Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

child levitating stiffly over a dirt path

Book cover
Author Ransom Riggs
Country United States
Language English
Genre Young adult literature, fantasy
Publisher Quirk Books
Published in English
June 7, 2011
Media type Print, e-book, audiobook
Pages 352 pp.
ISBN 978-1-59474-476-1
OCLC 664668604
Followed by Hollow City

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is a dark fantasy debut novel by American author Ransom Riggs. The story is told through a combination of narrative and vernacular photographs from the personal archives of collectors listed by the author.

This young adult book was originally intended to be a picture book featuring photographs Riggs had collected, but on the advice of an editor at Quirk Books, he used the photographs as a guide from which to put together a narrative.[1][2] Riggs was a collector of photographs, but needed more for his novel. He met Leonard Lightfoot, a well-known collector at the Rose Bowl Flea Market, and was introduced to other collectors.[3] The result was a story about a boy who follows clues from his grandfather's old photographs which lead him on an adventure that takes him to a large abandoned orphanage on Cairnholm, a fictional Welsh island.[2]

The book has been a New York Times best seller.[1][4] It reached the #1 spot on the Children's Chapter Books list on April 29, 2012, after being on the list for 45 weeks,[5] remaining there until 20 May, when it dropped to the fourth spot on the list.[6][7][8] Critics have generally praised the book for creative use of vintage photographs as well as good characterization and settings.

Summary

As a child, Jacob Portman listened to his grandfather Abraham's stories about living with peculiar children in a special children's home run by Miss Peregrine, their mentor. As Jacob grows older, he doubts the stories until he visits his injured and dying grandfather and witnesses a strange, humanoid creature only he can see. Abraham tells Jacob to "... find the bird in the loop on the other side of the old man's grave on September 3, 1940, and tell them what happened." No one believes Jacob's account of an invisible monster, and he is believed to be going crazy. His parents take him to Dr. Golan, a psychiatrist, who suggests that Jacob go to Wales, the location of his grandfather's children's home. Jacob finds the home deserted, so he seeks information from the local people, including a worker called Martin at the Cairnholm Museum.

During another search of the children's home, Jacob encounters a mysterious girl whom he follows and questions. They reach the bogs before Jacob realizes that the inn and people are quite different. The drunken patrons are suspicious and chase Jacob. The girl, Emma Bloom, and an invisible boy named Millard Nullings rescue Jacob and escape with him to Miss Peregrine's children's home. There Jacob is introduced to other peculiar children. Bronwyn Bruntley has amazing strength and Claire Densmore has a mouth at the back of her head. Emma and Millard tell Jacob they exist in a time loop, reliving the same day forever due to Miss Peregrine, who is an Ymbryne, a Peculiar capable of creating time loops. She explains that hollowgasts — humanoid, tentacle-mouthed creatures like the one that killed Jacob's grandfather — are a threat to all Ymbryne-run orphanages. She also explains that the hollowgasts are the result of a failed immortality experiment in the Siberian tundra, which was marked by a cataclysmic explosion. Miss Peregrine tells Jacob, that he, like his grandfather, has the ability to see the hollowgasts.

Jacob learns that the peculiar children use their powers to entertain crowds. He meets Enoch O'Connor, who uses hearts from other creatures to temporarily restore life. Enoch introduces Jacob to Victor, who lies dead in his bed, killed by a hollowgast before the start of the series. The wights, who have evolved from hollowgasts, hunger for power from the Peculiars. Jacob, Emma, Bronwyn, Enoch, and Millard go into an ice house where a deceased man, Martin, lies inside a lidless ice coffin. Enoch uses a sheep heart to briefly bring Martin back to life. Martin tells them that a wight killed him. A wight then appears behind them and reveals that he is Dr. Golan. Jacob decides to stay in the time loop so that he and his companions can escape from Dr. Golan. They are pursued by Malthus, the hollow that killed Jacob's grandfather. After leading the hollow away from Emma and the other peculiar children, Jacob manages to kill it with a pair of garden shears. They then make their way back to the orphanage, but discover that Dr. Golan has kidnapped Miss Peregrine. Dr. Golan later reveals that he's not just a little devious thing, but a person that has no heart or soul. He continued to torture the innocent Peculiars, forcing them to act, and therefore murder Dr. Golan.

