And I thought the FarmHands were Peculiar.

You may remember a few months back my dear friend Eric from Quirk Books sent me a teaser copy of the first few chapters of a new novel. I devoured the initial chapters in one setting & was horribly disappointed to be left hanging in literary purgatory awaiting the release of said novel. Well, guess what came in the mail this week! Go ahead, guess. Any ideas? Anyone? OK, fine. I'll tell you (spoil sports).

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Rigg





*sigh*

Something you may not know about me: I'm a sucker for old photographs. Really old photographs. The older, the better. And Miss Peregrine was a bit of a photofile (is that even a word?).


"A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very peculiar photographs."


I've seen this book labeled a children's book, but I can tell you it is not one I'd share with the FarmHands unless I was up for a week of nightmares & sleepless children. It's not a terrifying book, but I'm sure my children are not quite ready for this:



Nor am I ready to explain the phrase "some bird that gives him a total ornithology boner," to them. I'd put it firmly in the teen/young adult category. But that doesn't mean a 35 year old mom of 4 cannot get sucked in wholeheartedly.


Jacob Portman's life is suddenly split in half- Before and After. Before being the ordinary life he lived in Florida with his parents and After being his search for the truth behind his grandfather's stories. Stories full of monsters, levitating girls, invisible boys, and caretaker birds.


The photographs are real (some from the author's own collection), the story thrilling, and the characters engaging. It all meshes together beautifully in a book unlike any I've ever read before. Oh, and have I mentioned the movie rights have been sold? But trust me, don't wait for the film. Read the book.


Ransom Rigg has officially tingled my spine and made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I cannot wait to see what he comes up with next! (And his name is Ransom. How cool is that?!)