my_circe4's review
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
n_j_k's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
jozzie's review against another edition
3.0
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children Series by Ransom Riggs is full of, well, peculiar characters that make a fun and lasting impression. Although honestly, the stories were a little too ‘young adult’ for my tastes, the storyline was highly creative and an overall enjoyable read. The use of real pictures was a fun connection to the real world to the fictional world.
Keep reading here: https://booksandteamoments.wordpress.com/2016/09/28/miss-peregrines-home-for-peculiar-children-series-by-ransom-riggs-with-black-cherry-tea/
Keep reading here: https://booksandteamoments.wordpress.com/2016/09/28/miss-peregrines-home-for-peculiar-children-series-by-ransom-riggs-with-black-cherry-tea/
theoverindulged's review against another edition
This is easily the best series I've read since Harry Potter. I loved every minute of it!
_aanya's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
My middle school self refuses to hear a word against this series
tanji_chan's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
trish204's review against another edition
4.0
Book #1 finished on March 28th, 2016. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I had seen the peculiar cover of this book many times but was never sure what to make of the synopsis so I was never very interested in reading it. But then I found an article talking about the upcoming movie, to be directed by Tim Burton and starring (amongst others) Judy Dench and Eva Green. I was intrigud, watched the trailer - and was a goner.
Upon looking more closely at the story, I decided that just any edition wouldn't do so I got this boxed set that comes with a small envelope full of the vintage photographs that inspired the author to write this trilogy.
The story is about a boy who's been told the most fantastic stories by his grandfather. As most of us he grows out of them eventually, however, thinking they are just that: stories. Stories made up by a man who lost his family as a small boy and who had to escape his home country to grow up as far away from World War II as possible, only to join the Army and fight in the same war until it ended. I guess we can all imagine how Jacob came to believe that the monsters his grandfather was talking about were Nazis. The problem is that his grandfather insists the monsters are real.
When Jacob is traumatized, sent to a therapist and it becomes clear that his family isn't really supportive. Sure, .
Since his grandfather had meant more to him than anybody else, Jacob sets out to look further into his grandfather's life to find closure.
What he discovers then is not exactly what anyone had expected and he's sucked into an extraordinary battle.
To me it was a great feat of the author to weave the horrors of Nazi Germany / World War II with the story of fantastical creatures and people with abilities. He was always balancing between a fantastical, almost magical world and the true horrors of ours (past and present).
Mr. Briggs addresses topics such as loneliness, helplessness, mental health (and family members unable to deal with it), stigmata and the search for oneself.
But then Mr. Briggs twists these topics and turns them towards another world, beyond ours and lets us wander, much like Jacob, between them. And there, in this other world, there are further issues to be addressed such as isolation, running away, being selflessly caring, friendship, love and being left behind. Truly, my heart broke for Emma into a million pieces!
The writing style is compelling, fast-paced, simple yet detailed, and sucks the reader in within only a few sentences. There is no poetry in the words and yet they have a life of their own when describing the island shrouded in fog or Miss Peregrine's house for example.
There are a few things different in the movie that I already know from watching the trailer and I honestly don't know why these details should have been changed, but we'll see I guess.
I hope Tim Burton does this story justice because it deserves nothing less.
Also, at the end of the book the author pays tribute to his inspiration by including a list of the pictures that are included throughout the story (he made his inspiration part of the story quite literally) and points out how wonderful it is that there are collectors that try to rescue these glimpses into another time.
So much for book #1.
------------------------------------------------
Book #2 finished on April 4th, 2016. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Well, that was a ride!
This time the children are away from the safety of their island, trying to find other loops, other peculiars and other ymbrynes.
This of course gave the author the chance to address topics such as uprooting, having to make difficult choices on the go and living with the consequences, taking responsibility for others and becoming more than friends, simply by the circumstances around you (any soldier can relate I guess).
The children are racing against time because when the Peregrine was taken (at the end of book 1), the wights did something to her that makes her unable to change back into human form and now they only have a limited amount of time before she stays in bird form forever! Moreover, it has become clear that the wights are collecting all the ymbrynes to conclude their awful plan and are doing something awful to peculiars as well.
