Miss Peregrines Peculiar Children Boxed Set (Miss Peregrines Peculiar Children #1-3) by Ransom Riggs

Miss Peregrines Peculiar Children Boxed Set (Miss Peregrines Peculiar Children #1-3) Reviews

• 
  Trish

  Book #1 finished on March 28th, 2016. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  
  I had seen the peculiar cover of this book many times but was never sure what to make of the synopsis so I was never very interested in reading it. But then I found an article talking about the upcoming movie, to be directed by Tim Burton and starring (amongst others) Judy Dench and Eva Green. I was intrigud, watched the trailer - and was a goner.
  Upon looking more closely at the story, I decided that just any edition wouldn't do so I got this boxed set that comes with a small envelope full of the vintage photographs that inspired the author to write this trilogy.
  
  The story is about a boy who's been told the most fantastic stories by his grandfather. As most of us he grows out of them eventually, however, thinking they are just that: stories. Stories made up by a man who lost his family as a small boy and who had to escape his home country to grow up as far away from World War II as possible, only to join the Army and fight in the same war until it ended. I guess we can all imagine how Jacob came to believe that the monsters his grandfather was talking about were Nazis. The problem is that his grandfather insists the monsters are real.
  When his gradnfather is tragically killed, with Jacob almost seeing the whole thing, Jacob is traumatized, sent to a therapist and it becomes clear that his family isn't really supportive. Sure, they pay for the whole thing, they also can since they are rich, but they never actually listen - to me it seemed as if they didn't want to be bothered with problems, just like they couldn't be bothered with grandpa Portman's stories. Money, however, doesn't make up for a lack of attentiveness and it broke my heart to see how Jacob had grown up, friendless and without a truly loving family.
  Since his grandfather had meant more to him than anybody else, Jacob sets out to look further into his grandfather's life to find closure.
  What he discovers then is not exactly what anyone had expected and he's sucked into an extraordinary battle.
  
  To me it was a great feat of the author to weave the horrors of Nazi Germany / World War II with the story of fantastical creatures and people with abilities. He was always balancing between a fantastical, almost magical world and the true horrors of ours (past and present).
  Mr. Briggs addresses topics such as loneliness, helplessness, mental health (and family members unable to deal with it), stigmata and the search for oneself.
  That's why it was so wonderful to see Jacob's father and his failed attempts to become "his own man" - to society he did right and his father (grandpa Portman) and his son (Jacob) were the troubled ones, but deep down it was the exact opposite.
  But then Mr. Briggs twists these topics and turns them towards another world, beyond ours and lets us wander, much like Jacob, between them. And there, in this other world, there are further issues to be addressed such as isolation, running away, being selflessly caring, friendship, love and being left behind. Truly, my heart broke for Emma into a million pieces!
  
  The writing style is compelling, fast-paced, simple yet detailed, and sucks the reader in within only a few sentences. There is no poetry in the words and yet they have a life of their own when describing the island shrouded in fog or Miss Peregrine's house for example.
  
  There are a few things different in the movie that I already know from watching the trailer and I honestly don't know why these details should have been changed, but we'll see I guess.
  I hope Tim Burton does this story justice because it deserves nothing less.
  
  Also, at the end of the book the author pays tribute to his inspiration by including a list of the pictures that are included throughout the story (he made his inspiration part of the story quite literally) and points out how wonderful it is that there are collectors that try to rescue these glimpses into another time.
  
  So much for book #1.
  
  ------------------------------------------------
  
  Book #2 finished on April 4th, 2016. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  
  Well, that was a ride!
  This time the children are away from the safety of their island, trying to find other loops, other peculiars and other ymbrynes.
  This of course gave the author the chance to address topics such as uprooting, having to make difficult choices on the go and living with the consequences, taking responsibility for others and becoming more than friends, simply by the circumstances around you (any soldier can relate I guess).
  The children are racing against time because when the Peregrine was taken (at the end of book 1), the wights did something to her that makes her unable to change back into human form and now they only have a limited amount of time before she stays in bird form forever! Moreover, it has become clear that the wights are collecting all the ymbrynes to conclude their awful plan and are doing something awful to peculiars as well.
  
