One Sentence Summary
Ransom Riggs’ Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is an exciting fantasy adventure with peculiar elements and a young hero’s ultimate quest to save his peculiar friends.
Book Genre
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is a young adult fantasy novel.
Main Topic of The Book
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children tells the story of sixteen-year-old Jacob Portman, who travels to a mysterious island off the coast of Wales to investigate the disappearance of his beloved grandfather. Along the way, he encounters peculiar children with extraordinary powers, a group of peculiar monsters, and a mysterious headmistress, Miss Peregrine.
Key Ideas
- Peculiars: Peculiars are people with special, superhuman abilities. They are able to control different elements of nature and have powers such as flight, invisibility, time manipulation, healing, and more.
- Loop: The loop is a repeating sixteen-hour window of time, which allows Jacob and his peculiar friends to stay in a state of suspended animation and never age. Each loop must be reset in order for the group to stay safe and out of the hands of the monsters.
- Monsters: The monsters are an evil force that hunts peculiars. They are hunting Jacob and his group and will stop at nothing to get them.
Main Parts of the Book and a Short Summary
- Part One: The Island: Jacob travels to the mysterious island off the coast of Wales to investigate his grandfather’s disappearance. He meets the peculiars and quickly realizes they are all in danger from the monsters. Jacob discovers that his grandfather was trying to protect the peculiars and joins forces with them in an effort to keep them safe.
- Part Two: The Loop & The Mission: Jacob and his peculiar friends use the loop to their advantage and form a mission: an attempt to outsmart the monsters and to save the peculiars from extinction.
- Part Three: Homecoming: Jacob and his peculiar friends return home, with a newfound appreciation of the power of friendship and the magic of life.
Key Takeaways
- No matter how impossible the situation may seem, with enough courage and self-belief, anything is possible.
- The power of friendship is the hero’s greatest strength.
- Everyone has a special power, whether it’s visible or not.
- No amount of power can guarantee success without hard work and determination.
Author’s Background and Qualifications
Ransom Riggs is an American author and filmmaker best known for his Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children book series. He attended Wesleyan University followed by Columbia University. In addition to his writing, Riggs has a successful career in film, having directed music videos, commercials, movies and television.
Target Audience
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is aimed at young adults and adults who enjoy fantasy and adventure novels.
Publisher and First Publication Date
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children was first published in 2011 by Quirk Books.