Dr. Golan warns them not to attempt to rescue Miss Peregrine. Still, Jacob and his friends believe he is bluffing and follow him. When they find Dr. Golan near a lighthouse, he shoots Millard but only wounds him. They see Miss Peregrine and Miss Avocet, another Ymbryne, in their bird forms and trapped in a cage. Jacob and Emma follow Dr. Golan. When they corner him, he throws the cage into the sea. Jacob shoots him, and Golan falls into the darkness. Jacob and Emma follow the bird cage underwater and see a U-boat. They recover the cage and bring Miss Peregrine back to shore, but Miss Avocet is captured by the wights and taken away on the U-boat. Jacob and his companions realize that Miss Peregrine cannot change back into human form. Returning to the orphanage, they find it destroyed, leaving them having to track down the wights and discover how to help Miss Peregrine. Jacob travels back to the present to say goodbye to his father, but promises to return when his mission is finished. Jacob and his companions set sail to track down the monsters.

Characters

Peculiar Children

Ymbrynes

An Ymbryne is a particular kind of peculiar that can change into one kind of bird and can create and maintain a time loop. An Ymbryne can control time in general as that is part of all of their peculiarity. They are always female and protect peculiar children, adults, and animals, often rescuing them from dire situations.

Non-Peculiars

Reception

Miss Peregrine's spent 70 weeks on The New York Times Best Sellers list for children's chapter books. It reached the No. 1 spot on the list on April 29, 2012 after being on the list for 45 weeks.[5] It remained there until 20 May, when it dropped to the fourth spot on the list.[6][7][8] The book dropped off the list on September 9, 2012, after 63 weeks.[9][10]

According to Deborah Netburn for the Los Angeles Times, the best part of the novel is "a series of black-and-white photos sprinkled throughout the book".[11] Publishers Weekly called the book "an enjoyable, eccentric read distinguished by well-developed characters, a believable Welsh setting, and some very creepy monsters."[12]

Sequels

A sequel, titled Hollow City, was released on January 14, 2014.[13] The novel is set immediately after the first, and sees Jacob and his friends fleeing from Miss Peregrine's to the "peculiar capital of the world", London.[14]

The third installment in the Miss Peregrine's series, titled Library of Souls, was announced in early 2015.[15] It was released on September 22, 2015.[15] A new trilogy is coming soon. The first installment of the trilogy will be released in fall of 2017.

Adaptations

Graphic novel

An original graphic novel adaptation by Cassandra Jean was released in November 2013.[16]

Film

A film adaptation of the book was released in the United States on September 30, 2016. It was directed by Tim Burton from a screenplay by Jane Goldman.[17] Eva Green played Miss Peregrine in the film, along with Asa Butterfield as Jacob,[18] and Ella Purnell as Emma Bloom.

References

  1. 1 2 Rife, Susan (December 16, 2011). "Ransom Riggs visits alma mater to discuss 'Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children'". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Archived from the original on January 3, 2012.
  2. 1 2 Cameron, Claire (August 19, 2011). "Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on January 3, 2012.
  3. Medley, Mark (June 21, 2011). "Freak chic: The "universal creepiness" of Ransom Riggs' new novel". National Post. Archived from the original on January 3, 2012.
  4. "Best Sellers – Children's Chapter Books". New York Times. August 21, 2011. Archived from the original on January 3, 2012.
  5. 1 2 "Best Sellers – Children's Chapter Books". The New York Times. April 29, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  6. 1 2 "Best Sellers – Children's Chapter Books". The New York Times. May 6, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  7. 1 2 "Best Sellers – Children's Chapter Books". The New York Times. May 13, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  8. 1 2 "Best Sellers – Children's Chapter Books". The New York Times. May 20, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  9. "Best Sellers – Children's Chapter Books". The New York Times. September 2, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  10. "Best Sellers – Children's Chapter Books". The New York Times. September 9, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  11. Netburn, Deborah (May 17, 2011). "Found photography drives 'Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 25, 2012.
  12. "Children's Review: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved April 25, 2012.
  13. Riggs, Ransom (February 7, 2013). "Hi! I'm still alive . . .". Archived from the original on February 16, 2013.
  14. Lee, Stephan (May 29, 2013). "See the title and an excerpt from the sequel to 'Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children' -- EXCLUSIVE". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  15. 1 2 Romney, Ginny (February 21, 2015). "Author Ransom Riggs draws inspiration from old photos for Peculiar Children series, sequel 'Hollow City". Deseret News. Archived from the original on February 21, 2015.
  16. Lodge, Sally (November 14, 2013). "Ransom Riggs Returns to Miss Peregrine's Home with 'Hollow City'". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on December 11, 2013.
  17. Fleming Jr, Mike (December 2, 2011). "'X-Men: First Class' Scribe Jane Goldman Scripting 'Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children'". Deadline.com. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
  18. Kroll, Justin (July 28, 2014). "Eva Green Eyes Tim Burton’s ‘Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children’". Variety. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
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