  As I said in one of my status updates, I very much like how the author is able to intertwine the horrors of the Third Reich (like gruesome, supersticious experiments) with what is happening in this trilogy. That brought an even more realistic sickening feeling.
  However, what was a bit off-putting is that even animals can be / have been peculiar, right down to a talking dog (don't worry, it's not actually a spoiler)! And just when I was OK with a talking dog, we had an actual emu-raffe. That was a bit much, even for me.
  
  In general, there was of course a lot of fear and running in this volume, the children spent most of their time in England 1940 after all, but it is noteworthy how realistic the emotions were described. No matter the setting (fields or London itself), one was there every step of the way.
  I especially enjoyed London, although "enjoyed" might be the wrong term. But the description of adults and children in a city that gets constantly bombed, was very gripping.
  
  That being said, I understand why some people say that the journey could have been told in less time (many criticise that this book has even more pages than the first) but it seemed like each of the children's station had a particular tale to tell and together they formed a puzzle.
  Although some of Miss Peregrine's behaviour was peculiar (for the lack of a better word), I did not see the twist at the end coming! All the supposed limitations of the hollowgast and the wights and then they are breaking all the rules!
  Also, again, I wanted to kill Jacob's parents! Naturally, it must be awful to wake up and realize your son has left but Emma did leave a note and picture so as unrealistic as it might have seemed, the father should know that it wasn't all in Jacob's head and he isn't involved with drugs as he suggested during their phone call at the end. *rolls eyes* Their amount of not-listening and blocking out what Jacob says is astonishing, really.
  However, it was not just Jacob's parents. Emma and Jacob, too, were getting on my nerves when Emma simply decided for Jacob that it was time for him to return home and he went with it! Of course that didn't go according to plan, which was to be expected, but still. His family might be better than any the other peculiars are from, but it still is less than rosy and how do you go back to a mundane life after such events?! I guess, again that is something soldiers struggle with. Therefore, I liked the parallels to Jacob's grandfather and his life and how he could NOT simply let it go. Anyway, I'm very curious how this problem gets resolved since it was only postponed this time.
  There were also some moral questions being raised by other peculiars they encountered on the way. First Melina, then - even more so - the two sisters in London and it was heartbreaking because it really is difficult. I, myself, think that playing moralizer is a luxury. One can always criticize and whine but you never know if you would have made better choices. It's simply isn't as simple as that also because those two sisters never came in contact with the peculiar world so they have no clue what they are talking about.
  
  Thus it was fun and thrilling and I enjoyed the writing as well as the weird photographs very much.
  
  Now on to the final book!
  ------------------------------------------------
  
  Book #3 finished on April 8th, 2016. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  
  I can't believe what a journey this was!
  From the bombed London during WWII we came to present day London and quite the cliffhanger at the end of book 2. From there we entered The Devil's Acre, another and very old (and very disgusting) loop. That was extremely interesting because, again, the author managed to conjure this feeling of the reader actually being there. I, unfortunately, could smell and see every bit of that dreadful place. It was colourful and lively. Moreover, we were shown that not all peculiars were noble and good and not all of them "only" went crazy once in a while (like Miss Peregrine's children in Cairnholm when they'd raid the village to blow off some steam) but were even slavers and drug addicts! This added so much dimension to the entire society. We also finally got to know the extent of Jacob's ability. And of course, the epic conclusion of what all the wight's actions were about. Oh, and can I just say how much I love that the author called it the LIBRARY of Souls insted of cave, storage or whatever else?! That and the dialogue about the punishment for bringing a book back late was such a nice and funny easter egg for bookworms! :D
  
  This last volume was action-packed and thrilling (much more than the others), had lots of fighting but also some funny moments. And we got more than one tip of the hat to Greek mythology what with Sharon and the Library's innermost (although I'm not sure every reader will recognize that last bit since not everyone is that much into mythology).
  
