Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs

Despite reading a few reviews, and my sister mentioning it when she said Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children was on her list of things to read, it somehow escaped me that Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is a Young Adult novel. That particular nugget only surfaced in my memory when I was a few pages in and wondering why in the world the language was so… off.

I’ve read my share of Young Adult fiction. Both as a kid and as an adult. Probably more as an adult. Don’t judge me. The major difference between this book and say, Harry Potter, is the language. Very rarely while reading good quality Young Adult books do I remember that I am not the target audience. I think that’s what makes certain Young Adult books so successful. Kids are drawn to Young Adult literature that doesn’t condescend to them, that respects their intelligence. But. (You knew it was coming, right?) The language in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children felt a little…inauthentic.

Jacob, our 16 year old narrator, is dealing with the traumatic aftermath of the loss of his grandfather. He’s a typical 16 year old; annoyed at the world, pissed off at his parents for no real reason, freaking out about the future,  and of course, dealing with some crazy out of this world  drama, all while in the midst of the hormonal insanity that is being a teenager. (Yay for authentic Young Adult Literature!) But, as much fun as Jacob’s story is – and it is pretty fun – the way he talked drove me a little batty. One minute he is calling every one “dude” and the next he sounds like a 70 year old grandmother. It’s almost like there are two Jacobs. The Jacob that talks to people in the book, and the Jacob that talks to us as narrator.

Despite the language quirks, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children ended up being a pretty darn entertaining book. Mostly because of the pictures. Let me explain. Ransom Riggs (that’s a real name!) collected old photos – the kind you see in old Civil War documentaries or find in antique stores – (the kind I always find creepy and that freak me out) and used them as inspiration for his story. The anonymous children in these old black and white photos become characters. The photography tricks become their special talents. It’s a crazy interesting concept. I can see why Hollywood is all over turning this into a movie – so many cool visuals!

I will say that reading this on a Kindle, where the image quality is not amazing, took away some of the fun. If you have a choice, get the real book, I have a feeling it’ll be better. (As always)