Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

The next day, the weather is terrible, but Jacob insists on going out, implying that he’s meeting some kids who live on the other side of the island. Jacob’s dad insists he wants to meet these kids, pretending to be the “sensible, no-nonsense dad” he wants to be. Jacob says they’re meeting up on the other side, so they can be introduced another time. Before Jacob goes, his dad gives him a final warning to be back by dinner.

Jacob races to the bog and emerges from the cairn into the beautiful September 3rd day, where he finds Emma waiting for him. She says that the kids have a surprise for him, pulling him back down the path. Jacob grows excited, knowing the day is full of possibility. When they reach the house, Jacob sees that the kids have put up a small wooden stage with a curtain and are warming up and getting dressed for a show.

Millard calls all the children to their places, and some children form an audience alongside Jacob. Millard explains that they are putting on a performance of “accomplished magicianship.” For the first trick, he’ll make Miss Peregrine appear. From behind a curtain, he pulls out a sheet and a peregrine falcon. He holds the sheet in front and counts down from three, after which Miss Peregrine’s head pops up from behind the sheet, though she appears to be naked after transforming. She wraps the sheet around herself for modesty as the children applaud.

Miss Peregrine greets Jacob and explains that this is a performance they used to tour before the bombing. The show continues: Millard takes off his clothes and juggles. Olive performs a levitating gymnastics routine. Emma swallows fire and blows it out of her mouth without burning herself. Jacob claps and claps, astounded. Emma explains that when they performed, no one ever suspected anything unusual—it was the best way for them to make a living. 

Next, a girl named Bronwyn drags a large boulder out from behind the curtain. Emma explains that Bronwyn might not be the smartest, but she is extremely loyal. Bending down, Bronwyn lifts the rock above her head, and the kids applaud and shout even though they must have seen her do it a thousand times. Next is Fiona, a wild-looking girl who takes the stage behind a planter of dirt. As an orchestra plays, Fiona causes daisies to bloom under her fingertips. Then Hugh joins her onstage and lets his bees pollinate the flowers Fiona grew. Emma explains that sometimes they’ll play a game where they grab hold of a sapling and see how high Fiona can get it to grow while they’re riding it. Jacob realizes that the kids must be bored a lot.

After a few more acts, the children disperse to various outdoor activities, and Jacob wanders around in “dreamy amazement.” After a delicious lunch, Emma convinces a few kids to go swimming. They have to walk straight through town, and a formally dressed boy named Horace gives Jacob clothes to better blend in. Jacob asks what makes Horace peculiar, and Emma explains that he has prophetic nightmares.

Walking through the town, Jacob realizes that it’s as if someone hit “reset” on it: the exact same things are happening as the day before. Millard explains that he is in the midst of compiling a complete account of the day—every action, conversation, and sound made. He explains that in 27 years he’s already observed half of the animals and most of the humans. Emma laughs, saying it’ll be the most boring thing ever written. To prove that it isn’t boring, Millard points out things just before they happen, which impresses Jacob.

The kids reach the docks and jump into the water together, racing each other before lounging on the beach. The others ask Jacob a million questions about the world he comes from. The technology and standard of living amaze them the most: the planes, the TVs, the cell phones, the air conditioners. It’s almost sunset by the time they start back for the town. Emma stays close to Jacob, and when she stops to pick an apple from the tree and can’t reach it, he lifts her up to help; when she returns to the ground, she gives him a kiss on the cheek and the apple. Jacob is surprised as Emma runs to catch up with the others, but he likes whatever’s happening between them.

When the kids come to the bog, Jacob has to go home, and he invites Emma to come to the other side with him for a minute. She says that Miss Peregrine will be expecting her, so Jacob asks her to come over to his time for a bit. Emma says that it’s a bad idea, even though she wants to. Jacob asks once more for her to spend one minute on the other side, so he can take a picture—his phone doesn’t work in 1940. She agrees, and he takes her photo with his phone on the other side. Afterwards, she tells him she’ll see him the next day and ducks into the cairn.

Jacob returns to town to find his dad looking frantically for him. He explains that some sheep were killed, and the farmers think it was kids who did it—they want to know where he’s been all day. Inside the pub, very angry sheep farmers are questioning Worm. Jacob says he’s been alone in the old house on the other side of the island. Jacob’s dad questions him about the friends he was seeing there, and Jacob realizes his only solution is to say that the friends he talked about were imaginary. Though Jacob’s dad is worried about this admission, the farmers buy it.

Jacob’s dad asks how many sheep were killed, and the men explain there were five—killed in their pen. His dad concludes that whoever did it would have been covered in blood, and that it was likely a pack of foxes. The farmers don’t believe it, saying the cuts are too clean. They walk over to the pen, where the sheep are lying sliced open and bloodied. Seeing the violence, Worm gags and cries, which the farmers take as an admission of guilt and call the police on the mainland.

Jacob and his dad walk away, and Jacob apologizes for lying. He says that there aren’t any other kids on the island, but also that he doesn’t have imaginary friends—he just wanted to get the farmers off his back. Jacob’s dad asks if they need to call Dr. Golan, but Jacob assures his dad that he’s fine. Jacob’s dad then wonders how Jacob got such a bad sunburn on such an overcast day. Jacob shrugs this off, and they turn in for the night. Before falling asleep, all Jacob can think about is Emma—even looking intently at all the photos he took of her to make sure that she’s real.