As I said in one of my status updates, I very much like how the author is able to intertwine the horrors of the Third Reich (like gruesome, supersticious experiments) with what is happening in this trilogy. That brought an even more realistic sickening feeling.
However, what was a bit off-putting is that even animals can be / have been peculiar, right down to a talking dog (don't worry, it's not actually a spoiler)! And just when I was OK with a talking dog, we had an actual emu-raffe. That was a bit much, even for me.
In general, there was of course a lot of fear and running in this volume, the children spent most of their time in England 1940 after all, but it is noteworthy how realistic the emotions were described. No matter the setting (fields or London itself), one was there every step of the way.
I especially enjoyed London, although "enjoyed" might be the wrong term. But the description of adults and children in a city that gets constantly bombed, was very gripping.
That being said, I understand why some people say that the journey could have been told in less time (many criticise that this book has even more pages than the first) but it seemed like each of the children's station had a particular tale to tell and together they formed a puzzle.
Although I did not see the twist at the end coming!
Also, again, I wanted to kill Jacob's parents!
However, it was not just Jacob's parents. Emma and Jacob, too, were getting on my nerves when
There were also some moral questions being raised and it was heartbreaking because it really is difficult. I, myself, think that playing moralizer is a luxury. One can always criticize and whine but you never know if you would have made better choices. It's simply isn't as simple as that .
Thus it was fun and thrilling and I enjoyed the writing as well as the weird photographs very much.
Now on to the final book!
------------------------------------------------
Book #3 finished on April 8th, 2016. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I can't believe what a journey this was!
From the bombed London during WWII we came to present day London and quite the cliffhanger at the end of book 2. From there we entered The Devil's Acre, another and very old (and very disgusting) loop. That was extremely interesting because, again, the author managed to conjure this feeling of the reader actually being there. I, unfortunately, could smell and see every bit of that dreadful place. It was colourful and lively. Moreover, we were shown that not all peculiars were noble and good and not all of them "only" went crazy once in a while (like Miss Peregrine's children in Cairnholm when they'd raid the village to blow off some steam) but were even slavers and drug addicts! This added so much dimension to the entire society. We also finally got to know the extent of Jacob's ability. And of course, the epic conclusion of what all the wight's actions were about. Oh, and can I just say how much I love that the author called it the LIBRARY of Souls insted of cave, storage or whatever else?! That and the dialogue about the punishment for bringing a book back late was such a nice and funny easter egg for bookworms! :D
This last volume was action-packed and thrilling (much more than the others), had lots of fighting but also some funny moments. And we got more than one tip of the hat to Greek mythology what with Sharon and the Library's innermost (although I'm not sure every reader will recognize that last bit since not everyone is that much into mythology).
First however, I'd like to explain why I had to deduct one star. There were two or three scenes that just didn't sit right with me:
First, What is worse, when this exact thing was pointed out by Enoch (as if the author anticipated criticism about it), one of the ymbrynes actually I HATE that! I never accepted that as a reason to stay quiet when I was a child and my family tried to pull this off and I certainly won't accept it now (not in real life, not in a story)! GRRRR!
Secondly,
Oh and
OK, these three actually belong together as one major point.
Last but not least there was a moment (two actually but only this one was really bad) when I wanted to slap Jacob. It was when
HELLOOOOO????!!!! Popular?! Seriously?! This isn't a popularity contest, it would have been the right thing to do! Jacob, who even got attached to the hollowgasts, could not only not bring himself to say something at that moment but was actually thinking THIS?! That's just unacceptable. Plain and simple. This is sending the wrong message by far. It means that a person who's done something wrong (it is true that Bentham would have had to be punished) can never redeem him-/herself. That sets the wrong tone entirely. It's like the peculiars, in spite of all their own mistakes in character, think they own moral high ground and I hate it.
Oh, and then in the end, in London of our time I was very close to losing it when the author almost pulled a deus ex machina. Thankfully, he stopped himself but still. That bugged me.
Not to mention (although this is part of the story and didn't mean any further reduction of stars)! An idiot would have known that that couldn't end well!
Luckily,!
The ending was rather satisfying in a way.
