Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

"Does Britain still rule the world?"
"Uh... not exactly." - Page 169
Happy Monday everyone! This week I got another book that doesn't quite resemble other books. For the first difference, there are pictures in this book, even though it is a chapter book in the teen section! The pictures are littered throughout the book and relate quite nicely to the story being told.
It was recommended to me by my friends roommate so I thought I would check it out. It wasn't at all what I was expecting it to be, but all in all it wasn't so bad.

Jacob is at a loss. His grandfather, who he had idolized growing up for his incredible stories, has been murdered. Everyone is telling him that wild animals did it, but Jacob can't get the figure he saw outside of his grandfathers house out of his mind. And what of his grandfathers cryptic last words?
Finally, after not being able to ignore his curiosity any longer, Jacob and his father take a trip to the island where his grandfather grew up. When they get there Jacob finds himself no closer to finding out the truth than before.
That is, until he accidentally runs into children from the past, who lead him right back to 1940 when the bombs fell on the island. There he learns that all of the stories his grandfather had told him of strange children with odd abilities was true!
Miss Peregrine, the head mistress of the house, put the island on a continuous loop through time to protect the children from being killed by the bombs on that day. Now strange children star young forever as the day repeats itself over and over.
Jacob meets some of the children there like Emma, who can conjure fire and Millard, who is constantly invisible. There is a boy who has bees living in his stomach, a girl who is constantly floating, a girl with another mouth on the back of her head, and children stronger than the strongest man.
Jacob now has to realize who he really is, as someone who might not be all that normal himself. And the monsters that hunted his grandfather in the past are coming back for him and his new friends. But does he have what it takes to protect them?

I liked this book because it was sort of like a really old version of Xmen. Jacob's struggle to keep up with his own time and that of the loop is interesting to watch. And the history and creation of the story and what it means to be different is nice to read through.
Although, I found the story to be a little boring, despite all of the action. Maybe I just didn't really get all of the characters, or maybe it just seemed a little too short. The pictures really take down on story space.
I would give this book a 3 out of 5 star rating.
Have a nice day everyone and I will see you soon!
- K