Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children Theme of Betrayal

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is a book that, like Gretchen Wieners' hair, is full of secrets. And with secrets always comes betrayal. These two go hand-in-hand with each other because when a secret is revealed, there is always someone who wanted to keep it hidden—otherwise it wouldn't be a secret—and that person feels betrayed. When the secrets involve weird superpowers, like they do in this book, betrayal is an even bigger deal. The last thing you need is a rock dropped on your head or bees shot at your face.

Questions About Betrayal

  1. Why does Jacob feel that his grandfather is lying to him when Jacob is a child? How does this perceived betrayal affect both Jacob and his grandfather while Jacob is growing up?
  2. Jacob's dad feels betrayed by Grandpa Abe, too. Why? And why has he still not dealt with it many years later?
  3. Why doesn't Jacob think twice about going through Emma's private belongings? Why doesn't he consider how she would feel if she found out? Why doesn't she make a bigger deal about it?
  4. Is Miss Peregrine doing the right thing by keeping Jacob's power from him? Why or why not?