Book Review: Hollow City by Ransom Riggs

Title: Hollow City

Author: Ransom Riggs

Series: Miss Peregrine's #2
Publisher: Quirk Books

Publication Date: January 14, 2014

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal

Length: 396 pages

Format: hardcover

Source: Borrowed

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SYNOPSIS:

The extraordinary journey that began in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children continues as Jacob Portman and his newfound friends journey to London the peculiar capital of the world. But in this war-torn city, hideous surprises lurk around every corner. Like its predecessor, this second novel in the Peculiar Children series blends thrilling fantasy with never-before-published vintage photography to create a one-of-a-kind reacting experience.

MY THOUGHTS:
Sometimes I feel as if it is easier to write a review about a book that I don't particularly love than it is to write one about a book that I never wanted to put down. I sometimes need to stew over my thoughts for a while with books that I love. Perhaps it is different for other readers but I feel as if I wrote my review right away I would gush over it and probably include a lot more spoilers.  Hollow City was a book that I loved. Perhaps not as much as the first book and then again, a little more than the first book.  How can I love it more and less than the first? I will attempt to explain. I sometimes find that the first book in a trilogy or series is always the best, for it is our first encounter with the story and it sticks with us more than the sequels.  The first book, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, really drew me in with Jacob's encounter with 'hollows', his excursion to a remote island off the coast of Wales to find his grandfather's childhood orphanage, and his trip through Miss Peregrine's 'time loop'. We were introduced to all the peculiar children which was very exciting and seeing photos of those characters really helped build my visualization of them. I just really loved the semi-creepy, macabre feeling that the black and white photos gave to the overall story.

Hollow City was not a sequel to disappoint. I did not find it lacking or dull and instead found it to be more adventurous with much more plot than the first. I came to know the peculiar children much more than I did in the first book and was introduced to quite a few new peculiar characters. Instead of one time loop, we are introduced to several new ones and we learn more about this hidden world that the peculiars live in all while going on a treacherous trip across Great Britain to save Miss Peregrine. The photos did seem a little more forced (and possibly photo-manipulated) this time around but I'm glad they were included (especially the 'emu-raffe' because otherwise I would never have been able to picture it). At times it seemed as if the author had shaped the story around the photos and I wondered how things would have happened if he had not found a particular photo for the story. Would it have been the same?
Overall, I thought it was a great continuation of the first book and I can't wait to read the 3rd book. I just hope we don't have to wait as long for it! 


My Rating:
5 STARS