Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

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Bibliographic Information:

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

ISBN: 978-1594744761

2011 Quirk Books, Philadelphia, PA

Plot Summary:

Jacob Portman is very close with his grandfather. His grandfather shares stories and photographs with Jacob about the orphanage on the Welsh island where he grew up. After an apparently make believe creature murders Jacob’s grandfather, Jacob takes a trip to the Welsh island where the abandoned orphanage stands.

On the island Jacob encounters a beautiful girl who he follows. The girl, Emma, can take Jacob back in time to the 1940s, where the children in the orphanage are stuck in a time loop. Jacob spends time with the children and enjoys getting to know them, but he must return to the guest house where he is staying in modern time.

Back at the pub, Jacob learns that there have been mysterious deaths in the woods of the island and he feels the need to warn the children at Miss Peregrine’s. When Jacob tells them of the killings, they tell him that the perpetrators are “hallows” or “hallowgasts”.

Jacob fights against a “hallowgast” and defeats it with the help of Emma, but Miss Peregrine is lost to another form and the children must learn how to take care of themselves without Miss Peregrine’s help.

Critical Evaluation:

This book is a real original. The black and white photos used in the story show an eerie setting for the exciting adventure that Jacob embarks on. Using antique photos to express a story is a unique plot device that brings the reader into this mysterious and supernatural world. Critics loved the use of the photos to develop the story, as was written in the LA Times Blog about the novel.

The setting of this story is almost a character, as it is so well developed for the reader. We are drawn into a quirky Welsh island where supernatural things are reality.

Publishers Weekly calls the novel atmospheric with the creepy photos and creatures described giving the audience that creepy feeling that Jacob expresses. As the surroundings expose terrors that Jacob is learning are real, Jacob discovers his grandfather’s past and his own powers.

One could call this a coming of age story for Jacob, as he does become his full persona when he finds his supernatural gifts. Many other coming of age stories pit the protagonist against a natural obstacle, while this novel pits Jacob against the supernatural.

Reader’s Annotation:

Jacob discovers that Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is very, very real...and in danger.

Author Information:

Ransom Riggs is an author who grew up in Maryland and Florida and now lives in southern California. You can read more about him at http://www.ransomriggs.com/about.php

Genre(s):

Supernatural, Suspense

Curriculum Ties: N/A

Booktalk Ideas: This book is a great opening to do a book talk on connecting pictures and words.

Reading level: Grade 5+

Interest age: 12+

Challenge Issues: This book may face challenges for it's depiction of supernatural things. It conforms to our library's selection criteria. Challenge Defense File

Why I chose this book:

This book is an original story that was praised by School Library Journal and stayed on the top of the New York Times Bestseller List for more than a year. 

References:

http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-59474-476-1

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2011/05/miss-peregrines-home-for-peculiar-children-ransom-riggs.html