There are too many fantasies released in this out-of-reality craving world ever since the released of Harry Potter, X-men, Twilight, Inuyasha, Hunter X Hunter, Garo etc. (ahem, those are my favourites) that I never thought I would be impressed by any newly released fantasies which are filled with clichés. Oh boy how wrong was I! The movie Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children was amazing that I never thought of a concept like this - time loop, Ymbryne, inherited peculiarity, never getting old in a different way and invisible monsters. I was pretty satisfied with the movie but there were some dissatisfaction from audiences who have read the original series. So out of curiosity and the fondness towards the movie, I read all three books in one shot.
Indeed the movie had twisted the characters and plot quite a bit that I understand the frustrations of the fans of Miss Peregrine book series. Anyway, the novels will always be better than the movies, so this review will be focused on the books. The background of the story is, there are different time loops scattered all over the world where each housed a group of peculiar children with a guardian called Ymbryne. This time loop is a repetition of a fixed date that people in the time loop will experience the same day over and over again so that they are safe (only peculiar can go into a time loop) and never get old no matter how time flies in reality. It started in an era when people with supernatural power were discriminated (just like what happened in X-men, there is some clichés here) so Ymbrynes, ladies who can change into bird and twist time, pick up the responsibility to protect the children from harm by creating time loops.
Even though it is just a fantasy story, I like the way the author involved real life issues such as discrimination of minorities, ethics, drugs and rebellion. Each character with different peculiarity and personality stands out pretty well, so real that you can feel their emotions. However, there is one thing that disturbs me - Jacob, the main character, fell in love with the ex-girlfriend of his grandfather who never gets old because of the time loop. It is so disturbing especially in the movie. The books did not emphasise much on the love relationship part, but it still makes me cringe. Other than that, the journey to the world of peculiarity is in tense and unlike anything that you have read before. As you read on from book to book, the circumstance gets darker and more realistic. I can't really describe how I feel about the story. I suggest that you watch the movie. And if you like it, read the novels. You might end up liking them (and hating the movie, hahaha) and get a break from Harry Potter's wizarding world. *wink*
P/S: Sorry for this belated and very short review, my laptop died for two days.