At first I was a bit alienated by that entire thing but looking back at several scenes in books 2 and 3, it does indeed make sense (or at least it had been hinted at).
Right now I have this satisfying feeling of having concluded the series and although I can't give it the full 5 stars, I will definitely go back to visit the peculiars some time and am happy I found this series. Moreover, there is at least one movie to look forward to (although, at the end of the story, I really am confused why they changed some MC judging by the movie trailer - if they are indeed going to adapt all three books for the big screen, this might prove to become irritating)!
All in all, I want to conclude with a quote from this book: "A story is never just a story." (p.371)
I had seen the peculiar cover of this book many times but was never sure what to make of the synopsis so I was never very interested in reading it. But then I found an article talking about the upcoming movie, to be directed by Tim Burton and starring (amongst others) Judy Dench and Eva Green. I was intrigud, watched the trailer - and was a goner.
Upon looking more closely at the story, I decided that just any edition wouldn't do so I got this boxed set that comes with a small envelope full of the vintage photographs that inspired the author to write this trilogy.
The story is about a boy who's been told the most fantastic stories by his grandfather. As most of us he grows out of them eventually, however, thinking they are just that: stories. Stories made up by a man who lost his family as a small boy and who had to escape his home country to grow up as far away from World War II as possible, only to join the Army and fight in the same war until it ended. I guess we can all imagine how Jacob came to believe that the monsters his grandfather was talking about were Nazis. The problem is that his grandfather insists the monsters are real.
When
Spoiler
his gradnfather is tragically killed, with Jacob almost seeing the whole thing,Spoiler
they pay for the whole thing, they also can since they are rich, but they never actually listen - to me it seemed as if they didn't want to be bothered with problems, just like they couldn't be bothered with grandpa Portman's stories. Money, however, doesn't make up for a lack of attentiveness and it broke my heart to see how Jacob had grown up, friendless and without a truly loving familySince his grandfather had meant more to him than anybody else, Jacob sets out to look further into his grandfather's life to find closure.
What he discovers then is not exactly what anyone had expected and he's sucked into an extraordinary battle.
To me it was a great feat of the author to weave the horrors of Nazi Germany / World War II with the story of fantastical creatures and people with abilities. He was always balancing between a fantastical, almost magical world and the true horrors of ours (past and present).
Mr. Briggs addresses topics such as loneliness, helplessness, mental health (and family members unable to deal with it), stigmata and the search for oneself.
Spoiler
That's why it was so wonderful to see Jacob's father and his failed attempts to become "his own man" - to society he did right and his father (grandpa Portman) and his son (Jacob) were the troubled ones, but deep down it was the exact opposite.But then Mr. Briggs twists these topics and turns them towards another world, beyond ours and lets us wander, much like Jacob, between them. And there, in this other world, there are further issues to be addressed such as isolation, running away, being selflessly caring, friendship, love and being left behind. Truly, my heart broke for Emma into a million pieces!
The writing style is compelling, fast-paced, simple yet detailed, and sucks the reader in within only a few sentences. There is no poetry in the words and yet they have a life of their own when describing the island shrouded in fog or Miss Peregrine's house for example.
There are a few things different in the movie that I already know from watching the trailer and I honestly don't know why these details should have been changed, but we'll see I guess.
I hope Tim Burton does this story justice because it deserves nothing less.
Also, at the end of the book the author pays tribute to his inspiration by including a list of the pictures that are included throughout the story (he made his inspiration part of the story quite literally) and points out how wonderful it is that there are collectors that try to rescue these glimpses into another time.
So much for book #1.
------------------------------------------------
Book #2 finished on April 4th, 2016. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Well, that was a ride!
This time the children are away from the safety of their island, trying to find other loops, other peculiars and other ymbrynes.
This of course gave the author the chance to address topics such as uprooting, having to make difficult choices on the go and living with the consequences, taking responsibility for others and becoming more than friends, simply by the circumstances around you (any soldier can relate I guess).
The children are racing against time because when the Peregrine was taken (at the end of book 1), the wights did something to her that makes her unable to change back into human form and now they only have a limited amount of time before she stays in bird form forever! Moreover, it has become clear that the wights are collecting all the ymbrynes to conclude their awful plan and are doing something awful to peculiars as well.
