I wanted to read Hollow City as soon as I finished Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. And now, after finishing Hollow City, there’s only one thing I want to do. Immediately start Library of Souls – the third book in the series.
About The Book:
Pages: 428
Format I read it in: Paperback
Publisher: Quirk Books
Purchase Links:
Amazon UK | Amazon US
★★★★★
Synopsis:
We start where we left off, as soon as the children escape the island, they realise foes are everywhere. Everyone is out there to get them and now they need to save Miss Peregrine as well. Get prepared to join these peculiar children and go through many different loops, discovering other peculiars. And most importantly, saving the woman that has been taking care of them all throughout these whole years.
My Thoughts:
The first thing I loved about this book was the beginning. I loved the eerie theme that the books starts with. Travelling at sea and getting from one island to another is a great start to project the turbulent experience all of these children are about to experience.
“I, too, said a silent goodbye, to a place that had changed me forever – and the place that, more than any graveyard, would forever contain the memory, and the mystery, of my grandfather.”
Their adventure, albeit very dangerous, was also very thrilling to me as a reader. Witnessing the children surviving and discovering new places, new destinations and new loops was a blast. Firstly, we get to visit a loop that was only supposed to be a story they read about in a book. A myth that actually turns to be true. And not only that, but we also meet some of the most peculiar creatures with the most incredible personalities. New quest to add to my personal journal – find yourself a chicken that lays explosive eggs. Because why not.
“But you can’t feel bad every second, I wanted to tell her. Laughing doesn’t make bad things worse any more than crying makes them better. It doesn’t mean you don’t care, or that you’ve forgotten. It just means you’re human.
The children then continue their journey, encountering a few caravans with Gypsies. This part of the book was the most exciting one for me. The fear the children have melts from the hospitaling of these lovely people. And although they’re on a mission and surrounded by danger, for once they felt safe. Meeting Radi, the son of Bekhir and reading about his story was incredible. I could almost feel how he felt and could only imagine how hard making choices must be in his situation.
“In that moment I was deeply grateful to the Gypsies, and for the simple mindedness of the animal part of my brain; that a hot meal and a song and a smile from someone I cared about could be enough to distract me from all that darkness, if only for a little while.”
Hollow City was so good, I even started liking Jacob a bit, especially towards the end of the book. I am not so sure how I felt about Emma in the end, though. She was trying to make decisions that weren’t hers to make, and that really put her in my bad books. I think Library of Souls will probably cover more of this section and answer some questions for me. Also, a little tip – don’t read this series alongside the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin. There’s a big chance Emma and Melisandre to clash as the same character. Fire and age, well, what do I know. 🙂
“She thought they were weak and cowardly – that they’d taken the easy way out. I couldn’t help wondering, though, if these peculiars simply knew more than we did about what the wights did with their captives. Maybe we would choose death, too, if we knew.”
Ransom Riggs impressed me again, and I am so happy I read Hollow City. Once again, the photographs were amazing. But even more important than that, is how Ransom took these photographs, and made them into a story. All whilst making them in an order that compliments the reading perfectly. He is truly a master of his craft.
Please pick it up! To escape reality and enter a peculiar world! To meet children who are so incredibly unique. And to witness a new world, full of time-manipulation, adventure and grave danger. Pick Hollow City – to experience childhood again, for it is the most confusing, interesting and amusing part of all our lives. And also, the most peculiar.
“There was romance in the unknown, but once a place had been discovered and cataloged and mapped, it was diminished, just another dusty fact in a book, sapped of mystery. So maybe it was better to leave a few sports on the map blank. To let the world keep a little of its magic, rather than forcing it to divulge every last secret.”
About The Author:
Hi, I’m Ransom, and I like to tell stories. Sometimes I tell them with words, sometimes with pictures, often with both. I grew up on a farm on the Eastern shore of Maryland and also in a little house by the beach in Englewood, Florida where I got very tan and swam every day until I became half fish. I started writing stories when I was young, on an old typewriter that jammed and longhand on legal pads.
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