Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children: A Review by Abby Wilson https://padlet.com/itsabbywilson/8cybipebo1ir A review of the tale of Jacob Portman and his peculiar friends. en-us 2017-05-17 12:46:47 UTC 2023-01-25 06:01:55 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Clouds.png The Plot itsabbywilson https://padlet.com/itsabbywilson/8cybipebo1ir/wish/172313380 Jacob Portman and his Grandfather Abe Portman are very close. Abe would tell Jacob stories, creepy stories, and to complete every one was a mysterious black and white photo. They were stories of his younger years, where he was sent to Wales to attend a very peculiar children’s home. This was where he met all the “gifted” children in his photos.

But time goes on. As Jacob gets older, and so does Abe, his stories seem less and less plausible. Abe has also gotten a lot jumpier. He keeps a gun close whenever he’s alone in his house. One day at work, Abe calls Jacob. After a raspy monologue where he angrily hangs up in the end, Jacob decides to check up on his Grandfather. Abe had been rambling on about monsters and how he can’t find his gun. The encounter does not exactly go as planned, though.

When Jacob arrives at Abe’s- the house is a wreck. There was a serious struggle there. And like the icing on the cake, the back door was knocked over and coated in a little bit of blood. Suddenly, Abe’s stories don’t feel so distant anymore. Jacob goes through the woods to find his Grandfather on the ground, and the one and only monster from their stories standing over him. 

Thus begins a new chapter in the life of the not-so-average anymore Jacob Portman.



]]> 2017-05-17 12:48:31 UTC https://padlet.com/itsabbywilson/8cybipebo1ir/wish/172313380 itsabbywilson https://padlet.com/itsabbywilson/8cybipebo1ir/wish/172313524 2017-05-17 12:49:12 UTC https://padlet.com/itsabbywilson/8cybipebo1ir/wish/172313524 The Mysterious Photos Behind It All itsabbywilson https://padlet.com/itsabbywilson/8cybipebo1ir/wish/172313863 Many people are sure to be wondering about the mysterious photos on the cover of every copy of the entire Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children series. They are creepy, and sure to give you a chill if you look close enough. Many may not know these pictures are actually real photos that Ransom Riggs, the author, took and created a new life for. Every single photo in that book portrays a scene in his story, which he carefully thought out. The characters are also based off of these photos and what abnormalities, or peculiarities, they hold.]]> 2017-05-17 12:50:46 UTC https://padlet.com/itsabbywilson/8cybipebo1ir/wish/172313863 Alma Peregrine itsabbywilson https://padlet.com/itsabbywilson/8cybipebo1ir/wish/172313969  The character Miss Alma Peregrine was based off of a photo of a woman with a birds mask on. This makes sense as she can shape shift in a bird and her name, peregrine, is a type of one.]]> 2017-05-17 12:51:12 UTC https://padlet.com/itsabbywilson/8cybipebo1ir/wish/172313969 Five Stars itsabbywilson https://padlet.com/itsabbywilson/8cybipebo1ir/wish/172314511 Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is, and always will be, an excellent book. 

Not only does the creepiness in this book make it better, the air of mysteriousness and wonder that it holds will entice any reader who picks up the book.

The characters are well written, three dimensional, and utilize old trick photos to create an entire world right before your eyes.

The plot holds just enough suspense as to not let you put this book down until you finish it, and the many twists and turns are sure to mess with your head.

I completely recommend this book, and the other two in the trilogy if you are looking for a rainy day thriller with a hint of romance, comedy, and a ton of action.]]> 2017-05-17 12:53:41 UTC https://padlet.com/itsabbywilson/8cybipebo1ir/wish/172314511 Character Guide itsabbywilson https://padlet.com/itsabbywilson/8cybipebo1ir/wish/172315972 A complete list of the most important characters.

Jacob Portman:
The main protagonist of our story. Jacob is brave and willing to do anything for his friends. He gets frustrated when people don't listen to him, and very angry when people attempt to hurt his friends or allies. His peculiarity is the ability to connect, control, and speak with the monsters of the story. These are called hollows. He is in a complicated relationship with Emma Bloom.

Emma Bloom:
Emma has a past with Jacob's grandfather Abe when he was the same age as Jacob. She liked Abe very much and was upset when Abe left to start a family. (i.e. Jacob and his Father). Emma is fiery and strong and she refuses to wait around as other are in trouble. While she can let her temper get the best of her, Emma is also very clever. Her peculiarity is the ability to control fire- although in the movie adaption her role is sort of changed with another character.

Jack 'Caul' Bentham:
He is the main antagonist of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. Caul is cruel, cynical, clever, and cunning. He will crush others under his in order to remain at the top. He is the "ring leader" of the Hollowgasts. Although his presence is mostly unknown in the first book, Bentham is the sibling of Alma Peregrine and he pulls the strings on most hollows who attacked our protagonist throughout the story.

Alma Peregrine:
The final important character. Alma is an ymbryne. She is the mother figure for most of the peculiar children in the book. While Alma is strict, she cares deeply for anyone who comes under her care. She is strong willed and brave, and also fiercely intelligent. In later chapters, when Alma is out of the picture for a while, many of the children feel lost without their guide. She is a very important character in the development of the plot.]]> 2017-05-17 13:00:25 UTC https://padlet.com/itsabbywilson/8cybipebo1ir/wish/172315972 Peculiar Terms itsabbywilson https://padlet.com/itsabbywilson/8cybipebo1ir/wish/172319980 A list of words you will come across if you ever decide to read Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.

