Ransom Riggs: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is the beginning of a new Fantasy/Adventure series from Ransom Riggs. The story centers around Jacob, a 16 year-old ordinary boy with no friends. He will eventually go into the family business running a chain of drug stores although he really doesn't want this. When he was younger, he spent a lot of time with his grandfather Abraham. Abraham, a Jew, was sent away by his parents before his country was invaded and grew up in a children's home until he was old enough to join the army. His life remains much of a mystery to his family as he would take off on hunting trips from time to time and return with odd wounds. He tells Jacob stories of the children he lived with for a time and shows him some of the pictures he's kept such as the Levitating Girl who appears on the cover of the book. Jacob believes these at first but later determines these photographs and the stories to be make believe. Their relationship drifts apart as Jacob gets older. One day, Abe calls Jacob in a frantic panic asking where the key is to his gun safe. The key was taken by Jacob's dad because they though Abe was in danger of hurting himself. Jacob goes over to his house to find him missing. He sees the back screen door slashed, takes and flashlight, and begins searching for his grandfather in the woods. Jacob finds his grandfather mortally wounded. Abe's dying words and a glimpse of what inflicted his wounds set Jacob on a journey to find out the truth about his grandfather's past and of self-discovery.
I really enjoyed this novel. The author does a great job of using the vintage photographs in his storytelling. I purchased this on the kindle and while I didn't have any trouble seeing them, I read that some have trouble with them. This book appears to be first in a series and I'm looking forward to the next book.
Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/embed/XWrNyVhSJUU
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