As I said in one of my status updates, I very much like how the author is able to intertwine the horrors of the Third Reich (like gruesome, supersticious experiments) with what is happening in this trilogy. That brought an even more realistic sickening feeling.
However, what was a bit off-putting is that even animals can be / have been peculiar, right down to a talking dog (don't worry, it's not actually a spoiler)! And just when I was OK with a talking dog, we had an actual emu-raffe. That was a bit much, even for me.
In general, there was of course a lot of fear and running in this volume, the children spent most of their time in England 1940 after all, but it is noteworthy how realistic the emotions were described. No matter the setting (fields or London itself), one was there every step of the way.
I especially enjoyed London, although "enjoyed" might be the wrong term. But the description of adults and children in a city that gets constantly bombed, was very gripping.
That being said, I understand why some people say that the journey could have been told in less time (many criticise that this book has even more pages than the first) but it seemed like each of the children's station had a particular tale to tell and together they formed a puzzle.
Although
Spoiler
some of Miss Peregrine's behaviour was peculiar (for the lack of a better word),Spoiler
All the supposed limitations of the hollowgast and the wights and then they are breaking all the rules!Also, again, I wanted to kill Jacob's parents!
Spoiler
Naturally, it must be awful to wake up and realize your son has left but Emma did leave a note and picture so as unrealistic as it might have seemed, the father should know that it wasn't all in Jacob's head and he isn't involved with drugs as he suggested during their phone call at the end. *rolls eyes* Their amount of not-listening and blocking out what Jacob says is astonishing, really.However, it was not just Jacob's parents. Emma and Jacob, too, were getting on my nerves when
Spoiler
Emma simply decided for Jacob that it was time for him to return home and he went with it! Of course that didn't go according to plan, which was to be expected, but still. His family might be better than any the other peculiars are from, but it still is less than rosy and how do you go back to a mundane life after such events?! I guess, again that is something soldiers struggle with. Therefore, I liked the parallels to Jacob's grandfather and his life and how he could NOT simply let it go. Anyway, I'm very curious how this problem gets resolved since it was only postponed this time.There were also some moral questions being raised
Spoiler
by other peculiars they encountered on the way. First Melina, then - even more so - the two sisters in LondonSpoiler
also because those two sisters never came in contact with the peculiar world so they have no clue what they are talking aboutThus it was fun and thrilling and I enjoyed the writing as well as the weird photographs very much.
Now on to the final book!
------------------------------------------------
Book #3 finished on April 8th, 2016. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I can't believe what a journey this was!
From the bombed London during WWII we came to present day London and quite the cliffhanger at the end of book 2. From there we entered The Devil's Acre, another and very old (and very disgusting) loop. That was extremely interesting because, again, the author managed to conjure this feeling of the reader actually being there. I, unfortunately, could smell and see every bit of that dreadful place. It was colourful and lively. Moreover, we were shown that not all peculiars were noble and good and not all of them "only" went crazy once in a while (like Miss Peregrine's children in Cairnholm when they'd raid the village to blow off some steam) but were even slavers and drug addicts! This added so much dimension to the entire society. We also finally got to know the extent of Jacob's ability. And of course, the epic conclusion of what all the wight's actions were about. Oh, and can I just say how much I love that the author called it the LIBRARY of Souls insted of cave, storage or whatever else?! That and the dialogue about the punishment for bringing a book back late was such a nice and funny easter egg for bookworms! :D
This last volume was action-packed and thrilling (much more than the others), had lots of fighting but also some funny moments. And we got more than one tip of the hat to Greek mythology what with Sharon and the Library's innermost (although I'm not sure every reader will recognize that last bit since not everyone is that much into mythology).
