Reviews - Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children (Volume 5 of 6)

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Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children (Volume 5 of 6)

3.6 stars

The plot
The Confrence of the Birds is the fifth installment in the series. In this book we follow Jacob Portman and his friends as they embark on a new mission to save the world of Peculiars from a looming threat. Jacob, in this book, is tasked to deliver a new Peculiar - Noor, to a mysterious operative that goes by the name V. It is soon revealed that this person may hold the key to an ancient prophecy that revolves around Noor.

Along the way, Jacob tries to mend his friendship with his friends and help miss P as she struggles to make peace among different Peculiar factions in America. She and other ymbrynes are invited to a meeting called the Confrence of the birds to discuss the fate of Peculiardom.

Jacob and his allies face many dangers, betrayals, and surprises, as they discover that the enemy they thought they had defeated may not be gone after all.

My thoughts
I have mixed feelings about The Conference of the Birds. While I loved revisiting the world of Peculiars and the characters that I care about, I also feel that this new trilogy was unnecessary, as It undid most of the events and outcomes of the first trilogy, which annoyed me a lot. I think a spin-off would have been a better choice or a completely different story than what we got with the same characters.

the plot felt somewhat rushed and disjointed, as the author tried to cram too many events and locations into a relatively short book. Some of the scenes and transitions were not very clear or logical, and some of the subplots and characters were not given enough attention or development.

With that being said, the book took a dark and gory turn towards the end, which I found thrilling and enjoyable. I am eager to see what happens next.

Writing
There was nothing special about the writing. I did not notice any improvement in the author’s style or skill. Ransom Riggs is a great writer, but I expected him to deliver something more impressive after four books.

Spoilery thoughts
I think the book could have focused on finding Fiona and uncovering more secrets about Abe and fighting new enemies, instead of altering everything that happened in the first trilogy. It seemed strange that none of the children and miss P bothered to look for Fiona until it was convenient for the story.

Writing: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Plot: ⭐⭐⭐
Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

ekfmef's review against another edition

3.0

adventurous dark

Yeah I really think Riggs ought to have stopped after part 3. It's entertaining but the limits of the suspense of disbelief are also becoming clear....

leilaboo's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

isabellarobinson7's review against another edition

2.5

No. NO. NOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Rating: 2.5 stars

So a bit of background (not a lot, I promise): I read the Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children trilogy (when it was still only a trilogy) back when I was still actively trying to read (exclusively) YA, and it gave me hope that I would find books I loved in that age range. I soon realised that YA was not my style, and moved on to adult books where I found more success. I say all this to make clear that when I first read Miss Peregrine's, I thought they were amazing, and while I still enjoy them now, I can acknowledge that I have since read better.

Perhaps because of this sentimentality, I really badly wanted to like this book, but, man did I not! To be fair, I didn't like A Map of Days as much as the first three either, but because we were in a new setting, I still enjoyed it enough to give it 4 stars. But the novelty appears to have worn off come The Conference of the Birds, and my enjoyment of the book with it. Yes, on a technical level, there is nothing distinctly wrong about it. There are no gaping plot holes, major plot conveniences, or gross over-usage of plot armour. It's the direction the story is taking that I am not on board with. This might sound harsh (or it does to my ears), but it seems that whenever Ransom Riggs wants us to learn about something or someone new, he just makes Jacob have a romantic interest in someone associated, and boom! now he has the excuse he needs to go on and on about it. Now it's character and relationship development, not needless info dumps. And I get that not everyone ends up with the first person they fall in love with, and Jacob's situation is... complicated to say the least, plus most people have multiple partners over their lifetime, but surely there's another way of doing this?

Much to my disappointment, I'm sitting somewhere between 2 and 3 stars for The Conference of the Birds. When I got spooked from people saying it wasn't as good as the last ones, it seems I had a right to be hesitant. Yes I'm still going to read the next book, and no I won't cancel my preorder, but and forever annoyed by the narrative choices made by this book. I can only hope The Desolations of Devil's Acre will be better experience, bird willing.

carryontam's review against another edition

5.0

I’m honestly SO amazed by the creativity and thought in this book. Seriously. Thinking back to the first book I’d have never imagined this to grow this epic, really. I’M- WOW!!
I am again, simply fascinated by Ransom Riggs writing and how the storyline continues. I’m excited to read the sixth novel!!