Reading Kelly: "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
by Ransom Riggs
219 pages (e-book edition)

Short Version: Jacob searches for the truth of his grandfather's past by visiting the island where he grew up.

Why I Read It: The title and cover caught my attention and made me curious.

The Book: From Goodreads
A mysterious island.
An abandoned orphanage.
A strange collection of very curious 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 our 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 abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the 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.

My Thoughts: Warning: May contain spoilers!!!
I'm not sure what I really think about this book. It was entertaining and an easy read, but the story never seemed to go anywhere. Jacob's grandfather always told him stories of the island he grew up on and showed photos of the other children who lived there, children who were peculiar. As Jacob grew up he stopped believing, but after hearing his grandfather's last words before passing away, Jacob was forced to look for the truth. So this was the first part, Jacob searching for the truth about the past. Then he finds it. The peculiar children are real and live in a loop on September 3, 1940 where the day resets every day so they survived the Nazi bombing on the island. Miss Peregrine explains how they all came to live on the island and how they have survived so long.
Jacob finally found a place he fits in, but he is still going back and forth between the loop and his life in the present day. At this point there is not much going on in the story except Jacob's day to day journey to the loop to hang with the children. So where was the story going now?
All of a sudden they have hollows and wights trying to kill them and capture Miss Peregrine because she can control time. Hollows and wights are monsters that come after peculiars. The children go after her and while getting Miss Peregrine back they find out the wights are planning something terrible. And for the first time the loop does not reset. So the children decide they are going to fight. And Jacob makes his decision to stay and not go back to his ordinary life. End of story. Just when there could have been more action the story is over. I looked into it and there will be a sequel released in spring of 2013. However, I don't know that I will read it. This was just a bit disappointing for me. I was expecting a creepy paranormal tale but the creepy factor just wasn't in this book.
I did enjoy the photographs throughout the book! It was great to have all the vintage photos to go along with each of the peculiars described. "All the pictures in this book are authentic, vintage found photographs, and with the exception of a few that have undergone minimal postprocessing, they are unaltered." The fact that they used real photos is awesome! If anything the photographs would get me to read the sequel when it is released.

2.5/5 Stars