Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

I remember when this book came out because I am a loyal reader of the Mental Floss Blog.  The author, Ransom Riggs, writes for the magazine and they released the first few chapters of this on the blog.  I didn’t read them then, because I didn’t think it sounded that interesting.  I’m not usually one for the mystery or horror genres.

But last week, on a whim, I picked this up when I wasn’t feeling any of the other books on my shelves.  And I loved it!  The best part were all the pictures that were scattered throughout the book.

The main character is a boy who was close to his grandfather, who everyone thought was loosing his mind.  When his grandfather died, he left a cryptic message for his grandson, who everyone also thought was a little off his rocker.  The boy and his father eventually go to an island with an old orphanage that his grandfather lived at as a boy.  The island is “peculiar”, for lack of a better word.  What is even more peculiar is when the boy finally (and by accident) heeds his grandfathers’ last words and finds himself back at the peculiar school.  Literally.  As in, back in time.

It sounds a little cheesy when I write it like this, but the power of this book is in the story-telling ability of the author.  For someone who isn’t into supernatural anything and doesn’t really enjoy horror anythings, for me to have been pulled into this book as I was says a lot.  The pictures alone are worth the cover price.