Why "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" isn't worth anyone's time

Ransom Riggs' novel Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children was kindly lent to us recently to review. I was curious; I'd seen the book floating around a lot last year when a movie based on it came out. It seemed very popular, yet ratings were mixed. People either loved it or they hated it. It's either pure magic and the "new Harry Potter" or it's an absolute disappointment and only fit to line my cat's litter box.

So I read it. And I am fairly certain that Riggs knows nothing about writing, let alone writing for kids.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the plot, it's basically X-Men as children, hiding away on a secluded island where the same day repeats indefinitely for the rest of the world. The children never grow up and are safe from the monsters hunting them. X-Men/Peter Pan.

It's like Riggs sat down with a pile of ancient photographs, thought, "Huh, I could make a book out of these," and proceeded to jot down a mediocre, predictable plot in writing of dismal quality. Sadly, Riggs' writing quality is better suited for the current state of the Middle Grade market; one tends to expect better out of Young Adult novels (though, obviously, the quality of a story should not be diminished nor "dumbed-down" just because it is targeted for a younger audience). I ended up dragging myself through the last portion of the book, as the story was persistently tedious to the final page.

The insertion of these grainy photographs was meant to add a whimsical, slightly creepy element to the story, yet the vast majority of these photographs were entirely unnecessary to the plot; many appear to be thrown in at the last minute with hasty explanation as to their presence. Whole paragraphs are added into the text to allow for the addition of these random photographs, most of which add nothing to the story, instead lending to the novel's feeling of being a patchwork of Riggs' interests.

I think there are only two tracks this story should have taken: the slightly creepy The Graveyard Book approach, or whimsical fantasy. This would have been made far easier if the characters had been much younger and if Riggs hadn't pushed for an older audience. Instead, Riggs turned Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children into a tacky Young Adult novel with a 16-year-old protagonist.

Unfortunately, the author seems wholly unaware of how to write from a 16-year-old's perspective. Jacob is a wellspring of crude humor and foul language, and as he is the narrator, his voice quickly becomes nearly unbearable. In addition, Jacob is obnoxious, flagrantly disobedient and deceitful. He has absolutely no respect for his parents (or adults in general) and frequently lies to his father about his whereabouts. Alarmingly, his deceitful comings and goings all turn out for the best! Jacob saves the day by being a pain-in-the-neck son and ward!

The character relationships, usually the highlight of a good story, are rushed, distant and unrelatable. There is little chemistry between the characters. Jacob has a terrible relationship with his parents, his supervisor, his "best friend," his psychiatrist, and pretty much everyone else in the story--except for his mysterious, often-misunderstood grandfather. Conveniently enough, most all of the children at Miss Peregrine's Home for Unpleasant Juveniles think Jacob is pretty amazing, including a pretty girl named Emma who goes from wanting to kill Jacob to snogging him in a ridiculously short amount of time.

I am aware that this book is (for some reason) rather popular. I have no idea why. While Ransom Riggs' initial idea was somewhat unique, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children was a major disappointment. This novel is far from being good literature, let alone a wholesome read for the developing mind of a child. Poor character development and poor writing, an excess of unpleasant behavior, crude humor and language from the protagonist (all of which were treated as perfectly acceptable!) as well as multiple other elements have led me to writing this review.