Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children

Last year, I had a chance encounter with YA author Ransom Riggs when I was scheduled for an interview Tahereh Mafi, and luckily got to interview them both. I had read, “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” a few months before then, and I purposely cleared a spot on my reading list for the sequel, “Hollow City,” as soon as I got the book this weekend.

The Miss Peregrine series centers around peculiars, people (often children) with odd physical traits or abilities. To protect them from the world, peculiars are often found under the care of a matriarch, called an ymbrine (such as Miss Peregrine), within the sanctuary of a time loop. The peculiars are in danger, not just from the humans who treat them like circus freaks, but also from darker elements: hollowgasts (hollows) and wights who are hunting them down.

In the first book, sixteen year old Jacob Portman is trying to come to terms with his grandfather’s death. Having grown up on his grandfather’s fantastic stories, Jacob is on a quest to find out more about his grandfather’s life and manages to trace a link to his childhood: the ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Except that fifty years later, he finds his grandfather’s old friends unaged, exactly as he left them.

The first time I saw the book at the bookstore, its monochromatic graphic cover caught my attention, and I bought it after thumbing through the pages, because the creepy, almost sinister photos sent a shiver down my spine.

In that regard, the book didn’t disappoint — I thoroughly enjoyed the darkness of the story, and the accompanying photographs definitely amped up the atmosphere. I love the world that Ransom Riggs has built in this series — the idea of peculiarity (my favorite peculiar is Olive ^_^), the ymbrines and the loops, even the origin of hollowgasts and wights.

 Though I found the first book compelling, I had my reservations because there was a major plot twist I was able to suss out early on, and the ending was not quite as I hoped it would be. I thought it had a lot of potential, though, so I wanted to read the second book before posting my review, and I’m so glad I waited.

In the second book, Jacob teams up with the peculiars as they escape from the island and hie off to London in the hopes of finding a cure for Miss Peregrine. Danger lurks at every point of their journey, and the gang must rely on their peculiarity to keep themselves out of the enemy’s hands.

Ransom Riggs pulls out all stops in this second book – it’s a fast-paced and thrilling adventure, and I read the whole thing in roughly one sitting (and I don’t know anyone else who has read it yet – dying to discuss!). The peculiars really grow on you, and I loved reading these characters all over again. We also see the bigger world of the peculiars outside of Miss Peregrine’s loop, delve into peculiar mythology and the darker nature of hollows and wights, and meet a lot of interesting characters, including a band of gypsies, peculiar animals (I love Addison!), adult peculiars, and even another ymbryne!

I also appreciate Jacob’s growth as a character, how he comes to terms with his identity, and how he makes decisions while considering his relationship with Emma and the rest of the peculiars as well as the family he left behind.

Hollow City is thoroughly satisfying, and I’m glad to see this series steadily growing more complex, building up to the promise of bigger things to come as the story progresses. Sign me up for more of this series!

***

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, trade paperback, 3.5/5 stars
Hollow City, trade paperback, 4/5 stars
Both books available at National Book Store.

Ransom Riggs and Tahereh Mafi are returning to the Philippines for a book signing tour this April, along with YA author Veronica Rossi! More details on the National Book Store Facebook page.