If you have ever ordered anything on Amazon before, you know that they will recommend other items based on what you have purchased. I always look at their book recommendations. I figure they know me well enough not to recommend Twilight or 50 Shades of Grey, so they must be doing something right.
Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs has been on my recommendations list ever since I bought Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. I'm not quite sure why, as both books are vastly different.
The book is about a boy named Jacob, who grew up listening to his grandfather's stories about the time he spent in an orphanage when he was younger. He told Jacob about the children who lived there with him, including an invisible boy and a girl who could levitate. As Jacob grew older, he stopped believing his grandfather's tales. Then one day, right before Abe (his grandfather) dies, he tells Jacob, "Go to the island...Find the bird. In the loop. On the other side of the old man's grave. September third, 1940. Emerson--the letter. Tell them what happened." This sends Jacob off on an adventure to find the old orphanage so he can discover who, or what, killed his grandfather.
Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children is a fantasy/mystery novel, mixed with a bit of horror. Adding to the overall feel of the novel are real vintage photographs that were used to construct the story.
Honestly, I do not think this book is aimed at adults. (That's not to say they cannot enjoy it.) When I was reading it, I instantly felt that it would have been right at home with books such as A Wrinkle in Time and The Giver, which I read in 5th and 6th grade. It is definitely a book that children would enjoy. There is minor profanity, it isn't extreme. The horror elements are never scary enough to really be frightening. If I were a middle school English teacher, I would probably use Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children in my curriculum. And I'm sure there are many who do. It is a great children's novel.
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