Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2011) by Ransom Riggs. The author has invented a new universe for this, his first book. In it, "peculiar" humans exist alongside normals, largely undetected. The peculiars all have talents, such as the ability to float free of the earth, or the ability to manipulate fire or, as in the case of Jacob, the book's hero, the ability to see monsters that others can't see. Jacob discovers his power only after his beloved grandfather, another peculiar, dies. His grandfather had the same power, and was a monster hunter. It seems that Jacob is destined for the same line of work, as on a visit to England he discovers a colony of peculiars living in a "loop" -- a time distortion in which the same calendar day repeats over and over. This book is aimed at the youth audience, and is really not quite up to snuff for adults. Riggs has clearly set it up to be the first in a series, and surely has hopes for Rowling-like success. I, for one, will not be reading the sequel. Grade: B