Hollow City (Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children #2) by Ransom Riggs - Ashley's Review

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Title: Hollow City (Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children #2)
Author: Ransom Riggs
Year Published: 2014

My Hollow City Pre-ReadingMy Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children Review
My Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children Pre-Reading

Paul's Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children Review

Synopsis: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children was the surprise best seller of 2011—an unprecedented mix of YA fantasy and vintage photography that enthralled readers and critics alike. Publishers Weekly called it “an enjoyable, eccentric read, distinguished by well-developed characters, a believable Welsh setting, and some very creepy monsters.”

This second novel begins in 1940, immediately after the first book ended. Having escaped Miss Peregrine’s island by the skin of their teeth, Jacob and his new friends must journey to London, the peculiar capital of the world. Along the way, they encounter new allies, a menagerie of peculiar animals, and other unexpected surprises.

Complete with dozens of newly discovered (and thoroughly mesmerizing) vintage photographs, this new adventure will delight readers of all ages.

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Review: I have been waiting to read this book for what seems like forever, and it was 100% worth that wait! Hollow City has everything that I loved about Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, and then takes the stakes and raises them even further. The children must work together to save Miss Peregrine, and all peculiar-kind, and learn so much more about their world, their enemies, their allies, and themselves than I even thought was possible. Plus, there are just as many creepy and interesting pictures in Hollow City as there were in Miss Peregrine's, and they just fit so seamlessly in with the story! 

I really loved that this book picks up right where Miss Peregrine's left off. It kind of makes me wish I had read Miss Peregrine's again before reading this book though, since it took me a little while to remember some of the events and characters. Luckily, Jacob gives us enough information that the major events and people are easy enough to remember without making it obvious that we're being given a refresher. I think if we had been thrown into the story anywhere but the end of Miss Peregrine's, it would have been way too confusing.

Another thing that I really enjoyed was going through all of the loops with the children. It was really cool to see all the different places and time periods and even meet some of the other peculiars that lived in those loops. Some of them had really neat peculiarities, and other ones had some pretty worthless ones, but they were interesting all the same. There were quite a few new characters, but I think they really helped move the story along and I was never overwhelmed. Many of them are also pretty well developed for only being around for a few chapters, especially since everyone is always hiding something.

The wights and the hollows are just as scary as ever, and I can't even imagine how terrifying it must be for the children to find them pretty much around every corner and when they least expect them. Especially because only Jacob can see and sense the hollows. His power really grows throughout this book, and it was pretty neat to read about. He's physically the same age as the rest of the children, but he's still so much younger mentally and it definitely shows in this book. It really helps to develop his character though, and he has to make some really tough decisions that I wouldn't want anyone to have to make.

I also think that the romantic relationships in this book are done very well. It's not too fast and is not inappropriate for their ages (physically at least), and never comes in the way of saving Miss Peregrine or keeping everyone safe. Jacob and Emma have a closer friendship because of their romantic interest in each other and confide more in each other than they do in everyone else, but it never really affects their friendships with the other children, which is nice.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who has read Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, and I cannot wait for the third installment to find out what happens after that ridiculous ending. I also want to see what new found pictures Ransom Riggs will have for us next! I also recommend this series to anyone looking for something completely different with a little bit of mystery, history, time travel, creepiness, and a mixing of photographs with a written story. This series is unlike anything I've ever read, and I love every eerie minute of it! 5/5 for sure! 

--Ashley

Hollow City (Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children #2) by Ransom Riggs - Ashley's Pre-Reading

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Title: Hollow City (Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children #2)
Author: Ransom Riggs
Year Published: 2014

My Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children Review
My Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children Pre-Reading

Paul's Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children Review

Synopsis: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children was the surprise best seller of 2011—an unprecedented mix of YA fantasy and vintage photography that enthralled readers and critics alike. Publishers Weekly called it “an enjoyable, eccentric read, distinguished by well-developed characters, a believable Welsh setting, and some very creepy monsters.”

