Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

This cover is SICK. I don't mean that in the I'm-trying-to-be-cool-so-any-outdated-saying-will-do kind of way. I mean that in the most honest no-really-I-want-to-high-five-the-cover-designer kind of way.

Granted, I'm always a fan of creepy. Not blood-and-guts-horror-movie kind of creepy, but slight-shivers-down-your-spine kind of creepy is my favorite.

(For the less observant kids in the class, she's hovering above the ground.


Okay, now that we're all on the same page...)

I purchased this book...In hardcover...Before the release date--not a typical tendency for me.

That's how confident I was in this book. Really, I had decided to purchase it before I even read the synopsis, but having an "elevator pitch" to justify the expense to my husband was helpful. So, when it arrived, I tore into the packaging and cracked the cover with high hopes.

There were monsters, time travel, and an island in Wales, what could go wrong?

Apparently more than I expected.

It started strong. Don't get the wrong impression about this. The first third of the book was absolute magic. The combination of vintage photography and narrative was completely compelling and fresh. It's been a while since I read a book with pictures in it, so it really brought me back to my childhood. I found myself flipping forward to the photographs as a way to shape my imagination as I read the scene; a bad habit from childhood that, apparently, I have never grown out of since I hate imagining things "incorrectly".

It wasn't until the main character's second or third visit to Miss Peregrine's school that I actually started to worry. The pacing wasn't picking up. The romance was, in turns, forced and a bit disturbing. The mythology seemed a little thin. There was a richness of storytelling that I kept searching for, that seemed to get lost in the sensationalism of the story. All Great-and-Powerful-Oz with nothing compelling to say.

The characterization of the secondary characters bothered me too. I felt as though they were nothing more than photos with captions that the author waved in my face to distract from the thin plot-line. Hear me: Jacob, the main character, was sympathetic. He was a great blend of heroic, frightened, and brash. I truly do think he was well developed. I'm just typically a sucker for secondary characters, and there wasn't one that appealed to me.

Also, I was disappointed in the obvious plot. I like this book--you guys know my rule about only spoiling books that aren't worth your time--so I won't give anything away, but a major plot twist was easily discernible at least a hundred pages before it happened. In fact, I would use the words painfully obvious.

But here's the truth: the strong points of this book were incredibly strong. The setting was fabulous. The monsters were sufficiently scary. The main character was very relatable.

I think I would have made the main character a little bit younger if I were the powers-that-be. I felt like his struggles weren't the coming-of-age tensions that come with being 16. When I think of that age-range their issues are things like sexuality, morality, and his self-worth in relationship to his friends (think Perks of Being A Wallflower). Jacob's struggles were a bit more middle-grade fantasy. Who am I in relationship with my family? who are these scary monsters chasing me? and holy crap, I didn't realize that the world is bigger than my little town! were things that he struggled with. The narrative would have been smoother for me if Jacob had just celebrated his 13th birthday instead of his 16th.

Also, I don't think it's ever appropriate to kiss a girl that's been hung up on your grandfather for decades.

Maybe that's just me and I'm weirdly prudish about things like that.

I won't go into detail, but the romance wasn't...romantic. I felt like it was a plot device instead of an exploration of two characters who didn't belong together. It was odd; the love interest was into him almost immediately, and her affection didn't waver throughout the book. I wanted her to hate him, kiss someone else, smack him, something, but she never did.

And her "peculiarity" could have been really cool but it wasn't used enough. I think she only used her power as a weapon, like, once. I'd be all over that power if it was mine. ***SPOILER she can create a fireball in between her palms. Imagine the villagers that could be terrorized! END SPOILER***

Final judgement: It's a good book just wait to purchase it until it comes out in paperback. Notice, I do think it is worth buying. I really did love like it. It really is worth the read. I just wish I could have tweaked a few things.