First however, I'd like to explain why I had to deduct one star. There were two or three scenes that just didn't sit right with me:
First,
Spoiler
when the battle was finally over, the tower had collapsed and Jake/Caul and Bentham were left in the collapsing loop, the ymbrynes became the hovering mother hens again. In general I like their nursing nature but the fact that they took over didn't seem right. They had been oblivious to the danger or denying how bad it really was; they were unprepared, some even downright weak. The children (who, as we know, aren't really children which is the twist in the entire trilogy) saved them. And all of a sudden we (them) fall back into old patterns, acting as if the peculiars really were just children who needed shapeshifting women to tell them what to do!Spoiler
told him off like a child, telling him that even older people had elders and that basically elders always know best!!!Secondly,
Spoiler
I think especially considering the heroic acts the peculiars pulled off, they deserve to be deciding how peculiardom should be managed from now on. They have the council or will have it again now, but the ymbrynes shouldn't just be left to take matters out of everyone else's hands.Oh and
Spoiler
the fact that Olive and Claire were portrayed as little frightened children - what was up with that?! Yes, they are the youngest of them all, not just physically. But they are still about 70 years old!!! The author making them behave like frightened 5-year-olds made me angry. Also because it kind of seemed like a justification for the ymrynes behaviour.OK, these three actually belong together as one major point.
Last but not least there was a moment (two actually but only this one was really bad) when I wanted to slap Jacob. It was when
Spoiler
they were all talking about Bentham after the Library's loop had collapsed and Nim can't believe that Bentham betrayed the peculiars:"Snap out of it!" Emma said to him. "Your boss was a slimeball."
The truth was a bit more nuanced, I thought, but making an argument for the complexity of Bentham's moral character wasn't going to make me terribly popular.
HELLOOOOO????!!!! Popular?! Seriously?! This isn't a popularity contest, it would have been the right thing to do! Jacob, who even got attached to the hollowgasts, could not only not bring himself to say something at that moment but was actually thinking THIS?! That's just unacceptable. Plain and simple. This is sending the wrong message by far. It means that a person who's done something wrong (it is true that Bentham would have had to be punished) can never redeem him-/herself. That sets the wrong tone entirely. It's like the peculiars, in spite of all their own mistakes in character, think they own moral high ground and I hate it.
Oh, and then in the end, in London of our time
Spoiler
when they meet Jacob's parents at the police stationNot to mention (although this is part of the story and didn't mean any further reduction of stars)
Spoiler
Jacob's decision to go homeLuckily,
Spoiler
he (hopefully) learned his lesson after everything that happened with his parents and the new psychiatrist. I was actually close to forgiving Jacob's parents for all their wrongdoing so far. They ALMOST had me in their corner. Until they fell back into old roles, just wanting a "normal" son, even if that meant drugging him silly, acting as if nothing had ever happened because ignoring a problem is so much easier, taking the letters even and then - worst of all - avoiding the problem yet again (like they wanted to with grandpa Portman) by sending him off to a mental institution! I can only hope that Miss P will make them suffer for it during their "vacation" at Jacob's houseThe ending was rather satisfying in a way.
At first I was a bit alienated by that entire
Spoiler
loop collapsed so now we won't age forward anymoreRight now I have this satisfying feeling of having concluded the series and although I can't give it the full 5 stars, I will definitely go back to visit the peculiars some time and am happy I found this series. Moreover, there is at least one movie to look forward to (although, at the end of the story, I really am confused why they changed some MC judging by the movie trailer - if they are indeed going to adapt all three books for the big screen, this might prove to become irritating)!
All in all, I want to conclude with a quote from this book: "A story is never just a story." (p.371)
ngnh_le's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
lit_eracy's review against another edition
4.0
Overall a great series. The first book just was slow and took a while to get into.
teri_b's review against another edition
5.0
Loved, loved, loved these three books in one. Spooky, scary, exciting.
There is so much to be said about each of these three books, I don't really know where to start.
It's time travel. For real. And monsters do exist.
Loved first and second book throughout, with the third book, I was not that sure, as some of the twists towards the end of the book were a little bit obvious, but then the story turned again and once again and tension was maintained until the end.
And now you have to ponder what is going to happen in A Map of Days and what this shift from the UK to the US means.
There is so much to be said about each of these three books, I don't really know where to start.
It's time travel. For real. And monsters do exist.
Loved first and second book throughout, with the third book, I was not that sure, as some of the twists towards the end of the book were a little bit obvious, but then the story turned again and once again and tension was maintained until the end.
And now you have to ponder what is going to happen in A Map of Days and what this shift from the UK to the US means.