YAASHA MORIAH
  • Home
  • About
  • Books
  • Blog
  • For Readers
  • Subscribe
  • Patreon
  • Contact

YAASHA MORIAH

EXPLORE FANTASTIC WORLDS
Welcome to the pages of my Traveler's Journal!

Book Review: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Fantasy)

4/12/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
When Jacob is a child, his grandfather tells him wonderful stories of Miss Peregrine's island home where he had spent his childhood during the 1940s, with the levitating girl and the boy with bees in his stomach and the girl who could lift anything. It was a place safe from the monsters that his grandfather later fought and vanquished.

Jacob grows up and the stories become just that--stories--until Jacob's grandfather is violently murdered by a frightening creature that only Jacob can see.

​Jacob's search for real answers draws him to the island where Miss Peregrine's home lies in ruins. But peculiar things await Jacob on the island, 
things that force him to realize that he and his grandfather are more alike than he realized--and that the monsters of his nightmares are real.

Overview

"You've got to try this book!" My friend insisted. "Really. You'll like it."
​
So I tried it--and devoured it in two days. The stage-setting was a little slow for me, but once the story took off, I was swept along with it. The vintage photographs are as peculiar as the tale itself, and, in the words of some people who looked over my shoulder while I was reading, "creepy." The story, at times, has an almost gothic feel to it, which I really enjoyed: crumbling ruins, a misty island, invisible nightmare creatures, supernatural abilities, old photographs... I will definitely be reading the rest of the series.

What Would Have Been Better

Like I said, the introductory stage-setting could have been accelerated a bit. Several characters are introduced who have very limited roles and whom we never see again once the action starts. Personally, I would have liked less swearing, too.

Heads Up

There is some swearing, including half-a-dozen uses of "G--d---."

There is no sex, but Jacob begins to have romantic feelings toward a young lady and they share a kiss or two.
​
People are shot, gutted, ripped apart, and killed in various ways. One character's peculiarity involves using animal hearts, and one scene involves "resurrecting" a murdered man. The monsters are pretty creepy and hideous.
Picture

What I Enjoyed

I'd say that the writing quality is better than the quality of most of the teen/young adult books I've read recently. Mr. Riggs' vocabulary is intelligent, his descriptions vivid, his dialogue witty, and his character development quite good. Jacob's development from wimpy kid to hero felt especially believable to me.​ I was fascinated by the peculiar children and their abilities, also the explanation of the time loops and the evolution of the Hollows.

Furthermore, the vintage photographs added a whole new dimension to the story, and helped to create the atmosphere of the story. As vivid as the story was, it felt "black-and-white" to me, sort of film noire, which gave it the necessary mingling of emotion and horror. 
​
Picture

Excerpt

I recognized them somehow, thought I didn't know where from. They seemed like faces from a half-remembered dream. Where had I seen them before--and how did they know my grandfather's name?

Then it clicked. Their clothes, strange even for Wales. Their pale unsmiling faces. The pictures strewn before me, staring up at me just as the children stared down. Suddenly I understood.

I'd seen them in the photographs.

The girl who'd spoken stood up to get a better look at me. In her hands she held a flicking light, which wasn't a lantern or a candle but seemed to be a ball of raw flame, attended by nothing more than her bare skin. I'd seen her picture not five minutes earlier, and in it she looked much the same as she did now, even cradling the same strange light between her hands.

​I'm Jacob,​ I wanted to say. ​ I've been looking for you.​ But my jaw had come unhinged, and all I could do was stare.
If you like something I wrote here, you are free to share/quote it with credit and a link back to the original page on my website.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Become a Patron!

    Yaasha Moriah

    I write YA/adult fantasy & sci-fi that explores fantastic and interconnected worlds, with stories that burn through the darkest realities with hope and redemption.
    ​Learn more here!

    Categories

    All
    Artwork
    Author Interview
    Authors & Stories Worth Reading
    Azinae
    Beyond The Story
    Book Lover
    Book Review
    Coffee With Yaasha
    Cover Reveal
    #CreativeGremlin
    Dr. Fiction
    Excerpt
    Fantasy
    Firewing Chronicles
    For The Love Of Books
    Giveaway
    Humor
    Inktober
    Interactive Story
    Journaling
    Life Told Through Fantasy
    NaNoWriMo
    News
    Plan With Me
    Quiz
    Reader Interactive Story
    Reflections & Opinions
    Sale
    Science Fiction
    Short Story
    Spotlight
    Steampunk
    Stories From My Life
    Story Research
    #TellitFantasyStyle
    The Story Behind The Story
    Travel
    #TruthInFiction
    Video
    Writing Well

    Archives

    March 2021
    January 2021
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013

email me
 Copyright © 2021 Yaasha Moriah
  • Home
  • About
  • Books
  • Blog
  • For Readers
  • Subscribe
  • Patreon
  • Contact