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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
It takes a special art to improve upon, and yet keep true to the original. Let me tell you, Ransom Riggs has it! Oh dear lord does he have it! Is it insensitive to talk about bombshells when it take place in 1940s Britain? I'll just assume so and leave you with his: HOLY HELL I DID NOT EXPECT THAT. One does not simply review Hollow City. It must be read to be understood.
This book started out a little slow, but once I got further into the book I ended up enjoying the story. In fact I will probably need to read the next one to find out what happens next.
After finishing book one, I immediately started book two out of curiosity and by the suggestion of a friend that the books only continue to get better as the series goes on. This book did not disappoint! This book covers about three days with these peculiar children, starting immediately where book one left off.
This book continued to give more insight into the world of Peculiars. However, I want more. Perhaps it is because I have a love affair with Harry Potter and the way that J.K. Rowling literally created a world that I would love to be a part of. And with the peculiars, I don't really know much of anything about them, their world, their history - then again, the brevity of the stories don't necessarily lend time for a reader to gradually be immersed into a world. HP books cover part of summer and an entire year of school at Hogwarts, making it so much easier to organically introduce the reader to the wizarding world. Also, maybe it is because there isn't much of a peculiar world, since most live(d) hidden within loops in a younger human form, hiding from hollows and normals. So I probably shouldn't try to compare the two, but Riggs has created a world within his stories that I would like to know more about and I am hoping book three can give me a little bit more of that.
And now to say something taboo about these books - I know it's the integral part of the stories, but I am not loving the vintage photos... And I even read the "interviews with the author" at the end of both books, where Riggs talks more about the importance and his love of these vintage photos. I just am a big "meh" on them.
This book, like the first, was a quick read that kept me intrigued through all the twists and tribulations of these peculiar children. Can't wait to find out what happens in book three!
This book continued to give more insight into the world of Peculiars. However, I want more. Perhaps it is because I have a love affair with Harry Potter and the way that J.K. Rowling literally created a world that I would love to be a part of. And with the peculiars, I don't really know much of anything about them, their world, their history - then again, the brevity of the stories don't necessarily lend time for a reader to gradually be immersed into a world. HP books cover part of summer and an entire year of school at Hogwarts, making it so much easier to organically introduce the reader to the wizarding world. Also, maybe it is because there isn't much of a peculiar world, since most live(d) hidden within loops in a younger human form, hiding from hollows and normals. So I probably shouldn't try to compare the two, but Riggs has created a world within his stories that I would like to know more about and I am hoping book three can give me a little bit more of that.
And now to say something taboo about these books - I know it's the integral part of the stories, but I am not loving the vintage photos... And I even read the "interviews with the author" at the end of both books, where Riggs talks more about the importance and his love of these vintage photos. I just am a big "meh" on them.
This book, like the first, was a quick read that kept me intrigued through all the twists and tribulations of these peculiar children. Can't wait to find out what happens in book three!
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Maybe it's because this time I knew what to expect so I couldn't be disappointed, but I liked this better than the first part. To be honest, it's still 3.5 rather than 4 stars but this way taken together with the first book it evens out... I really liked the last third of the book especially.
I have to say, I think I enjoyed Hollow City more than I enjoyed Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. I suppose a good deal of this is because I knew what I was getting into with Hollow City. Earlier this year when I read Miss Peregrine's I wasn't quite sure what I was in for, and when my preconceived notion didn't pan out, it (admittedly, unfairly) lost points for me. Here, I knew the lay of the land and the world about which I was reading.
On the flip side, I did have trouble getting this one started. It took about 1/4 of the book before I felt really invested in it, but shortly after that, I was off and running with it. Ransom Riggs did a nice job of keeping the pacing up, and only a few times did I feel like there was much lag in the story.
I will say that I felt some of the additions and subtractions of characters felt a little forced or out of place - almost like he thought "I don't want to write about her anymore, so I'll have to stay out of this adventure," but for all I know that's going to play an important part in Book 3. I also must admit that I'm still a little hazy on the rules regarding the Time Loops used in the story. Every so often the characters would do something with a Loop that I had previously thought wasn't allowed, but now was for some reason. Also in that vein, there were a few plot devices that I felt like were added to get the author out of a jam - not so much the characters. Some of them did eventually have a payoff (or at least an explanation) by the end of the book, but at the time it felt as though it was weak storytelling.
Despite those complaints, I zipped right through Hollow City and am actively anticipating the arrival of Book #3.
On the flip side, I did have trouble getting this one started. It took about 1/4 of the book before I felt really invested in it, but shortly after that, I was off and running with it. Ransom Riggs did a nice job of keeping the pacing up, and only a few times did I feel like there was much lag in the story.
I will say that I felt some of the additions and subtractions of characters felt a little forced or out of place - almost like he thought "I don't want to write about her anymore, so I'll have to stay out of this adventure," but for all I know that's going to play an important part in Book 3. I also must admit that I'm still a little hazy on the rules regarding the Time Loops used in the story. Every so often the characters would do something with a Loop that I had previously thought wasn't allowed, but now was for some reason. Also in that vein, there were a few plot devices that I felt like were added to get the author out of a jam - not so much the characters. Some of them did eventually have a payoff (or at least an explanation) by the end of the book, but at the time it felt as though it was weak storytelling.
Despite those complaints, I zipped right through Hollow City and am actively anticipating the arrival of Book #3.
3.5/5 stars
I don't know how I feel about this book just yet... The plot wasn't very interesting and I had a hard time staying awake during certain parts of the book but at the same time I enjoyed briefly meeting all these new peculiars and the ending, I was like whaaaaaaat?! Maybe I just have to reread it sometime in the future and see how I feel about it then.
I don't know how I feel about this book just yet... The plot wasn't very interesting and I had a hard time staying awake during certain parts of the book but at the same time I enjoyed briefly meeting all these new peculiars and the ending, I was like whaaaaaaat?! Maybe I just have to reread it sometime in the future and see how I feel about it then.
Good read. Paced well. Still some niggles in the voice consistency for me. Enjoyable. I am taken with some of the peculiar characters but I do not feel for the main male protagonist - he annoys me.
Neiti Peregrinen omituisten lasten toinen osa. Siitä on vuosia kun luin ekan osa, mutta tarpeeksi hyvin oli mielessä että saatoin suoraan alkaa lukea tätä tokaa osaa. Kirja tempaisi mukaansa ja oli hurjan jännittävää miten seikkailut tempaisivat heidät mukaansa ja vaarat vaanivat matkalla. Paljoa enempää tästä ei voi kertoa spoilaamatta tarinaa. Mutta sen sanon, että odotan että jatko-osatkin suomennetaan! Hurjan hieno maailma on näihin kirjoihin kehitetty!
While It was nice to spend time with Jacob and Emma and the other peculiar children, I did not enjoy this second book as much as the first. Perhaps the novelty has worn off for me. The new peculiars were fun to meet, but I am not sure I cared enough about any of them to read book 3.