A girl as light as air. An invisible boy. A necromancer. A boy with a hive of bees living in his goddamn stomach. These are just some of the crazy kids found in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, the debut novel from American author Ransom Riggs. An immediate New York Times best-seller upon publication in 2011, this is the latest YA fantasy-thriller to get the big-screen treatment, coming to cinemas in September courtesy of Tim Burton himself, the guy who brought us Beetlejuice, the good Batman movies, Edward Scissor Hands, and about 50 billion other movies starring Johnny Depp in crazy wigs.
Following a family tragedy, 16-year-old Jacob Portman travels to a mysterious island off the coast of Wales in search of the abandoned orphanage his grandfather once called home. He finds it, it's creepy, but all is not what it seems. Jacob meets Emma, a fire-starter who takes him through a nifty little “time loop” back to 1940, where Miss Peregrine and her peculiar children are still very much alive – and very much in danger. Somebody, something, is hunting them down, and Jacob may just be the only person who can save them. Spoiler alert: they’re all dead from the beginning. I’m joking. OR AM I? (I am)
There’s time-travel. There are monsters. There are kids with messed-up abilities. Perhaps the coolest element though? Riggs weaves a fantastic collection of (kinda disturbing) old photographs throughout the story, some of which inspired the characters themselves, to create an unforgettable read. And don’t worry, Johnny Depp isn’t starring in the film adaptation, but Eva Green is, so two thumbs up from this guy already. Oh, and it’s the first in a trilogy. Of course. Happy reading!
- Jeremy