A fast, fun read

Miss Peregrine’s home for Peculiar Children ― Ransom Riggs

This book really isn’t the most innovative or inspiring piece I’ve ever read. However I absolutely love the idea behind the way it is written. The author Ransom Riggs began collecting photographs a few year ago, frequenting flea markets, and cheap second hand store where such items could be picked up for next to nothing. The more this hobby developed the more he wondered about the stories behind these intriguing photos, with no way of tracing these people and finding out he decided to create the story himself.

The story itself is quite good fun.  The main character Jacob is a teenage boy, struggling to comprehend his life following the untimely death of his grandfather, who died in Jacobs arms having been mauled by a mysterious creature. Jacob is plagued by nightmares, haunted by his grandfather seemingly nonsensical dying words and finds himself falling into a deep depression. In an attempt to come to terms with what has happened to him Jacob travels to the only place he feels may uncover the mystery behind his grandfathers death, and puzzling last words. What follows takes the reader to an abandoned children’s home on a remote Welsh island, which on closer inspection turns out to be not so empty after all.

I don’t feel it necessary to go into any greater detail with this book as there is nothing, other than the photographs, that makes it really stand out for me. It was a rather fun way to spend a rainy afternoon, and I didn’t feel the need to give up reading part way through, but I don’t think I will be going out of my way to read other things by Riggs.

That said I think writing a story around interesting photographs is an absolutely genius concept, and I commend Riggs for coming up with the idea. I just don’t necessarily think he was the right man to write the story.

Overall it’s not a bad book, nor is it particularly good.