Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children: 06/22/17

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs is the first of the Peculiar Children series. It's built around a bunch of old photographs and was recently turned into a film. I have not seen the film but I have seen the previews for it and they were a reminder that I have the trilogy at home.

It begins with the death of Jacob's grandfather and his belief that he had seen something unusual. Jacob, having grown up listening to his grandfather's stories of being a child in WWII, finding safe haven at a school a small island off the coast of Wales, becomes obsessed with learning the truth.

Now Jacob and his dad are on the same small island for Jacob's mental health. The hope is that seeing the harsh reality of the place will snap him out of his depression and his delusions.

But of course that's not what happens. Of course not. He finds the school. He finds Miss Peregrine. He finds a portal back to WWII. And he finds monsters.

For the first two hundred pages, I was riveted. I really was. And then Miss Peregrine started explaining the mechanism of her time bubble, and the history of the monsters, and the peculiars. And everything snapped into place and I realized I'd read this plot before — except it was set in Japan and it was a manga.

Jacob is Ichigo. Miss Peregrine is Orihime. Yup. It's basically Bleach but set in Wales. And you know what, I got bored of Bleach.

I'm still debating whether or not to read the second two books. I can tell you it won't happen until after the move is completed as they are in storage.

Three stars

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