Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children- Ransom Riggs

Hey there!

So, I'm really excited to talk about this book because HOLY COW WAS IT FANTASTIC.

First of all, if you haven't seen the trailer (yes, it has an actual video trailer), you can watch it here.

Now. This is the part where I rant. :)

One of the most interesting facets of this book is the fact that it has pictures. Yeah, that's right. Pictures. But we're not talking about a picture-book, at least not in the usual sense. See, in a picture-book, the story is written first, and then the pictures illustrate that story. In this case, the story is fashioned around a collection of strange and intriguing vintage photographs, which appear intermittently throughout the novel. According to the note from the author in the back of the book, these are all real photographs that have been altered only very slightly, if at all. HOW COOL IS THAT? I'm honestly amazed at  how such a detailed and interesting story has blossomed out of these old photos.

Now, the story itself.

The narrator is one Jacob Portman, a teenage boy that has grown up with tales of his grandfather, Abe's, childhood in a house filled with children with, ahem, peculiar abilities. When Abe is suddenly killed, Jacob feels the need to visit this house and find out if these stories have any basis in fact. (SPOLIER ALERT: They do.)

There are so many things that I loved about the story, I don't really know where to begin. The voice of the narrator was fresh and interesting, telling the tale with all of the inherent sarcasm of the teenage male, which made me laugh out loud several times. The narrative itself isn't exactly funny, though, but rather a riveting, edge-of-your-seat kind of tale. The story is filled with mystery and adventure, and I don't think I've wanted to know what happened next this badly in a long time.

In fact, I'm still dying to know what happens next, because, guess what folks? There's going to be a sequel! (Yay!)

I don't want to go into too much detail about other awesome things, because, well, you just need to find out for yourself. I could go on forever about the incredible inventiveness of some of the rules that govern the world of the peculiar children, but, well, they're kind of important to the plot, and I don't like spoiling things, especially for a book that I so highly recommend. I shall force myself to shut up now.

Currently reading: Mr. Rosenblum Dreams In English, by Natasha Solomons

Next on the list: An Equal Music, by Vikram Seth

See you soon!

Ally