Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs is a book about

Jacob Portman, a sixteen-year old boy who never really fit in, anywhere. When he
was younger is grandpa, Abe Portman, used to tell him stories about an orphanage
he used to live in where kids with special abilities could live free from the monsters
who hunted them and the people who wanted them killed because they were
different. Abe even had pictures of these children that he took when he lived there
when he was a kid. Jacob believed him for a while but like all kids stopped believing
in such magical places and people. When Jacob was sixteen years his grandfather
stared going crazy saying that the monsters were going to get him. One night Jacob
goes over to check on his grandpa when he finds him dead in a forest outside his
house. He then looks up only to see the black tentacle-armed monster his grandpa
had been talking about the whole time. No one believes that the monster killed Abe
and Jacobs parents take him to a psychiatrist named Dr. Golan who talks to him for
weeks and suggests he should go to the island where his grandfather had lived in
the orphanage. So Jacob and his father take a boat to Cairnholm Island, in Wales
where Jacob goes out exploring only to find an abandoned orphanage with pictures
just like the ones his grandpa used to show him. Jacob gets caught snooping by this
girl who is holding fire in her bare hands. She runs when he sees her but Jacob
chases her and finally catches up. Her name is Emma Bloom who is accompanied by
an invisible boy Millard Nullings and they take Jacob to a portal that takes them to
Miss Peregrines Home for peculiar children. The portal is a time loop that resets
every day to September 3, 1940, one day before the orphanage was destroyed.
Jacob is fascinated by the place where he meets the peculiars (the children with
special powers) and learns more about his grandfathers past. He finds out that
Emma was in love with Abe when they were younger and sparks begin to fly
between Jacob and Emma. Jacob also meets Miss Peregrine who is a ymbryne, a
woman who can turn into a bird and create time loops foe the peculiars to live in. He
quickly grows attached to the place and doesnt want to leave even though he
knows he has a family waiting on the other side. Miss Peregrine tells Jacob about the
wights, the tentacle creatures, who are planning to kidnap all of the ymbrynes so
they can achieve immortality. She asks him to stay so he can use his ability to help
fight the wights. Jacob is confused because he has no ability but Miss Peregrine tells
him that this is why he saw the wight when Abe died. His ability is sight, being able
to see the wights that are invisible to everyone else, even the peculiars. That night
a wight kidnaps Miss Peregrine and another ymbryne, Miss Avocet. Jacob, Emma,
Millard and Bronwyn (a girl with super strength) chase the wight to a lighthouse.
They climb to the top only to find out that the wight is Dr. Golan, Jacobs
psychiatrist. The Epic battle ends with the death of Dr. Golan and Jacob rescuing the
ymbrynes. Miss Peregrine is stuck in her bird form and Jacob decides to stay in the
past, knowing he cant return. He says goodbye to his father who thinks he is insane
and goes back in through the portal The book ends with Jacob, Emma, Millard, and
Bronwyn rowing away from the island in a boat with the ymbrynes.

Ransom Riggs uses symbolism in Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children to
help connect other events that are also happening in the story. One example is
Emmas apple that she gives to Jacob. went to grab Emmas apple, but it wasnt
on my nightstand where Id left it. A thorough search of the floor uncovered a lot of
dust bunnies and one leathery thing the size of a golf ball. I was starting to wonder
if someone had swiped it when I realized the leathery thing was the apple. (Riggs
204). The apple symbolizes the effect of the time loop. If something or someone
goes out of the loop for too long, it will start to rot and eventually die. This problem
comes up again later when Jacob wants Emma to leave the time loop but she cant
because she will die. Another example is when Jacob and Emma found the place
where the wight was slaughtering all of the sheep. The violence inside was almost
cartoonish, like the work of some mad impressionist who painted only in redOne
had tried to climb the fence and got its spindly legs caught between the slats. It
hung before me at an odd angle, clam-shelled open from throat to crotch, as if it
had been unzipped. (Riggs 301). The sheep symbolize the peculiars who are also
being hunted and killed by the wights and how they have tried to escape but some
got caught and died. The major imagery element in this book was the pictures that
Riggs found and used to put into the story. For almost every character you meet,
there is a picture of them to go along with it. The photos also help create the dark
and strange mood the author also wants the readers to feel. They really helped me
picture the characters and the events that were happening during the story. I think
there were a few different themes that this book portrayed. But I think the main
theme was finding your true identity. Jacob never really felt like he fit in with his
family or friends or anyone. Yet he always had a good relationship with his grandpa
Abe. Once his grandfather passed away everything seemed to go downhill fir Jacob.
He got depressed, lonely, and he felt like he was crazy. When he goes to the place
where his grandpa grew up and discovers the whole new world that his grandfather
had always told stories about, he feels like he is at home. I smiled back. Wed
brought none of the old photo albums with us; maybe this would be the first picture
in a brand new one. (Riggs 348). Jacob immediately gets along with all of the
peculiars and he finds out he is one himself. In the end, he chooses the orphanage
over his family and his past. He starts walking in his grandfathers footsteps and
finally finds out where he belongs.

This book really made me think about how history can repeat itself and how
bringing back history isnt always bad. It was strange to think that one day I might
have my own stack of yellowed photos to show skeptical grandchildren-and my own
fantastic stories to share. (Riggs 348). Jacob followed in Abes footsteps, like
grandfather, like grandchild. He wanted to be a part of something bigger and feel
like he truly belonged somewhere. He took all of the old stories his grandfather told
him and went out to find the magical place that he had dreamed of going to when
he was a kid. Jacob even fell in love with the same girl (kinda creepy I know) that his
Abe fell in love with decades earlier. It made me see that the past can be rough, but
we learn from it. And when it repeats itself, we still might not be ready for it but it
wont always turn out bad. There is always good to our mistakes. Miss Peregrines
Home for Peculiar Children was a twist to a supernatural novel with an adventure
tied into an interesting plot. This book used major symbolism, imagery, and theme
to carry out the story that Ransom Riggs was trying to tell. The authors choices in
vocabulary and jokes written throughout the book kept me interested in the story.
The thriller vibe the book gave off left me on the edge of my seat and made me
want to keep reading. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys action,
horror, and a bit of romance all mixed in with the supernatural element and a plot
twist to go along with it. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and cant wait to
read the next one in the series.