Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
‘Grandpa had always described the house as a bright happy place, but this is no refuge from monsters, it’s a monster itself”
The graphic novel adaptation of Ransom Riggs’ ‘Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children’ follows teen protagonist Jacob as he embarks on a private investigation to ascertain the existence of supernatural creatures, after witnessing his beloved grandfather being murdered by a grotesque monster.
Jacob isn’t sure if the monster was real, or simply the manifestation of his disturbed mind. But his grandfather always told him tales about growing up in an orphanage full of peculiar children with supernatural abilities, so the teen cannot help but wonder if he isn’t just imagining things. When he discovers a letter written to his grandfather with a traceable address, Jacob embarks on finding Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.
With some convincing, Jacob and his father set course for Cairnholm (a fictional place), a remote island in Wales, where the children’s home is located. The house unfortunately is in complete ruins, but an old trunk filled with eerie photographs and letters indicate that his grandfather’s stories about the peculiar children might be real after all. As Jacob digs more, he finds himself on an extremely dangerous adventure, finally meeting the children who should ideally be as old as his grandfather, but haven’t aged a day.
Their headmistress, Miss Peregrine, is a strict taskmaster, whose own powers include transforming into a bird and bending time. She has several rules for the peculiar children to live by to that they can continue thriving in the safe space she has created for them. And once Jacob comes crashing into their world, she expect him to follow those rules too. Because the ‘monsters’ that killed his grandfather are very real, and are coming for him and the other kids…
I’d give this graphic novel 5 on 5 stars for the artwork, it’s absolutely fantastic! While the book is dominantly black-and-white, the artist also uses color in some select pages, which heighten the excitement and add to the drama. Besides, the black-and-white panels are more in sync with the dark nature of the tale.
But, as someone who hasn’t read the original novel by Ransom Riggs, I could make out that several things did not make it in the graphic novel adaptation of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. It feels like lots of sub-chapters and character development is missing. So reading the book is almost akin to recalling a fantastical story with gaps in one’s memory.
I guess the bright side to that is that it definitely makes the reader want to check out the original source material, especially since ‘Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children’ isn’t a standalone novel. But those who have read Ransom Riggs works and merely want to revisit it, without investing too much time into reading the whole thing, this is a beautifully illustrated adaptation.
Rating for ‘Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children’: 3 on 5 stars.
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