Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
2 journalers for this copy...
I got this softcover from a local Goodwill thrift shop, for another release copy. It's the novel that inspired the 2016 film adaptation.
I enjoyed the setup - young Jacob spotting something horrifying in the woods where his beloved grandfather was found slashed to death, and then trying to decipher his grandfather's final words, which sound all too enigmatic. By the time he stumbles onto the meaning of those words and finds the trail leading to the truth about his grandfather's past, he's been through the emotional wringer - nobody believes him about the "monster", he has to see a shrink, and his relationship with his parents is increasingly strained. And as if that weren't enough, he loses touch with his best friend, and begins to doubt his own sanity... and then he finds out it's all too true...
While I loved the atmospheric bits in the old, tumbled-down house, and the revelation as to the "loop" and the details of life in Miss Peregrine's house - along with the many different characters, a kind of junior X-men whose talents are quirky in the extreme (and in some cases downright disturbing) - I found the story as a whole rather less enthralling than I'd hoped. In part this is because it took so long to introduce all the elements that this book finished up rather hurriedly, with a climax that was scary and dramatic but was over all too soon. I know there's more to the series, but I'm not sure I'm curious enough to delve into it further.
The use of the very bizarre real-world photos to illustrate (and, presumably, inspire) the story was deftly done and effective, but also tends to overshadow the story itself; if the book had come out without those photos, I don't know if it would have had quite as positive a reception...
[There's a TV Tropes page for the book.]
I enjoyed the setup - young Jacob spotting something horrifying in the woods where his beloved grandfather was found slashed to death, and then trying to decipher his grandfather's final words, which sound all too enigmatic. By the time he stumbles onto the meaning of those words and finds the trail leading to the truth about his grandfather's past, he's been through the emotional wringer - nobody believes him about the "monster", he has to see a shrink, and his relationship with his parents is increasingly strained. And as if that weren't enough, he loses touch with his best friend, and begins to doubt his own sanity... and then he finds out it's all too true...
While I loved the atmospheric bits in the old, tumbled-down house, and the revelation as to the "loop" and the details of life in Miss Peregrine's house - along with the many different characters, a kind of junior X-men whose talents are quirky in the extreme (and in some cases downright disturbing) - I found the story as a whole rather less enthralling than I'd hoped. In part this is because it took so long to introduce all the elements that this book finished up rather hurriedly, with a climax that was scary and dramatic but was over all too soon. I know there's more to the series, but I'm not sure I'm curious enough to delve into it further.
The use of the very bizarre real-world photos to illustrate (and, presumably, inspire) the story was deftly done and effective, but also tends to overshadow the story itself; if the book had come out without those photos, I don't know if it would have had quite as positive a reception...
[There's a TV Tropes page for the book.]
Journal Entry 2 by GoryDetails at Little Free Library, Burgess Farm Rd in Dracut, Massachusetts USA on Friday, November 30, 2018
Released 5 yrs ago (11/30/2018 UTC) at Little Free Library, Burgess Farm Rd in Dracut, Massachusetts USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
I left this book in the Little Free Library; hope someone enjoys it!
[See other recent releases in MA here.]
*** Released for the 2018 Movie release challenge. ***
[See other recent releases in MA here.]
*** Released for the 2018 Movie release challenge. ***
I read a different copy of this very book a few years ago, and enjoyed it; it is an entertaining read (as are the others in this series by Ransom Riggs). I was delighted when it turned up in my little free library. I must say that the book series is much better than the movie adaptation.
For some reason, there weren't any takers for a few months, and so I've moved it to another little free library that may see more foot traffic than mine (located at the Dracut town library).
For some reason, there weren't any takers for a few months, and so I've moved it to another little free library that may see more foot traffic than mine (located at the Dracut town library).