  First however, I'd like to explain why I had to deduct one star. There were two or three scenes that just didn't sit right with me:
  First, when the battle was finally over, the tower had collapsed and Jake/Caul and Bentham were left in the collapsing loop, the ymbrynes became the hovering mother hens again. In general I like their nursing nature but the fact that they took over didn't seem right. They had been oblivious to the danger or denying how bad it really was; they were unprepared, some even downright weak. The children (who, as we know, aren't really children which is the twist in the entire trilogy) saved them. And all of a sudden we (them) fall back into old patterns, acting as if the peculiars really were just children who needed shapeshifting women to tell them what to do! What is worse, when this exact thing was pointed out by Enoch (as if the author anticipated criticism about it), one of the ymbrynes actually told him off like a child, telling him that even older people had elders and that basically elders always know best!!! I HATE that! I never accepted that as a reason to stay quiet when I was a child and my family tried to pull this off and I certainly won't accept it now (not in real life, not in a story)! GRRRR!
  Secondly, I think especially considering the heroic acts the peculiars pulled off, they deserve to be deciding how peculiardom should be managed from now on. They have the council or will have it again now, but the ymbrynes shouldn't just be left to take matters out of everyone else's hands.
  Oh and the fact that Olive and Claire were portrayed as little frightened children - what was up with that?! Yes, they are the youngest of them all, not just physically. But they are still about 70 years old!!! The author making them behave like frightened 5-year-olds made me angry. Also because it kind of seemed like a justification for the ymrynes behaviour.
  OK, these three actually belong together as one major point.
  Last but not least there was a moment (two actually but only this one was really bad) when I wanted to slap Jacob. It was when they were all talking about Bentham after the Library's loop had collapsed and Nim can't believe that Bentham betrayed the peculiars:
  

  "Snap out of it!" Emma said to him. "Your boss was a slimeball."
  The truth was a bit more nuanced, I thought, but making an argument for the complexity of Bentham's moral character wasn't going to make me terribly popular.

  
  HELLOOOOO????!!!! Popular?! Seriously?! This isn't a popularity contest, it would have been the right thing to do! Jacob, who even got attached to the hollowgasts, could not only not bring himself to say something at that moment but was actually thinking THIS?! That's just unacceptable. Plain and simple. This is sending the wrong message by far. It means that a person who's done something wrong (it is true that Bentham would have had to be punished) can never redeem him-/herself. That sets the wrong tone entirely. It's like the peculiars, in spite of all their own mistakes in character, think they own moral high ground and I hate it.
  Oh, and then in the end, in London of our time when they meet Jacob's parents at the police station I was very close to losing it when the author almost pulled a deus ex machina. Thankfully, he stopped himself but still. That bugged me.
  
  Not to mention (although this is part of the story and didn't mean any further reduction of stars) Jacob's decision to go home! An idiot would have known that that couldn't end well!
  Luckily, he (hopefully) learned his lesson after everything that happened with his parents and the new psychiatrist. I was actually close to forgiving Jacob's parents for all their wrongdoing so far. They ALMOST had me in their corner. Until they fell back into old roles, just wanting a "normal" son, even if that meant drugging him silly, acting as if nothing had ever happened because ignoring a problem is so much easier, taking the letters even and then - worst of all - avoiding the problem yet again (like they wanted to with grandpa Portman) by sending him off to a mental institution! I can only hope that Miss P will make them suffer for it during their "vacation" at Jacob's house!
  
  The ending was rather satisfying in a way.
  At first I was a bit alienated by that entire loop collapsed so now we won't age forward anymore thing but looking back at several scenes in books 2 and 3, it does indeed make sense (or at least it had been hinted at).
  Right now I have this satisfying feeling of having concluded the series and although I can't give it the full 5 stars, I will definitely go back to visit the peculiars some time and am happy I found this series. Moreover, there is at least one movie to look forward to (although, at the end of the story, I really am confused why they changed some MC judging by the movie trailer - if they are indeed going to adapt all three books for the big screen, this might prove to become irritating)!
  
  All in all, I want to conclude with a quote from this book: "A story is never just a story." (p.371)
  
• 
  Leah Jay

  I FREAKING LOVE THIS BOX SET IT'S JUST SO NICE TO HAVE MY FAVORITE TRILOGY TOGETHER IN PHYSICAL FORM JUST WOW IT'S GREAT
• 
  Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile

  Check out my reviews on the main versions of each book.
• 
  Morgan Thoene

  I really wished that I would have read this book before I saw the movie. I just never had the opportunity to. I really enjoyed this story, though there were major variations between it and the movie. I'm not sure which I like better. Both were fantastic in their own right, but I cannot pick. I listened to the audiobook, so I was able to speed through this book. I liked the person reading. He did a good job with all of the different voices. I'm going to do a video review on the book. I can't wait for the second one to become available on my library app.
• 
  Amy

  I enjoyed each book in the series. I've been wanting to read the book since NYCC when the 1st book came out and the author was on a delightful panel. I'm glad I waited until all three were published. The wait would've been excruciating! The stories are captivating and left me on the edge of the seat waiting for what happens next. I enjoy books that have subtle teachings of friendships, family (by blood and non-blood), courage, values as well as the wrongs of discrimination, power or addiction among others. While I read all three books, I kept thinking if the Harry Potter Series and The Book Thief got together, this would be their child's Lord of The Rings save the world adventure. I rated five stars because I know I'm gonna read them again. Any book I know I'll read again deserves five stars.
• 
  Berit Talks Books

  This book, this entire series, was NOT what I was expecting... And I mean this in a very good way!
  I absolutely loved how the author Took these pictures and then told us a story with a blending of history and magic.. I had absolutely no idea this took place during WWII, where the monsters the Nazis... Interesting?!?!
  I think all these books also touched on a lot of different subjects, being different, being left out, being left behind, been excepted, ETC. unfortunately I had to quickly read through all these books, so perhaps at some point I will reread them to really truly enjoy them, because I'm thinking by rating could even get a little higher :-)
• 
  Agatha

  The photographs depicting the children with special powers in this novel about discovering your true origins are an added treat
• 
  Dana Al-Basha | دانة الباشا

  I have hard copies of these gorgeous books back home but I couldn't wait so I bought the paperback boxed set. So gorgeous!
  
  
• 
  Jen

  I read Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children from February 26-27 and really enjoyed it! I liked Jacob and my favorites of the Peculiar Children were Emma and Millard!
  
  I didn't ever laugh or cry during my reading/listening to this book. But I imagine if I ever reread this story, tears will flow! Because there were at least a couple sad scenes!
  
  I didn't read the whole of this first book. I instead listened to the beginning, listened to parts of the middle, and then listened to the end! As this was the only book I was reading, I alternated between the audio and the paperback.
  
  I'll read book two soon! Because I need to know what adventures the Peculiar Children will get up to now that they've left their loop and if Miss Peregrine will be able to return to her human self!
• 
  ダンカン

  Its a real challenge to continuous read a trilogy. I have other books that I read along with this but this has been a journey of sorts that took me more than a month to complete it. What can I say - I enjoyed Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children even though the ending wasn't that great, Hollow City really pick up the pace pretty well and it was getting darker, and in the end, Library of Souls ends with, well... quite a satisfying ending I guess. Its a typical ending where all things come to a good end.
  
  Ransom Riggs did a good job in incorporating black and white photos along with the story. Yes, every characters written is well-thought of and given a development we can follow easily. I do tend to get lost if too many characters are introduced but in a way, it was weave in pretty well. The description of each chapter is well-written and quite atmospheric - it does bring you to a place unlike any other. But like most fantasy adventure and even for a young adult book, there is that similar distinctive end to it you know, that feeling you have come across such stories if you are a season reader. Nevertheless, it has been a while I enjoy a thorough one fantasy adventure series... let alone a trilogy that I manage to complete.
  
  Coming about of this box set - I love the hardcover editions plus the 12 photo cards that comes with it. The slipcase is hardbound and it does look good on your shelf, plus with the dust jackets that comes with it. I am happy to say this edition is worth the wait to buy since I was curious about the first book since it was release 3 years back. Glad I got this edition.
  
