Hollow City Book Talk

Hollow City

by Ransom Riggs

Spoilers

Summary:

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.

My Thoughts:

I gave this book 5 stars. Unpopular opinion: I was not the biggest fan of the first book. I don't know what it was, maybe I wasn't that engaged, maybe I didn't relate to the main character all the much. I have no clue. This book however, was infinitely better than the first one. I loved this.

Jacob and Emma are so cute together. He's kind of awkward and unsure of himself while Emma is so hot tempered.

Speaking of Emma, I felt a lot more connected to her during this book. She shed some light on her past and the shitty way her parents had treated her. I could only imagine. It makes me sad that she may never see her sister again. In the one sentence that she mentioned her sister I really liked her.

So I got the box set of this series which came with pictures of random peculiars. I find that it's a fun game to play, when I'm reading the book and I find out about one of the peculiars in the picture I have. Like "ohhhhh, that's how they fit into the story." It kept me engaged.

I feel like I got to know more about all of the Peculiars. In the first book it was a bit hard to keep track of them all because being introduced to a whole group of characters at once is a bit much to take in. In this book I learned about who had what gift, and what their personalities were like. It was much easier to follow along with them in this book.

The plot twist at the end with Miss Peregrine's brother made me so angry. I myself have a sibling and we may disagree at times, but the thought of totally betraying my sibling for power is just such a ridiculous notion. I really hate her brother. The fire is fueled for the next book.

This book took me a while to read because it wasn't the highest on my priority list. I don't know when I will get the time to finally read the third book, but I will do that this year. I promise.

Quotes:

"Strange, I thought, how you can be living your dreams and your nightmares at the very same time." 

"Some truths are expressed best in the form of myth." 

"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." 

"Do you ever find yourself climbing into an open grave during a bombing raid..and wish you'd just stayed in bed?"