Awards/Selection Lists:
- New York Times Bestseller List 2014
- Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction 2014
Author's Website: http://www.ransomriggs.com/
Brief Summary: Jacob and the remaining peculiar children are fighting for their lives, while being chased by deadly and evolving hollowghasts and wights. With ymbrynes being snatched, left and right, Miss Peregrine appears to be in danger of staying a bird forever, unless this rag tag group of refugees can find a safe haven and the last of ymbrynes to turn her back. With mysteries, narrow escapes, new friends and talents, regrets, betrayals, gypsies, enemies and dangers untold, Jacob and his friends discover and explore new time loops, including WWII England during The Blitz, fight beasts and bombs, trains and troops in an attempt to save peculiars and normals alike, all with only mere hours before Miss Peregrine's transformation becomes permanent and the peculiars' run the risk of turning to dust.
Personal Reaction: While even darker than the original installment of this series, Hollow City is full of intrigue and exploration, new characters and details, all leading to the deciphering of a series of mysteries vital to anticipating the fate of Riggs' characters, and even then, you'll never see the twists coming. I did find it to be a slower read than the original, which I just couldn't put down, and significantly sadder in tone, but it was compelling none the less and made me want to read Riggs's "Tales of the Peculiars" (2016) even more than the third book of this trilogy, as it "Tales of the Peculiars" (2016) featured prominently throughout Hollow City as their treasured relic from their original time loop...a book... giving clues and hints to help the peculiars survive and find what they need through myths and stories.
That being said, I still can't get enough of the photographs Riggs uses throughout the book, to help tell the story and appreciate the developing love story between Jacob and Emma, which is not sexualized but shows a unique blend of self-sacrificing maturity and the insecurity of youth in love.
That being said, I still can't get enough of the photographs Riggs uses throughout the book, to help tell the story and appreciate the developing love story between Jacob and Emma, which is not sexualized but shows a unique blend of self-sacrificing maturity and the insecurity of youth in love.
Content Evaluation: Definitely a book for 6th grade and up, the content has many starts and stops that make following difficult if you are not paying attention. Dark and melancholy in tone, this must be taken into account when suggesting to readers. It's an excellent blend of mystery, science fiction, historical fiction and even a little bit of fantasy, with a complex weave to the story. So, make sure your reader loves a challenge, a mystery, a survival story and won't get discouraged by a slow passage or two, as the ending will leave their head spinning, but all in a good way.
