352 pages
Publisher: Quirk Books (2011)
ISBN: 1594744769
Reading Level/Lexile: 8th grade and up/890L
Genre: Fantasy, Horror
Annotation/Teaser: Jacob thinks his grandfather was murdered by a magical creature so he sets out to find the truth. His journey leads him to a home where he encounters all the mysterious people his grandfather told him about. As he travels he suspects he is being followed by a monster only he can see. Will he make it to the end of his journey and find out the truth about his grandfather and the other peculiar children?
Plot Summary: After years of listening to his grandfather, Abe's stories of make believe monsters, children who have peculiar abilities, and animals with uncanny abilities, Jacob finally challenges him to tell him the truth. When Jacob enters high school, Abe's mental abilities have diminished and he calls Jacob and tells him the monsters are after him. When Jacob goes to check on his grandfather, he finds him dying in the woods. Abe's last request is that Jacob go to the island of Abe's stories. Jacob convinces his parents to allow him to spend his summer off the coast of Wales. He and his father begin their trip. Jacob meets Emma, who takes him into a time loop where it is September 3 every day. There, Jacob meets Miss Peregrine and all the peculiar children of his grandfather's stories. Jacob has the ability to see the monsters that he has thought to be make-believe. He is a hero in this loop because he kills the monsters and rescues Miss Peregrine but not before the orphanage has been destroyed. What happens at the end of this book leaves the reader with unanswered questions about what happens to Jacob and his new friends.
About the Author: "I was born on a 200-year-old farm in rural Maryland, where at the tender age of five I decided that I definitely wanted to be a farmer when I grew up, because being a farmer meant driving tractors. Then, partially as a result of my new ambition, my mom moved us far away to Florida, where there were relatively few farms but lots and lots of old people and not very much for kids to do. In retrospect, it was precisely because there wasn’t a lot to do, and because the internet didn’t exist and cable TV was only like twelve channels back then, that I was forced to make my own fun and my own stories -- and that’s what I’m still doing, only now I get paid for it. So thanks, sleepy Florida fishing village!
I grew up writing stories and making videos in the backyard with my friends. I knew I wanted to do one or both of those things in some professional capacity when I got older, but I didn’t know how. For three summers during high school I attended the University of Virginia’s Young Writer's Workshop and I still consider it one of the shaping experiences of my life. I met so many great, brilliant people, and it convinced me that it was possible to make a life for myself as a writer.
I also knew I wanted to make movies. So I compromised, and went to Kenyon College first to study English, then moved out to Los Angeles to go to film school at the University of Southern California. Looking back, that was a lot of time and money spent on school, but I don’t regret it at all. Being part of those creative communities gave me lots of time to practice writing things and making movies before I had to go out and try to do either of those things professionally.
So now I do a lot of different things, which can make for a rambling and confused-sounding answer when I am asked, as I often am in work-obsessed Los Angeles, “So ... what do you do?” But I will attempt to answer this question, in list form:
• I write books. First, a non-fiction book about Sherlock Holmes. Then a novel about peculiar chidlren (which comes out June 7th). Then a book of found photographs with writng on them coming out in 2012. I'm fairly certain there are more novels on the way. I can feel them clanking around half-formed in my brain.
• I make movies. I went to film school and made a lot of shorts there. I also write screenplays and make the occasional video blog.
• I word-blog for mentalfloss.com."
Ransom Riggs Bio (n.d.) Retrieved from www.ransonriggs.com
Critical Evaluation: I enjoyed Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children for its first person point of view and also from a boy's point of view. I find most characters in young adult adventures are reckless and impulsive. Jacob is not that character. He was sensible and practical and thought through things before he acted. "Would my first trip to Europe be spent
evading drunken maniacs and watching birds evacuate their bowels on
rocky beaches? Maybe so. But if it meant that I’d finally be able to put
my grandfather’s mystery to rest and get on with my unextraordinary
life, anything I had
to endure was worth it."
While the plot seemed developed through the book, the ending left me unsatisfied. I felt the major conflict was left unresolved. For me the best part of the book was the pictures. The old, vintage photographs that were included were interesting and creepy. The pictures advertised a much creepier and darker tone than what the book really was. I enjoyed this book and it was a quick read but it was a little unsettling. I am excited to read the sequel before I voice any more opinions on this book.
Curriculum Ties: N/A
Book Talk Ideas: Show some of the creepy pictures in the book and talk about the horror or scariness of the book.
Controversial Issues: N/A
Defense:
*I will keep
the library's selection policy on hand and memorized with a good
understanding of the standards and
policies to show that the selection meets the standards.
*I will keep
good and bad reviews (both electronic and print) and make sure they are from
reliable and respected sources such as School of Library Journal, Booklist, and
YALSA. I will have copies of these reviews to give away.
*I will confirm
the library's position to provide intellectual freedom as stated in the Library
Bill of Rights and keep a copy of this.
*I will keep
a written rationale to justify the reasons this material is included in the
collection, such as educational significance and curriculum ties.
*I will be
respectful and calm and practice "active listening".
*I will make
sure I read the material and are very familiar with it.
* I will keep a reconsideration form on file
in the event that my other strategies don't work.
Why I Chose This Book? I chose this book because it is a fun read for young adults. It is also a unique book that is not your typical paranormal read.
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