I loved this novel. I think the photographs added so much to the story, and it rather reminds me of going through my grandparents' pictures and them breaking off into some story or other. I had heard other people who thought the book was creepy, but I never had that feeling (though I suspect it takes a lot to weird me out. most "scary" movies tend to be more boring or stupid in my book). The subject matter (period before The Blitz, persecution) could get to be a little intense for some readers, given that it is marketed as a young adult novel, but I thought it balanced out with the lighter moments of the book. Now I got this as a library e-book, and the pictures were about the size of the photographs of the time on my Nook Color, but I heard some people express that they had difficulty seeing them on their readers, so if you don't have a tablet or larger size reader, you might consider checking out a physical copy if you are borrowing it from the library. ( )

I liked this up until the ending - and not because the ending isn't really an ending as much as a setup for a sequel - or at least that's the impression I got. It was all the action just before the end - the obstacles, I mean. I know that conflict drives plot and all that, but it just got to be a little too much for my taste near the end. As soon as the kids would tackle one obstacle, another would immediately rear its ugly head - and too many times in quick succession. It was like listening to a child who has been told to go to bed come up with never-ending excuse after excuse about why he needs to be up..."Read me a story...I forgot to brush my teeth...I need a drink...I have to go to the bathroom...I need to get a night light...I need to ask you something...I'm hungry..." It started to get on my nerves. The rest of the book was interesting and I enjoyed reading it. The last bit of it irritated me, though. Enough to take off two stars. ( )

If you have seen the movie, please do not let it dissuade you from reading the books! The movies is really nothing in comparison, even though it is by Tim Burton. Very sad!

Just as in our world, the world written of by Ransom Riggs, has Peculiar Children. Children with Herculean strength, children who can conjure balls of fire between their hand, children who defy gravity. In our world, these children are tricksters, pranksters- children you would see at a side-show at the circus. But not in the world Ransom Riggs has imagined and ultimately shared with us. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children tells us the fantastical story of a group of these children, under the tutelage of Miss Peregrine. They live in a time loop that goes between modern day and September 3, 1940, just prior to when their peaceful home was bombed in a Nazi air raid. Or did it? That is where the time loop comes in. By being Peculiar, they were saved, but by being Peculiar, they were also trapped into a loop. Not a bad or too horrible of a loop, but a loop none-the-less.

I'm actually afraid of giving away too many spoilers in writing this, but I don't want you to think this is merely a story about a bunch of Peculiar children living a strange life, moving from present day to 1940 and back again. You see, they also live in peril of evil creatures trying to learn the secrets of creating loops so they (the evil creatures) can attain immortality. This puts the Peculiar community in danger, as Peculiar children have been killed and devoured, and the leaders of these children (known as a ymbryne, a very special individual who can transform into a bird and manipulate time) have been kidnapped so the evil can force them into doing what they want.

A big problem is that it is very rare for someone to be able to see these evil creatures because of their powers of perception on almost everyone. This is where our male protagonist comes in, Jacob. He is a Peculiar child but does not know it until he and his father make a pilgrimage to a Welsh island to see the place his Grandfather stayed as a young Polish boy, a young Polish Jewish boy, who had escaped the Nazi's. He had told Jacob (and his father when he was young) "outlandish" tales of the Island, the Children and his life pursuing monsters. It all turned out to be true.

The story of this first book in this 6-book series, tells of how Jacob finds out about his abilities, his relationship with the other Peculiar children, the pivotal role of Miss Peregrine, and how and why he decides to stay with them to search for and defeat the evil creatures.

Any love for the fantastical? Read this book. Besides words, there are wonderful photographs that so many of the characters and places are derived from. I will quote from the Afterwords about the photos: "All the pictures in this book are authentic, vintage found photographs, and with the exception of a few that have undergone minimal post processing, they are unaltered." There is more said but it is an entire page so if you want to read more, pick up the book and look through it, then go to the back and read about the photos.

Anyway. Read this book. It is a new fantastical adventure. ( )

I was completely creeped out by the photographs but I enjoyed the story of the peculiar children and want to read more about their adventures in time. ( )

This book was a lot of fun to read. I haven't read an engaging page-turner like this in a while. It's just the kind of fantasy novel I like and the first person perspective really kept me involved in the story. The author's descriptions of settings, people, and the old photographs made it easy to visualize his world. I'm already diving into the second book. ( )