[REVIEW] Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Series: Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children #1
Author: Ransom Riggs
Genre: young adult, fantasy, mystery, horror, historical fiction, time travel, supernatural, paranormal, adventure
Published: June 4, 2013 (first published June 7, 2011)
Publisher: Quirk Books
Purchase: Amazon

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of peculiar 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 out 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 decaying 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.

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I picked Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children because of the photos. I picked it up because of its popularity. I picked it up because I thought that it will be scary - that it will keep me up all night imagining things around me.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children was a really slow read. I expected it to be a heart pounding thriller with an eerie atmosphere. I expected it to be something that will keep me up all night thinking about the images it placed in my mind - how scary they supposed to be. But NO! I misjudged this novel.It's not something that gives nightmares. It's not something that has an unsettling atmosphere. It's just an intriguing novel with really interesting vintage photographs.

After the death of Jacob's grandfather and his traumatic experience of seeing his grandfather's killer, he was led to an island that supposedly where his grandfather stayed as a child in Welsh children's home. There, he discovers something unsettling yet something his grandfather has been telling him for such a long time. Getting into Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children's world takes a little wild imagination and your full attention on the descriptions. It's purely fantasy!

I think almost 70% of the novel was strongly dedicated to bringing the world to life. It sucks you inside through the establishment of the world. The slow pacing get to me but I was really curious as to Jacob's peculiar ability and the story behind the world. So I kept reading. And it was worth it. It was really thrilling. It kept me at the edge of my seat. I devour it until the end.

I used to dream about escaping my ordinary life, but my life was never ordinary. I had simply failed to notice how extraordinary it was. -p351

OVERALL, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is a slow-paced intriguing fantasy novel. It has beautiful vintage photographs that relate to the story. The photos allows you to really feel and imagine what's going on. As much as I'd love to get sucked into the story, I wasn't completely into this book. My questions kept me reading but it really just felt too slow. 

I'll still read Hollow City majorly because I already have it. I really hope that it'll have a faster pace than this one. Only after reading it will I decide to buy the final book :)

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What I Like: (1) The descriptions, (2) the interesting world, (3) intriguing plot, (4) thrilling climax that you'll have to read in one sitting!, (5) the photos!!

What I Didn’t Like: (1) the slow pacing, (2) I care for anyone at all.

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