Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Bibliography:
A. Riggs, R., Horner, D., & McGurk, J. J. (2011) MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN. Quirk Books.
ISBN: 978-1594746031
Plot Summary:
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.
Critical Analysis:
The author writes the story in the eyes of Jacob, who is the main character and who is telling his story. Riggs' story is full of adventures that are dark, dramatic, and absolutely thrilling. The way that Jacob’s curiosity makes him wander off and find those adventures truly puts this story into a fantastic fiction category. The author’s vivid descriptions instantly throw the reader into the story and makes it easier for them to create mental pictures as well as a “mental movie.” Throughout the novel, there are also many dark tones due to the murders and violence that take place. Something that really made the book different and added to the suspense/ horror was the vintage black and white photographs. Riggs includes these haunting photographs that describe the personalities and nature of the characters in a deeper way. Some of the photographs are very graphic and strange. This story is definitely for young adults because of the morbid photos and text.
Review Excerpt(s):
“On the brink of his sixteenth birthday, something terrible happens to Jacob, something so terrible that it splits his life into two parts: Before and After. Before, he was an ordinary young man with a peculiar but doting grandfather. After, he discovers he isn't so ordinary after all. Nor are the "peculiar children" he meets at Miss Peregrine's home. Riggs' debut uses the framework of a horror novel to tell a more far-reaching tale with symbolic overtones of the Holocaust. Though the author's skill does not always match his ambition s pacing is particularly uneven s premise is clever, and Jacob and the children are intriguing characters. The book is made even more intriguing by the inclusion of a number of period photographs that seem almost Victorian in character and that expand the oddness of the proceedings. An open ending suggests the possibility of a sequel.”-ALA Booklist
“Riggs spins a gothic tale of strangely gifted children and the monsters that pursue them from a set of eerie, old trick photographs. The brutal murder of his grandfather and a glimpse of a man with a mouth full of tentacles prompts months of nightmares and psychotherapy for 15-year-old Jacob, followed by a visit to a remote Welsh island where, his grandfather had always claimed, there lived children who could fly, lift boulders and display like weird abilities. The stories turn out to be true—but Jacob discovers that he has unwittingly exposed the sheltered "peculiar spirits" (of which he turns out to be one) and their werefalcon protector to a murderous hollowgast and its shape-changing servant wight. The interspersed photographs—gathered at flea markets and from collectors—nearly all seem to have been created in the late 19th or early 20th centuries and generally feature stone-faced figures, mostly children, in inscrutable costumes and situations. They are seen floating in the air, posing with a disreputable-looking Santa, covered in bees, dressed in rags and kneeling on a bomb, among other surreal images. Though Jacob's overdeveloped back story gives the tale a slow start, the pictures add an eldritch element from the early going, and along with creepy bad guys, the author tucks in suspenseful chases and splashes of gore as he goes. He also whirls a major storm, flying bullets and a time loop into a wild climax that leaves Jacob poised for the sequel. A trilogy opener both rich and strange, if heavy at the front end.” -Kirkus Reviews
Connection:
*Students can choose a special ability they would like to have and explain why they would want it and how they would use it.
*Students can have a class discussion on how the setting in this book makes the story unique.
Other similar books:
HOLLOW CITY by: Ransom Riggs ISBN:978-1594746123
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