Horror + Fantay + History = a great read
It's been a long time since I was impressed by a novel, but at the moment I'm in the midst of reading an exquisite book that mixes fantasy and history that has a dash of horror thrown in for good measure. Miss Peregrine's House for Peculiar Children is the title of Ransom Riggs's novel about Jacob, a teenager who witnesses the brutal death of his grandfather. The story doesn't end there, though. The loss of the grandparent is just the beginning of Jacob's spine-tingling journey. As the months go by, Jacob is lead to Wales. There, he discovers the truth behind the stories his grandfather used to tell him. He learns that reality is stranger than fiction and that monsters just might exist outside of the psyche. What he sees and experiences, I'll let you find out for yourself. This book is too brilliant to spoil; besides I haven't finished it yet, thus I'm still experiencing Jacob's journey. I will warn you, this book is very hard to put down, thus I wouldn't start it unless you have a bit of free time.
What I've enjoyed most about the story is how Riggs wrote the piece. The dialogue is believable. You can feel the fear and hurt and amazement that the characters experience. His descriptions are fine-tuned and plentiful, but Riggs doesn't bog the story down with unneeded imagery that distracts from the novel - what he gives the details too really adds and supports the novel.
I'm quite fascinated by Riggs combination of storytelling and photography. Sprinkled throughout the novel are weird black and white pictures that includes a girl levitating, a scrawny boy hefting a massive boulder, and an invisible boy (we see a suit, but no head, hands, or feet). The pictures truly add to the reading experience. The author describes these people, but some of the characters are hard to imagine, thus seeing the picture allows the reader to have an 'ah'ha' moment and makes the story a bit more believable as well as helps the reader understand the supernatural abilities of this unique people and how they looked doing their special things. The photos were a drawing factor for me. I wanted to see how Riggs would incorporate photography within his novel due to the fact I've always wanted to illustrate a book that way, but never knew how.
The world that Miss Peregrine and her peculiar children inhabit is apart from our own. It's eternally September 3, 1940 - in the height of WWII. The children never age here and yet they are aware of the passing time, but they haven't a clue what's happened in the many decades that have passed. Being a history lover, and having exhaustively studied both American and world history during my years as an undergraduate student, I was fascinated by how Riggs brought history to life in an interesting, but informative way. The author really lets us live through the events. He also shows us the affects of history has upon the world around us.
I love this book. I wish it was longer because I can't get enough of Jacob's fantastical journey. I would've liked to see a little more driving forces at work. Jacob seems to quickly decide to go to Wales after seeing one letter by Miss Peregrine. I think it would've been interesting if Jacob himself got a letter from her because she seems to know him when they finally meet. The boy should've gotten or at least seen a big feather while in the States because the bird showing up almost seems random. A feather in the US would have tied things together quite well - the old world to the new and the supernatural realm to psychical. Last, I'm wondering where the weird creature that killed Jacob's grandfather went. So far, I'm over halfway through the novel and I've only 'seen' these creatures once and that was in the beginning of the book. I'm sure these weird creatures show up before the novel ends, but it would've been interesting if Jacob got a glimpse of them right after landing in Wales.
All in all, I love this novel. I find it captivating. It's a fun adventure story with fantastical people as well as a creepy monsters that are the antagonists. I'd recommend this novel to anyone. Below is a promo for the book - I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Until next time!
What I've enjoyed most about the story is how Riggs wrote the piece. The dialogue is believable. You can feel the fear and hurt and amazement that the characters experience. His descriptions are fine-tuned and plentiful, but Riggs doesn't bog the story down with unneeded imagery that distracts from the novel - what he gives the details too really adds and supports the novel.
I'm quite fascinated by Riggs combination of storytelling and photography. Sprinkled throughout the novel are weird black and white pictures that includes a girl levitating, a scrawny boy hefting a massive boulder, and an invisible boy (we see a suit, but no head, hands, or feet). The pictures truly add to the reading experience. The author describes these people, but some of the characters are hard to imagine, thus seeing the picture allows the reader to have an 'ah'ha' moment and makes the story a bit more believable as well as helps the reader understand the supernatural abilities of this unique people and how they looked doing their special things. The photos were a drawing factor for me. I wanted to see how Riggs would incorporate photography within his novel due to the fact I've always wanted to illustrate a book that way, but never knew how.
The world that Miss Peregrine and her peculiar children inhabit is apart from our own. It's eternally September 3, 1940 - in the height of WWII. The children never age here and yet they are aware of the passing time, but they haven't a clue what's happened in the many decades that have passed. Being a history lover, and having exhaustively studied both American and world history during my years as an undergraduate student, I was fascinated by how Riggs brought history to life in an interesting, but informative way. The author really lets us live through the events. He also shows us the affects of history has upon the world around us.
I love this book. I wish it was longer because I can't get enough of Jacob's fantastical journey. I would've liked to see a little more driving forces at work. Jacob seems to quickly decide to go to Wales after seeing one letter by Miss Peregrine. I think it would've been interesting if Jacob himself got a letter from her because she seems to know him when they finally meet. The boy should've gotten or at least seen a big feather while in the States because the bird showing up almost seems random. A feather in the US would have tied things together quite well - the old world to the new and the supernatural realm to psychical. Last, I'm wondering where the weird creature that killed Jacob's grandfather went. So far, I'm over halfway through the novel and I've only 'seen' these creatures once and that was in the beginning of the book. I'm sure these weird creatures show up before the novel ends, but it would've been interesting if Jacob got a glimpse of them right after landing in Wales.
All in all, I love this novel. I find it captivating. It's a fun adventure story with fantastical people as well as a creepy monsters that are the antagonists. I'd recommend this novel to anyone. Below is a promo for the book - I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Until next time!
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