Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

I've had this on my to-read list for a long time so I was happy to finally have the chance (see: motivation) to read it. I'm glad I did. The book starts out as a typical ghost story and got me pretty worked up until you find out that it's more a time-travel epic and there aren't really ghosts at all. It gets a bit over-the-top in some areas but as it's mostly about time and magic, that's to be expected. One of the best parts is that it's inspired by the included vintage photographs the author has collected over the years so the visual really helps cement the story in the reader's mind. I've always enjoyed looking at found photographs, especially bizarre or creepy photos from the past as most of the included photographs are. I can't wait to finish the sequel.

This book got rave reviews, and I must say I really enjoy the structure, with all the photographs and letters - it's made even cooler by knowing that all of the photographs are real. I've got to say, though, that it didn't quite live up to its hype. It was intriguing and I read it straight through, but it was also surprisingly predictable and there wasn't nearly as much depth as I thought there would be. Overall, enjoyable, but not a must-read. (Plus points for having a romance in a YA novel that wasn't mind-numbing, though!)

Ransom Riggs had een hele reeks weirde foto's verzameld, en dacht die uit te geven in een prentenboek. En dan zei iemand bij de uitgever dat het misschien wel leutig zou zijn om een verhaal bij de foto's te hebben, en voor ge 't weet is er Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children: een avonturenboek over een jongen die zijn grootvader verliest.

De grootvader vertelde zijn kleinzoon over zijn jeugd lang geleden, in een tehuis met allemaal vreemde kinderen, maar het klonk allemaal als wilde verhalen en sprookjes, en het is pas als de grootvader (ondertussen heel oud, en iedereen denkt dat hij een vijs verloren is) gedood wordt door wat de mensen zeggen wilde honden geweest te zijn, maar waar zowel grootvader als kleinzoon een soort wezen met tentakels als tongen gezien hebben, dat de kleinzoon er weer in gelooft.

Of niet. Want: volgen lange therapiesessies voor de kleinzoon, en natuurlijk kan het geen écht monster geweest zijn.

En dan puzzelt de kleinzoon de laatste woorden van zijn grootvader bij mekaar, nadat hij een boek erft waar een brief in zit, en gaat hij op zoek naar het tehuis.

Een schoon klein boekje, vond ik. En spannend ook. En ik had er geen flauw idee van dat het échte (hier en daar minimaal aangepaste) foto's zijn in het boek, ik dacht dat het speciaal gemaakte foto's waren. Toen ik dat uiteindelijk doorhad, ben ik nog eens herbegonnen, en het boek voelde meteen helemaal anders aan.

Aangeraden voor jong en oud, en het zou me verbazen als hier geen film of tv-reeks van komt.

I really liked this book and this authors writing style. I'm really glad I read it and I really enjoyed looking at the vintage photos. I love the authors idea for using photos to come up with ideas for his writing.

I really like that this book is unique and not a standard story line I've seen done many times before with slight variations. This whole book is NEW and great. I loved every bit of it, especially the funny things the main character says and I plan to keep this series in my permanent library.

This book was a nice little trip down memory lane & one of the more notable books that made up my 7th-grade year
I haven't decided if I like the book or the movie better... anyways, if you're looking for a book about the strange and unusual, time travel, and one with interesting vintage photos, then this is the book for you. Just know it might not be as fast-paced or scary as expected...

Creepy and Weird

Sometimes the story is hard to follow and the romance is...almost incestuous. But it's still fun to travel with Jacob and learn that the fairy stories he believed as a child were real. There were a few times I had to turn over in bed so my back could be next to a pillow and I could see the door (things I do when I'm creeped out).

The pictures are amazing. I was always looking forward to the next one. They add a good number of the creep factor and make up for characterizations the plot does not handle. There are so many characters that it is hard to keep track of who is whom, but the pictures make that a little easier.

I feel bad for not really having anything else to say about this book. It's good, but not amazing. It's creepy but not scary. It is very, very weird, though. So, there's that. Looking forward to the next one, but not falling out of my chair to buy it.

3.5* rounded up to 4: I read this because I'd enjoyed the film. I was hoping for a bit of expansion but there's not much more than was portrayed on screen. I found it written well enough to keep me reading and absolutely loved the photographs. I'm hoping the next couple of books will keep up the gothic/creepy themes and not fall into the teenage romance-type YA fiction.

I had written an entire review of this, but I'm a dumbass and accidentally deleted it... so basically all I'm going to say is: I liked the movie better (and y'all can go off on me in the comments idc) and the book was kind of a let down in comparison. I believe that had the pacing of this book been better and it had been closer to the movie I would've enjoyed this much more.

This series has caught my eye for a while, especially when the movie came out. I've been hesitant to pick it up because I'm not typically one for the horror genre. I joined a buddy read which gave me the push I needed to read it.    Jacob grew up listening to his grandfather's stories of the peculiar children he knew growing up. As he got older, he discredited his tales as fiction. Never could he have imagined one of those stories coming to fruition and taking his grandfather's life. No one believes his own story now, thinking him traumatized and mentally unwell.    Jacob believes the answer to his nightmares lies in his grandfather's stories. He convinces his parents to allow him to take a trip to England where his grandfather lived during World War II. There, he ends up finding the portal into the past.    I was surprised by how absorbed I got into the book. Yet, whenever I put it down, I didn't find myself thinking about it. My interest was mostly in the beginning, however. By the end, I was weirded out by the relationship between Jacob and Emma's relationship. While I could anticipate the book ending on a cliffhanger given there are other books that follow, I was a little annoyed as I don't feel invested enough to jump immediately into book two.