What is the author's style in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs?

There is a lot of complexity and a lot of variety in the book's use of language, some of which is effective and appropriate and some of which is not. In the latter category, there is its expanse of vocabulary which, to some readers, might seem unlikely for a first person sixteen year old narrator who, in all likelihood, would not be all that interested in school. How many contemporary sixteen year olds would use words like "regale," "encroach," "viscid," "scabrous," or "indigent"? Jacob does indicate, in his narration, that he sees himself as a loner and as something of a geek, but whether that includes expansive, vocabulary-building reading is not clear.