Peculiar:
A peculiarity is what the strange powers of our characters are called. Peculiar's were discriminated against and hunted down. Now there are a select few who live out their lives in hiding (as of the beginning of our book). Jacob Portman's peculiarity is his ability to speak to and control Hollows.

Ymbryne:
Miss Peregrine is an example of an ymbryne, or, a special female with the powers of controlling time in a specific setting and shape shifting into a bird. Ymbrynes protect peculiar children from Hollows by hiding them in loops they create. Loops are rips in time. In a small area, such as a house and the yard around it, a loop can be created over the period of a day. It basically means you have an area stuck in time without aging or the day being different from the last, except for those aware of the loop they are in. Although most ymbrynes wait for a perfect day to set their loop, Miss Peregrine was running out of time and had to save her house from being bombed by creating the loop around it. To the outside, and current, world the house is destroyed. But inside the loop it is completely functional. To access a loop, there is a door or other landmark you pass and will then enter it, but you must be peculiar to do so. The drawbacks of loops are the fact that if you stay in a loop too long, and try to step into the outside world, your age will catch up with you in a matter of minutes. Peculiars stuck in loops can only stay in their own loop or one with a similar time frame.

Hollowgasts/Hollows:
These are the villains and terror bringers in Miss Peregrine's world. Hollows have an odd backstory. Led by Jack Bentham*, many rouge peculiars began to experiment on themselves. They wanted to gain more power, the power of an ymbryne. The experiments went horribly wrong, and they were instead turned into these monsters. They are described as being much taller than an ordinary man, have three tentacles in their mouths, and are invisible unless feeding. Hollows can be controlled by Jacob Portman if he has a connection with them, and he can hear their thoughts. Unless they consume enough peculiars to become wights*, they will stay in that form forever.

*Jack Bentham is talked about in the character guide.

Wights: These are a sort of "final form" of Hollows, after they consume so many peculiar souls they can evolve. Wights can shift their features to look like any person they wish, if they've seen that person. Their only problem is their milky white eyes. Wights have no pupils and will never regain them. Wights followed Jacob Portman around, and even his therapist was impersonated by a wight in an attempt to control him without his knowing.

These are a majority of the unknown terms you will come across, reading Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.]]> 2017-05-17 13:16:21 UTC https://padlet.com/itsabbywilson/8cybipebo1ir/wish/172319980 The Ending itsabbywilson https://padlet.com/itsabbywilson/8cybipebo1ir/wish/172553462 Finally, after my reviews and explanations I will explain how this book played out. 

After Jacob's horrifying encounter with the original hollow, he is shaken up pretty badly. He mentioned the hollow once, and was pronounced crazy. The later definition is acute stress disorder. People believe the hollow was seen by Jacob to explain the death of his Grandfather in his mind's eye, and the hollow was coincidental because of the stories his Grandfather told him. 

After a while, Jacob starts to believe him. But he finds mysterious letters his Grandfather owned, and some of Abe's rants started to form together. Now Jacob is set to go to Wales to find what this children home of his Grandfather's really is.

He convinces his therapist and father that this is a sort of closure for him. If he sees the children's home, he will realize his Grandfather's stories were fake. But Jacob knows that isn't true.

So Jacob comes to Wales, and his first order of business is the children's home, the root of all of his problems. He travels out into the musk as soon as he possibly could. 

But there are some things about his Grandfather's stories that were never mentioned. Maybe the fact that it was during World War 2, and Jacob's dad is convinced all these stories are really just war stories turned into fantasies.

And as Jacob reaches the children's home, he finds it wrecked. Destroyed. In pieces. It's been like that for years. Jacob starts to feel as if, this whole big journey, really was fake. 

Movement distracts him from his distraught thoughts. Jacob finds a girl watching him, his age. He chases her out of the house and through a little cave. 

Now, Jacob doesn't know this- but this was the loop that led to Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. He had followed a girl with the mind of an old women through the loop. This girl is known as Emma Bloom. She's lived in this loop since before the end of World War 2. 

Emma isn't alone. She's with a ton of other Peculiars. Most try to befriend Jacob, but a few seem to know more than they let on. In the midst of it all, Miss Peregrine appears. 

She takes Jacob under her wing and explains everything to him. This includes his Grandfather and his mysterious past that no one seems to no about.

Abe lived with the Peculiars for a while. He had the same power as Jacob and he protected the group from any Hollow coming their way. However, he left to start a normal life and to continue his bloodline and pass on his peculiar genes. Since he left, Abe had a falling out with his strange friends. They wanted him to come back. Eventually, they lost touch.

But now the world is much worse for wear than when he left it. Peculiars are being hunted down too quick for them to do anything. Miss Peregrine is one of the last ymbrynes not captured by the Hollows. 

Jacob now has to make a choice. Will he stay and defend the world his Grandfather tried to protect him from, or will he leave it to them to sort out their own problems? Many chance encounters, fights, and a little bit of romance all entail from his choice. 

The Peculiar world has to survive, and Jacob might be the person they need to do it.]]> 2017-05-18 12:11:03 UTC https://padlet.com/itsabbywilson/8cybipebo1ir/wish/172553462