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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I decided to read this book because I had read the previous book of the Peculiar trilogy. I quite liked Ms. Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. Hollow City is the same cast of characters. They find themselves being chased by "Whites", peculiar things that appear as people. The book is set, for the most part, in the 1940s, and, as it is set in sort of a UK environment, the characters are also in the midst of WWII. I could not help but feel that the whites are modeled on Nazis.
I didn't like this book as well as the first, and probably won't bother to read the third in the trilogy. However, I expect that those who were "over the moon" with Ms. Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children will enjoy it.
It may be that as I am 71, I am a bit past the target audience, but I often find YA books very clever and enjoyable indeed.
I didn't like this book as well as the first, and probably won't bother to read the third in the trilogy. However, I expect that those who were "over the moon" with Ms. Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children will enjoy it.
It may be that as I am 71, I am a bit past the target audience, but I often find YA books very clever and enjoyable indeed.
I'm happy to hear more about the world but at the same time, everytime we need to do things about future and past and jumping between these, I feel like it's a bit difficult to follow after a bit. I'm sad that they went through all of this just to discover that they were healing the wrong people.
I liked this one a lot better than the first. While I find the photos interesting, they still seem mostly unnecessary. But Riggs has gotten better at writing, and this installment had me much more engaged than the original. Looking forward to the next.
Wow. Wow. Wow. I SPED through this book, it was....I cannot even.
I read a spoiler of this book before I actually started it, which somewhat ruined the big reveal of the book (and some of the suspense). I won't do the same for you, so read on.
I started out enjoying this book more than the first one; Riggs does a nice job building onto the world in interesting and unexpected ways, and the new characters and settings make the book feel fresh and less repetitive than the previous one. That being said, the actual evil plot that the villains are trying to accomplish is just convoluted enough to cross into the realm of the unbelievable, even for a fantasy lover like myself. It isn't consistent or clearly explained, meaning it is difficult for the reader to anticipate the moves of the evildoers. This leads to a lack of suspense and low reader engagement, making the case for judicious use of foreshadowing. If you couldn't possibly predict the next move of the players because you didn't have enough information about the world, it's easy to become disengaged. Anything could happen, so why try to predict it?
I'll still finish the series; it's entertaining and creative, and feels new. I may have even given this 3.5 stars for originality...if Jacob and his almost-grandmother would just stop making out every five pages.
I started out enjoying this book more than the first one; Riggs does a nice job building onto the world in interesting and unexpected ways, and the new characters and settings make the book feel fresh and less repetitive than the previous one. That being said, the actual evil plot that the villains are trying to accomplish is just convoluted enough to cross into the realm of the unbelievable, even for a fantasy lover like myself. It isn't consistent or clearly explained, meaning it is difficult for the reader to anticipate the moves of the evildoers. This leads to a lack of suspense and low reader engagement, making the case for judicious use of foreshadowing. If you couldn't possibly predict the next move of the players because you didn't have enough information about the world, it's easy to become disengaged. Anything could happen, so why try to predict it?
I'll still finish the series; it's entertaining and creative, and feels new. I may have even given this 3.5 stars for originality...if Jacob and his almost-grandmother would just stop making out every five pages.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It's been awhile since I read the first one, so maybe that's part of the problem, but this was a huge disappointment for me. The story just got more and more out there. The wights and hallows were always after them and they'd get caught and it would be impossible to get away...and then they would. Unlike the first book where the old photographs complemented the story, in this one many of the details (completely random, and unimportant I might add) were definitely added because of a picture. A lot of these details seem very random and clunky and it is easy to pick them out. You can almost guess when a picture is coming up. Example: Riggs described a random girl they met with a hole in her body (depicted on the cover) but she had little, if any role in the actual story.
Review from first book:
Overall, I think it started off very strong. Creepy, yet endearing. Different. It got a little fantastical at the end and I worry that as the series continues it will get more so and will lose what I liked about the book. But I think they are worth the read.
I loved the peculiar children. Jacob was a sullen yet likeable teenager. Everything was just creepy enough to put you on edge, yet when he walked into 1940, it was somehow believable. Like I said, a little too crazy at the end. I worry that it will end up like some other teen fiction series (like Percy Jackson and the ones by Michael Scott, the sorcerer or something like that) where every second the characters are about to die and they somehow get away. The beginning of this book did a great job of including every day things (it's one of my favorite things about HP) Even amidst turmoil there are "normal days". Some authors forget that. I hope that doesn't happen. Fingers crossed. At the very least, the first book in the series is worth the read.
I was worried about it...and I was right to be. Honestly, unless you love YA or teen fiction, stop at the first book.
So disappointing :( I wanted it to be better, but the clues were all there in the first one. I should have kept my expectations low.
Review from first book:
Overall, I think it started off very strong. Creepy, yet endearing. Different. It got a little fantastical at the end and I worry that as the series continues it will get more so and will lose what I liked about the book. But I think they are worth the read.
I loved the peculiar children. Jacob was a sullen yet likeable teenager. Everything was just creepy enough to put you on edge, yet when he walked into 1940, it was somehow believable. Like I said, a little too crazy at the end. I worry that it will end up like some other teen fiction series (like Percy Jackson and the ones by Michael Scott, the sorcerer or something like that) where every second the characters are about to die and they somehow get away. The beginning of this book did a great job of including every day things (it's one of my favorite things about HP) Even amidst turmoil there are "normal days". Some authors forget that. I hope that doesn't happen. Fingers crossed. At the very least, the first book in the series is worth the read.
I was worried about it...and I was right to be. Honestly, unless you love YA or teen fiction, stop at the first book.
Spoiler
The kids escape. The kids have a illustrated book that seems to detail some of the things in peculiarland. They find peculiar animals. They learn all but Miss Wren have been captured (and Miss Peregrine as she's with them). They hang out with gypsies. They kill a bunch of whites with bees. They get to London and follow some Peculiar pigeons that lead them to Miss Wren who has encapsulated herself in basically an ice box to stay safe. Miss Wren performs some hard core magic. Emma tells Jacob he should go back to the present. His little heart is broken. Then Miss Peregrine isn't Miss Peregrine at all, but her brother (gasp!) who she banished from the peculiar world long ago. (I mean at one point "she" murders the Peculiar pigeon once it's gotten them to the right spot, hard to believe Miss Peregrine would do that). I think something else happens but I honestly can't remember. I was just praying for the end by this point. Ends with them once again having to complete some impossible task to save the others.So disappointing :( I wanted it to be better, but the clues were all there in the first one. I should have kept my expectations low.
For the majority of this novel, Jacob and the Peculiars are on the run. So it's a series of close calls and escapes, but it all gets pretty repetitive and dull. There's a slight twist at the end, which was nice and not what I expected. But otherwise? Meh.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes