Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children, #1)

by Ransom Riggs

[thepunktheory]

When I bought the book it was because of the picture on the cover. This photo fascinated me. Much to my surprise more pictures like this one are scattered throughout the entire book. Next to the story itself the photos give a great impression and some of then actually are pretty creepy. It helps to underline the special images the author wants to communicate. What fascinates me most about the pictures is that the all are real. Ransom Riggs put a great effort in finding the perfect ones for his book.
Let me now come to the story itself. Ransom Riggs has a way of writing that makes images flash before you. He has an awesome writing style. His ideas for the story are unique and thrilling. Whenever you think you come to a point where only a cliché can come along he finds a way to make it something extraordinary. I could hardly put the book and read it almost in one go.
I can't wait for the seconds part that will come out in January 2014 as the "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" ends with a cliffhanger and I really want to know what happens next =)

Book vs. Movie:
As usual I'll start with my thoughts on the novel. There was some really special about the book. I even remember when I saw it at a book shop and instantly picked it up because of the cover. The novel actually features tons of old photos Ransom Riggs gathered at flea markets and therefore creates a unique atmosphere. Believe me, those authentic pictures are really intense, you just can't look away.
Moreover, Ransom Riggs created a story that is purely magical. The way he describes things will give you vibrant images!
What I appreciated most is that he's really good at avoiding clichés. Stories like this are usually bound to reach a point where you've just heard it before, where it's almost impossible to come up with something truly original. Riggs manages to write a fresh story that definitely differs from everything I read before!

So, let's get to the movie. As you can probably tell by now, I was super-stoked to find out not only a film will be made, but it will be directed by Tim Burton, one of my favourite directors. I believed him to be capable of perfectly bringing the somber atmosphere of the novel right to the screen. However, I'm not quite sure how I feel about the finished film.
First of all, some severe plot changes were made. I know that usually happens with adaptations but in this case I had the feeling the studio didn't believe in the film too much. The first novel ends with a cliffhanger. The movie actually has a sweet and sugar-coated ending. To me it gave off the impression that nobody even thought a second part possible so they rather made it one self-contained movie. Now that it turned out to be quite a box-office success there will of course be a sequel.
I'm not even sure all of the plot makes sense the way they put the story. I'll have to re-watch it and give some stuff a close second thought.
Another thing I'm not to sure about is the way the peculiar kids were depicted. I am aware that they are children, but in some aspects the movie made them feel far more childish than the book. I also wished they had stuck to the photos from novel a bit more. Some of them were actually featured in the film but in general the atmosphere just wasn't there.

I'm still not sure whether I like the movie or not. However, the novel is absolutely brilliant and certainly worth checking out!