Like all things, I stumbled on this book in a random tangential way. I noticed an article about its impending movie recreation on a film-news website while reading about a new contract Jennette McCurdy had signed. It seemed intriguing enough to me that I went out and got it. Besides, I've had such good luck with books this year.
Now, unlike most of the books I read this year (The Hunger Games, Good Moon Rising), Miss Peregrine's is not quite an unfettered masterpiece. But it's another entry into that beautiful genre of sci-fi/action/romance like Harry Potter and The Hunger Games, and I'm very glad I read it. I can't go around expecting every book to be born of pure indelible ether, after all. A good book is still a good book, and future installments could get even better.
It's an interesting story that presents an intriguing sci-fi world, with lovable characters and a couple decent twists. In contrast to The Hunger Games (where I could have done with far less romance), the saving grace of this story was its romantic content, an adorable coupling I found fairly genuine and sweet. I hope we see much more of it in the next book(s).
Also, Miss Peregrine's tackles the concept of science fiction inter-generational (stunted growth) dating far more cleverly than does Twilight. Instead of a creepy 100 year old vampire trolling highschools for teen girls, Miss Peregrine's 88 year old Emma has the excuse of having been isolated in de facto confinement since she was first a teen. It's heavily hinted that all the children, no matter how many years they've lived, retain the mental age that coincides with their youthful appearance.
As far as the sci fi and action elements go, something feels just a smidge 'off' about it. I can't tell if beneath this story there's a richer mythology, or if the author is just making things up as he goes along. Hopefully in a few years, the succeeding books will prove that Ransom Riggs (can that really be his birth name?) had every stroke planned out in the most immaculate detail like the impeccable work of JK Rowling. I look forward to future installments.
No comments:
Post a Comment