This second novel begins in 1940, immediately after the first book ended. Having escaped Miss Peregrine’s island by the skin of their teeth, Jacob and his new friends must journey to London, the peculiar capital of the world. Along the way, they encounter new allies, a menagerie of peculiar animals, and other unexpected surprises.

Complete with dozens of newly discovered (and thoroughly mesmerizing) vintage photographs, this new adventure will delight readers of all ages.

Why?: After I read Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children in 2011, I knew I had to get my hands on the sequel as soon as possible. The story was interesting and creepy, and it's only enhanced by the crazy photographs included throughout. I'm so excited to learn more about this world and the peculiar children and just everything. 

Expectations: I have super high expectations for this book since I loved the first one so much. Definitely more crazy pictures, and an even better story. I mean, it's been three years since the first book came out, I really want it to be very much worth the wait! 

Judging a book by its cover: I think this cover is excellent. I love that it keeps with the theme of the photographs and that it matches the first book. I would totally pick it up if I saw it on a shelf somewhere, since it's different from pretty much every other YA cover out there. Even though there aren't pretty, flashy colors all over it, I think it still does the story and the series justice. Especially since the first book wasn't colorful or flashy, and this one sounds just as dark. 


--Ashley

"Sometimes it's better not to look back."

I am so glad I finally gave in and bought this book.

As always, in case you missed it:

My Pre-Reading

Someone somewhere called this book "Alice in Wonderland meets Harry Potter," and that's actually a pretty accurate I think. Plus a little bit of X-Men.

SPOILERS abound! But I'll try not to give too much away.

This was definitely one of the best books I've read in a while, if not all year. Ransom Riggs did a phenomenal job combining peculiar pictures with a peculiar story without making anything seem too farfetched. I think what made it even better was the inclusion of real events and real places. He takes an old man's stories of monsters and magical places and peculiar children and constantly switches between fantasy and the reality of WWII.

Jacob, as a character, is both simple and extraordinarily complex. As a child, he takes his grandfather's story at face value and although he believes them to be mostly fairy tales, he doesn't take them to be metaphors for his grandfather's wartorn history. As he gets older, he begins to dismiss the stories and believes everything to be simply his grandfather's method of coping with all of the horrors he dealt with as a child.

Then suddenly, Jacob's world in turned upside down when his grandfather is killed. He tries to figure out his grandfather's past, but learns so much more. All of the new children, Miss Peregrine,  and all of the other characters are mysterious and peculiar, and Riggs does an excellent job of creating characters based on real, odd photos.

I am so excited for a sequel and for a possible Tim Burton movie! Definitely a 5/5 on this book! Even if it wasn't entirely original, I still loved it all the way through.

--Ashley

Also, Paul is finally off the first page ;)

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

And now, it's finally time for my November book!

Title: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Author: Ransom Riggs
Year Published: 2011

Synopsis: A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs. It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children , an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience.

As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar.

They may have been dangerous.

They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason.

And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

Why?: This book has been showing up everywhere for the past three months or something. Literally, everywhere. On every Amazon page, every book recommendation, every bookstore... I couldn't get away from it. So I finally gave in and bought it because it sounded like an interesting concept - creepy pictures mixed with a creepy story. I'm also kind of on a role with creepy books (RE: The Dream Catcher trilogy, The Gates...)

Expectations: I except to be very entertained by this book, although I expect it to be very strange at times. The pictures that are shown as previews are very peculiar, and I expect the story to be just as peculiar. I'm super excited for this book!

Judging a book by its cover: The girl on the cover really creeps me out. She's levitating, for Pete's sake. And she looks like an old girl in a little girl's body... but not like those kids that have that disease that I can't think of the name for right now. It's just a creepy picture. And yet it's unforgettable, and definitely makes me think that the book will be unforgettable. And creepy. And fantastic.


--Ashley