  
• 
  Let's Geek

  Read more:
  http://bit.ly/2NxXjCI
  
  Total Rating: 5.4/10
  
  Originality: 8/10
  Language: 5/10
  Atmosphere: 7/10
  Characters: 4/10
  World building: 5/10
  Fun: 3/10
  Predictability: 4/10
  Believable: 5/10
  Relevancy: 5/10
  Cover: 8/10
  
  Genre: Fantasy, Horror
  For You if you like: X Men,
  Similar Books / Authors: Harry Potter,
  Time It Took Me To Read: approx. 12 hours for all three
  
  
  “Because we weren’t like other people. We were peculiar.”
  “Peculiar how?”
  “Oh, all sorts of ways,” he said. “There was a girl who could fly, a boy who had bees living inside him, a brother and sister who could lift boulders over their heads.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  THE BOOK:
  Sixteen year old Jacob takes the death of his grandfather hard. He obsesses about his mysterious and brutal death, especially since he was the one who found his body, and witnessed his last words mentioning an island in England. To deal with his grandfathers death, Jacob's parents agree to take him to that island where Jacob wants to connect with the past of his grandfather, where he then meets the Miss Peregrine's peculiar children. Jacob learns that his grandfather used to be one of them - and he is now too, feeling responsible to protect and save the children, as they are in grave danger.
  
  Originality: 8/10
  The idea to use old creepy pictures to tell a story is new and executed well. However it feels a bit like the author went "I have a picture of a girl that appears to float - let's create a floating girl character". IT is clever but I need to deduct some points because it feels like the pictures dictated the story, not the author's imagination.
  
  Language: 5/10
  The language is simple, fitting to the fact that the main characters are all children (despite some being over 100 year old children, but I made my point earlier).
  
  “I had just come to accept that my life would be ordinary when extraordinary things began to happen.”
  
  
  “Sometimes you just need to go through a door.”
  
  “When someone won't let you in, eventually you stop knocking.”
  
  But even more, some of the sections sounded very forced. I got the feeling I am reading a story, rather than being part of the story. The prose felt like the author tried too hard.
  
  "So I lay alone feeling irrationally forsaken and stared into the dark, more exhausted than I had ever been and yet unable now to sleep, listening to the others shift and moan in the grip of nightmares that could not have equalled the one we would likely wake to. And eventually the dark peeled back layer by layer and with imperceptible gradations the sky feathered to a delicate pale blue."
  
  Atmosphere 8/10
  
  
  The pictures add a lot to the atmosphere, and somehow I imagined it all in black and white too. And because all those pictures were creepy, it all felt creepy: The abandoned orphanage; haunting invisible monsters called hollows; the setting of WW2.
  
  Characters: 4/10
  There are a lot of characters, especially in Miss Peregrine's Children Home, that I found after a while quite difficult to distinguish by name. Beyond that, some of the characters really pissed me off. First of all, Jacob. You are 16. Get a hold of yourself. People die, and his reaction to become deeply depressed because of his grandfather's death was unbelievable in my opinion. We all lost grandparents in our childhood, youth and early adulthood, and we all survived it. Secondly, those children really annoyed me. They act like children, despite the fact that they are around 100 years old. And somehow the 16 year old boy Jacob is the saviour. Especially creepy hereby is the relationship between Jacob and a peculiar girl, named Emma, that used to date Jacob's grandfather, and now dates him. Say what??
  
  World Building: 5/10
  Most of the story takes place on an island in Wales.
  
  Fun: 3/10
  The first of the three books was ok, but the last two books I have to admit I started to skim instead of properly read, because I was just so unbelievably bored. Lots of things that happened in the story seemed irrelevant to the read thread, but were just part of the book because the author had some images that would fit in. I was relieved once I finished reading the novels. Rarely it even happens to me that a book I am reading is so bad, that I just stop reading for a while and I cannot remember how I ever enjoyed reading. This was one of those cases. The last two books took me over a week to read, while I usually manage to read a novel a day. I had to force myself to read them. And after finishing them, I was so happy to pick up another book (I actually picked up a St Mary's short story, which I knew I would love), which reminded me how much I enjoy reading again.
  
  Predictability: 4/10
  This is one of those stories when you know the good people will win, nobody dies, and Jacob will be the hero. Very predictable, a bit boring, without any surprises whatsoever.
  
  Believable: 5/10
  As I mentioned before, there are a few very unbelievable aspects of the story that make me literally angry. Those children are around 100 years old, why are they just so very stupid and whiny? Why is Jacob, a 16 year old child, the hero? The issue is not the fact that we have peculiar children - those are more believable than the characters.
  
  And after 100 of years, those children trust this nobody who turns up one day, just because he is the grandson of another peculiar child they used to know. They trust him blindly, and the whole "you are the chosen one" just got really tiring.
  
  "I believe in you, Jacob. I haven't known you too long, but I feel I know your heart, and it's a strong true thing - a peculiar heart - and I trust you."
  *Farting noise*
  
  Relevancy: 5/10
  Not much to say here - it was average. Nothing ground breaking here. Children who are a bit different try to find their place in the world. There is the opportunity to do much more with this in today's modern times. Plus, Jacob exploring his grandfathers heritage. This could have been developed much further too, especially in today's modern society where people tend to forget where they come from or what their ancestors had to endure to get us the living standard we enjoy now.
  
  Cover: 8/10
  The cover shows one of the many images in the novel. Different enough to stand out.
  
  Total Verdict: 5.4/10
  Probably the hype made my expectations too high. It was ... meh. And as a side note, the word "peculiar" made me cringe every time I read it. Halfway through the second book I started hating that word. But the first book was definitely worth it.
  
  Read more:
  http://bit.ly/2NxXjCI
  
• 
  Ricky Gohain

  I kinda wandered into this set because of its peculiar title (pun intended). However finishing the trilogy left me wanting to read more about Jacob Portman & Emma Bloom. Ransom Riggs has combined the pics with the plot lines pretty well. Not something i would reccomend to someone without much imagination though... great set!
• 
  Suzanne

  I will review the books separately - this review is just for the box.
  
  1
  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
  2
  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
  3
  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
• 
  Keruonedz

  I loooved it :) It wasnt a book filled with grand ideas or tangled plots but it was original, fun to read and not at all slow. I had seen some other reviews before I decided to read it and they kind of scared me - they said the book was too tardy and it started well but got boring. I disagree! I recommend this book with all my heart :) On the other hand - the movie was so different! :D Sooo...if you love the book don´t watch the movie :)
  
  Fireplaces were throttled with vines that had descended from the roof and begun to spread across the floors like alien tentacles. The kitchen was a science experiment gone terribly wrong - entire shelves of jarred food had exploded from sixty seasons of freezing and thawing, splattering the wall with evil-looking stains - and fallen plaster lay so thickly over the dining room floor that for a moment I thought it had snowed indoors. At the end of a light-starved corridor I tested my weight on a rickety staircase, my boots leaving fresh tracks in layers of dust. The steps groaned as if woken from a long sleep. If anyone was upstairs, they´d been there a very long time.
  
  As we ran I found myself wishing that the fog which had plagued us at sea would return again to hide us. It occured to me that it had very likely saved us once already; without the fog those baloons would´ve spotted us hours ago, in our boats, when we´d had nowhere to run. And in that way, it was one last thing that the island had done to save its peculiar children.
  
  "How are you?" she asked.
  It was a question that would´ve required some college-level math and about an hour of discussion to answer. I felt a hudred conflicting things, the great bulk of which canceled out to equal cold and tired and not particularly interested in talking. So I sad, "Im fine, just trying to dry off," and flapped the front of my soggy sweater to demonstrate.
  
  Id never ridden a horse. I was probably the only marginally rich kid in America who hadnt. It wasnt because I didnt think horses were beautiful, majestic creature, the pinnacle of animal creation, etc., etc. - its just that I didnt believe any animal had the slightest interest in eing mounted or ridden by a human being. Beisdes, horses were very large, with rippling muscles and big, grinding teeth, and they looked at me as if they knew I was afraid and were hoping for an opportunity to kick my head in. Not to mention the lack of a seatbelt on a horse - no secondary restraint systems of any kind - and yet horses could go nearly as fast as cars but were much bouncier. So the whole endeavor just seemed inadvisable :D
  
  I wanted to put my arms around her, bt somehow it felt like I´d be intruding on a private moment, claiming it for myself when really it was hers alone...
  
  And it occured to me, standing there, just breathing with her, quiet settling around us, that those might be the three most beautiful words in the English language. We have time.
• 
  Lia S

  Now imagine that you just saw a loved one die by something that isn’t human or animal, something that you never saw before. But everyone says it was just your brain playing tricks on you. Now that's what Jacob Portman is going through after watching his grandfather die. Mystery, suspense, fantasy, and a bit of romance. If you like books with these elements then I think you will like this book and the whole series that Ransom Riggs has written of Jacob and the children at Miss Peregrine’s home for Peculiar children. The reason I picked this book is because of the fantasy and horror elements that it has. Along with the many good things about the book from friends and teachers.
  After Jacob Portman's grandfather dies in front of him by a thing that everyone says is a rabbit dog. Jacob is set on a mission to go where his grandfather lived as a boy at a children's home on a small remote island, after finding mysterious letters from the head caretaker at the children’s home and seeing more photos that his grandfather showed him while telling him stories from his time at the children's home.
  Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is a book full of mysteries and action. I would say that the world building that Ransom Riggs has come up with is wonderful and all of the characters with each one having unique stories and powers that I haven’t seen before in other books that have superpower welding characters. The twist near the end of the book I didn’t see coming at all and I love a book that can surprise me with a good twist, sometimes the story follows a trope that has just been done too many times and that you can see coming. With Ransom Riggs adding all of the photos that he and others have collected over time it makes the book even more incredible and really brings the story and characters to life. The only “bad” thing I would say about this book is how it is a bit complicated to follow who is who and who did what because of the bits of information we get through the story. So it can be a bit confusing when trying to piece it together while reading. If you like books with mysteries, supernatural elements and a bit of horror then I think you will like Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.
  This book is one of my favorite fantasy horror books that I have read this year and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. I like this book because when you first start the book you have no idea what's going on, but once you start getting further into the book you see how everything ties together. Overall this book is a good book with unique characters with many mysteries about the characters' world. When Jacob finds out what he saw the night that his grandfather died he continues on his journey.
• 
  Kat

  Good but Not WOW
  
  Most of the last book takes place in a few days and there is only one instance of sleeping and little resting. Unless the peculiar person’s ability was to stay awake for days, which it wasn’t, this is an impossible feat. Even on too little, or too little quality, sleep a person’s body will go into a narcoleptic state, unable to stay awake. Otherwise, all the “peculiar” things that happened were believable enough. My biggest problem with this series were the missed opportunities and loose ends.
  While the bad guys were given depth of character and some positive qualities, the ymbrynes were painted as perfect caregivers who had ultimate control but since they were ymbrynes never used their powers for evil or selfish motives. There was never any question whether they ymbrynes decisions were right/best, they never questioned themselves. The only person to question the ymbrynes was the crazy bad guy. It is unbelievable that that, even in a community of caregivers, that there wasn’t a bad apple or even a dissenting voice. The bad guy even points out the one sidedness and potential problems of having only ymbrynes, who are all female, in government but everything in Peculiardom goes back to normal at the end of the books.
  There are many times when peculiars make it clear they feel superior to normals, the very problem that led to the bad guys rise to power. This idea is never address or even put down, integration into the normal world not even discussed.
  The biggest loose end, and the one I couldn’t forgive, was the Hollows. As far as we know there is one trapped under a bridge and one powering a machine as a battery. Jacob was able to have a connection with these creatures, and even believes they are not without souls, but he leaves these two imprisoned. It was another time when the message I got from peculiars is that only their kind matter. A message I disagree with and I feel that in today’s world we messages of inclusion, acceptance of difference, and forgiveness of past wrongs more tan even.
  As a story it was entertaining but it had the potential to be so much more and I was disappointed that it wasn’t.
  Really did like the pictures, fabulous jumping off point and wonderful that carried through the whole series.
• 
  NIXIE

