About three years ago I was browsing the sale books at
Barnes & Noble when this book caught my eye in a big way. I wasn’t sure if
it was the old fashioned photo of the little girl on the cover, or the highly
unusual title, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. I had a gift
certificate burning a hole in my pocket. It was from one of my wonderful
children. We must have raised them right. They know how much ol’ step dad loves
books and gift cards! Needless to say, I nabbed the novel while it was 40% off.
Now, there was one thing that bugged me. I was reading a
review of the book and they called it a “young adult” novel. Of course, in my
mind that meant that it was a kids book. Being a full grown, well aged
gentleman, I began to stress a little, Did I just buy a kids book? I got my
answer later that evening when I started reading. It was a real page turner A
fantasy along the lines of Harry Potter or The Wizard of Oz series. Sure,
tweens will love these books, but so will adults. I sure did.
Author Ransom Riggs has created a whole alternate world that
if filled with people who don’t age, monsters called hologasts, bizarre beings
called wights and a series of time loops where the residents experience the
same day, every day. Over and over, kind of like Ground Hog Day.
Taken as a whole, the three novels –the second being Hollow City and the final one, Library of Souls- tell an amazing story
that makes Dorothy Gales adventures in Oz
seem like just a dream. Oh. Oh yeah. Nevermind.
It’s pretty amazing how the book came to be. The author
collected vintage photographs, and was originally planning a book of photos. An
editor suggested he tell stories about the photos, and a classic was born.
These are the adventures of young Jacob Portman. After the
horrible death of his grandfather at the hands and tentacles of a monster that
looked just like the monsters described by his grandfather in the many stories
told to him, Jacob starts snooping around. Recalling the old photos and stories
his grandfather used to tell of a school for special children that was run by a
lady called Miss Peregrine, he sets out a journey that will change his life
forever.
He discovers his first time loop, and finds the school,
where he meets Miss Peregrine and her students, each possessing a special gift,
or power. One girl will just float into the air line a balloon unless she wears
lead boots, There’s an invisible boy, a boy that has swarms of bees living
inside of him, a girl with an extra mouth on the back of her head, and then
there’s Emma, his future love interest, a girl who can summon fire with her
hands in varying degrees. Of course their leader, Miss Peregrine, an ymbryne,
can turn into a bird at will, and back.
The first book was truly a page-turner. Excellent fantasy. I
was hoping the movie version would be as good, but they never are. And it sort
of made me mad that thy gave the flame to another character and made Emma the
floating girl. I call that messing with perfection.
Over the course of the three books, Jacob and his new
friends get into one adventure after another, several of them being edge of
your seat thrillers. The Miss Peregrine series is one of the most adventurous
and fun journeys I have ever read. It’s got it all – adventure, suspense, love,
freaks of nature, kids with special abilities, memorable characters, evil bad
guys and a heroic talking dog.
I cannot recommend these books any more highly, whether you
are a young adult or an older one like me, it’s great fun. Thank the birds for
Ransom Riggs.
- Michael Buffalo Smith
- Michael Buffalo Smith
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