Book: Hollow City
By: Ransom Riggs
Edition Published: 2014
By: Quirk Books
Goodreads description: Ten peculiar children flee an army of deadly monsters.
And only one person can help them – but she’s trapped in the body of a bird.
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. There, they hope to find a cure for their beloved headmistress, Miss Peregrine. But in this war-torn city, hideous surprises lurk around every corner. And before Jacob can deliver the peculiar children to safety, he must make an important decision about his love for Emma Bloom.
Amazon | Wordery | Book Depository

I really am enjoying this series, but I am sorry to say I didn’t like Hollow City quite as much as Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children.

It took me a couple of chapters to get into the first book, but it took me almost half of the book to get into Hollow City.

Now, this could be due to me being too busy to really enjoy the first half, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t. For a start, even when I’m busy, I manage to make time for books I enjoy.

Really, I’d been dreaming of such adventures since I was small. Back then I believed in destiny, and believed in it absolutely, with every inch and strand of my little kid heart. I’d felt it like an itch in my chest while listening to my grandfather’s extraordinary stories. One day that will be me. What felt like an obligation now had been a promise back then – that one day I would escape my little town and live an extraordinary life, as he had done; and that one day, like Grandpa Portman, I would do something that mattered. He used to say to me: “You’re going to be a great man, Yakob. A very great man.”

But I really do love a lot of things about this book. I’ve never read a book like it, and I’m not sure I ever will. It’s a completely unique series, and extremely imaginative.

The pictures really bring this book to life. They portray perfectly the story, and I was shocked to find out that the pictures are chosen to fit the novel, rather than the other way round as it was for Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children.

I love the characters, too. And (I’ve heard a few people say this) I love Emma. In the first book, I didn’t really take a fancy to her. I think it was the simple fact that she loved Jacob’s Grandpa, and now loves Jacob. It a) creeped me out and b) I felt like she was manipulating Jacob, like she loved him because of his Grandpa, not because of who Jacob is.

I’m not sure if it’s meant to come across like that, but it did (and still slightly does) to me. Other than that, I do like Emma as a character. I also love Olive, she’s just so sweet, like a little kid who isn’t so young (which is what she is, really).

But I don’t like any of the characters more than Jacob. He is right to be the main character, and I love seeing everything from his point of view. He’s sweet, but also has some interesting inner battles. I find his character amazingly caring, but his love for Emma is the cutest thing. Because he loves Emma for who she is. And above everything, he really cares about her. And I can tell he would do anything for her.

☽☽☽☽
4 out of 5 moons

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