After hearing about this book so many times I decided to give it a go. I do love fiction with people with any kind of super power (BIG fan of x-men as a kid – and as an adult too). I don’t know why, but I went into this thinking that it would be a difficult read (maybe the cover struck me with literary vibes?) It was actually an easy read, quite slow, but accessible enough.
At first I didn’t like the main character. He struck me as spoiled. The book opens with him deliberately trying to get fired from work because he doesn’t want to work there, but also doesn’t want to work anywhere else either. Maybe because I spent so many years struggling to get work, this rubbed me the wrong way.
After the tragedy mentioned in the blurb I liked him a little more. He has some teenage rebellion things going on before all this, but on the whole he’s a good kid. He loves his family, and when he’s feeling hurt he doesn’t take it out on other people. He is a bit undefined though. He does have a personality, but it doesn’t jump off the page.
Here’s the blurb:
A horrific family tragedy sends Jacob 16 to a remote island off Wales, to the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, where he finds unusual old photographs. The children, one his grandfather, were more than peculiar, perhaps dangerous, quarantined for good reason – and maybe still alive.
Goodreads has mixed reviews. Some people loved it, others hated it. One of the most common criticisms is that it feels disjointed. I admit I picked up on that vibe. The first half is very different to the second half. We spend the first half wondering about the mystery of Jacob’s grandfather’s past, and then the mystery is reveals quite easily and from then on it’s a different book.
I liked both halves of the book, so I didn’t mind this disjointed nature. A bit more of a fight to find out about the house’s past would have been nice, but I was intrigued enough by all the cool ideas afterward to distract me from any disappointment. I did find it slow to start, and there were a lot of characters in the second half to keep track of. Part of me did like all the characters though. It was a bit like the reason why I love parts of the x-men films set at the school. You have all these really neat characters in the background, and it makes it very interesting. You do want to know more about them, but just the fact that they’re there makes things pop out at you much more vividly.
There was something very different about this book from other books I’ve read. I can’t quite put my finger on what, or whether it’s a good or a bad thing. The last half was kind of like watching an old television show. There was a nolgastic feel to it, like I was watching a show I’d enjoyed as a kid. That may just be my odd mind though.
My verdict: not without its flaws, but worth a read. This book has something that I found addictive. The last scene really makes me want to read the next book and see what happens next for these guys.
For more reviews on this book see this link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9460487-miss-peregrine-s-home-for-peculiar-children
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