and the master director of creepiness Tim Burton is officially attached to direct. Can I get an Amen? AMEN.

Also, creeeeeepy cover.

If youre more into graphic novels there is a graphic novel version of this book with wonderful illustrations!