“‘Find the bird. In the loop. On the other side of the old man’s grave. September third, 1940.’ I nodded but he could see that I didn’t understand. “Emerson-the letter. Tell them what happened.’” When Grandpa Portman told tales of his childhood to his grandson Jacob, they were filled with wondrous peculiar people; for instance, a levitating girl or even an invisible boy. To young Jacob, his Grandpa Portman, who fought in wars, crossed oceans by steamship, and performed in circuses was the most fascinating person he ever met. Unfortunately, a frightful family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob on an exhilarating expedition to an isolated island off the coast of Wales, located between England and Ireland. Detective Jacob was on the case to discover the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob investigated the home’s abandoned bedrooms and hallways, a bigger picture became clear that the children that lived there several ages ago were more than just peculiar. They were peculiar enough to be dangerous and they may have been quarantined on the deserted island for the right reason. And somehow—impossible as it seems—they may still be alive.press release photo

“I love that book, you totally should read it!” Cannon Falls High School English teacher, Mrs. Winget eagerly declared. “Most of it I have liked, some parts get a little weird, but I keep telling my students, ‘you should read this book!” It’s tough not to fall in love with this thrilling experience the minute you open the book because you enter an entirely new world of conundrums. With the books Hollow City and Library of Souls to finish this perplexing trilogy, the author Ransom Riggs has put in an immense effort to make every page in this book worth reading. Not only does the collection of rare photographs concealed within the pages help set the mood, they also give clues, sending chills up and down the reader’s spine. After only five years since the book was published, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children has successfully sold millions of copies and has been translated into a total of forty languages.

While being named one of the “Top 100 Young Adult Books to Read in a Lifetime” by Amazon.com is a major accomplishment, the book has also spent over two years on the highly-acclaimed New York Times Bestseller list. If you are curious to dive right into Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children click on the Barnes and Noble link below for a reading sample. Director Tim Burton brings Rigg’s novel alive on September 30, 2016 when a movie adaptation appears in theaters worldwide.