  My parents got this book (plus the 2 sequels) for me in Christmas 2016. Why? because they knew it was the BEST. And ever since I started reading it, I got so easily hooked! The characters, plot and story was so great! Full of action, adventure and mystery, this book is a must read. With every chapter, full of all the things a reader would love!
  Hollow City
  Admittedly, the second book had more action than the first book. More adventure, and fun! It was so hard to stop reading. It felt like I could read the entire book in one sitting. This is the story I have been waiting for! Where Jacob gets his full powers and they get to find more peculiars out of their loop. More adventure and thrill? Yay!
  Library of Souls
  This is where the loose ends are tied up and the questions that we’ve been itching to know the answers are already answered. I really wanted more of the trilogy. The story was so thrilling and adds more of a mythical vibe to the characters and setting. The villains are awesome (but of course they lose). The team has more allies and more knowledge of what really is happening. The story is also incredibly awesome because that Jacob already has his full potential when it comes to his powers. This makes the story so thrilling and fun.
  Comment
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  Renee ☔️

  The first of the set was my favorite of the books. I eagerly read through it and enjoyed the characters and entertaining story line of this secret world within our world and Jacob's discovery of others and himself. The second book was a fun read as well as the Peculiars search for Miss Peregrine. The first half of the third book in the set was darker as they battle in a depressing setting. The second half of the book was lighter - but I became overwhelmed by the constant changes in the story line as they traveled throughout the rooms. To me, it felt like the story was written to match the pictures and to fit as many photos in as possible. Granted, they are amazing pictures. I highly recommend the initial book. I have not seen the movie, but I hear it's good. My recommendations for the following two books correlates with how much you enjoyed the original, because you will get more of the same.
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  Teri B

  Loved, loved, loved these three books in one. Spooky, scary, exciting.
  
  There is so much to be said about each of these three books, I don't really know where to start.
  
  It's time travel. For real. And monsters do exist.
  
  Loved first and second book throughout, with the third book, I was not that sure, as some of the twists towards the end of the book were a little bit obvious, but then the story turned again and once again and tension was maintained until the end.
  
  And now you have to ponder what is going to happen in A Map of Days and what this shift from the UK to the US means.
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  Syd

  This was a cool series. It reminded me of the X-Men a little bit (not the terrible movies, just the mutants being at the Xavier school). I think Hollow City is my favorite in the series. I was not expecting all the plot twists. The Hollows and Wights were probably one of the creepiest and most interesting parts of the series. I loved the random pictures throughout the books. My only downside is that Library of Souls was a little of a let down for me. I can't quite pinpoint what exactly I didn't particularly like about it, but it felt kind of anticlimactic to me. Otherwise, I found this to be a great series.
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  Scooby2

  I loved that this set included all three books in a boxed set, it’s nice to have them in one place, along with the postcards. I enjoyed reading all three books, but they didn’t wow me. I loved how the story was told using black and white pictures, and the children having powers. I recommend this series if you are looking for something different but beware the books can be slow at times.
  
  I won this from Goodreads First Reads Giveaway.
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  Rosali

  This series was really good. It became one of my favorites. The cover from the first book drew me in and the descriptive writing and interesting characters made me sink in. This is the third book in the series which is meant to conclude Jacob's adventures with the peculiar children. He has been helping them escape Wights and Hollows all while trying to save the existence of the peculiar kind everywhere.
  
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  Audrey ☘

  So to be honest, I love this book as much as I love the movie. Sadly, though the movie missed out a lot of the happenings of the book. I am not gonna spoil. Anyway, I recommend this book to those people who wants a good read.
  Warning though: the pictures are just way to creepy LOL. So, this book is a no-no for little kids as a bedtime story.
  Anyway, no hate to Ransom Riggs. I love this and now, off to read the 2nd book: Hollow City
  
  Lots of love,
  𝓐𝓾𝓭𝓻𝓮𝔂 ☘
• 
  MaryRhonda

  Great series
  
  Very interesting and easy to read. The first book felt like a very long introduction. My favorite was Hollow City. This book things really got started. And of course the third book wraps everything up. I won't give any specifics because that would give everything away. Read the book, go on an adventure.