Review: Hollow City by Ransom Riggs

Hollow City by Ransom Riggs (Miss Peregrine's, book 2)

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Source: From publisher

Synopsis from Amazon:Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children was the surprise best seller of 2011--an unprecedented mix of YA fantasy and vintage photography that enthralled readers and critics alike. Publishers Weekly called it "an enjoyable, eccentric read, distinguished by well-developed characters, a believable Welsh setting, and some very creepy monsters." 

This second novel begins in 1940, immediately after the first book ended. Having escaped Miss Peregrine's island by the skin of their teeth, Jacob and his new friends must journey to London, the peculiar capital of the world. Along the way, they encounter new allies, a menagerie of peculiar animals, and other unexpected surprises. 
Complete with dozens of newly discovered (and thoroughly mesmerizing) vintage photographs, this new adventure will delight readers of all ages.

Reading this book is like falling down the rabbit hole- that sort of feeling that while you're lost in the world of this book ANYTHING can happen. And with talking dogs, time loops, peculiar children with special powers, and bedtime stories that come true, anything really can happen.

I love these books. Hollow Children is exciting, sweet, thrilling and mystical, and great fun as well.

It's so different from other books because you know that the strange and intriguing photographs scattered throughout the pages not only illustrate a concept in the story, but are also real genuine interesting looking old photographs that the author has collected and is generating a story around. It is a very unique and interesting way to read a book.

In Hollow Children we are off of the island of Cairnholm, and see a wider picture of the different loops and different groups. I love that there is travel involved in this book, making it different from the closed setting of the first book, and it feels like a real old-fashioned adventure. The children are on a quest, but also on the run, and could be found or captured at any time- so there is also a real feeling of menace at times running through the book.

With Miss Peregrine stuck in bird form, Wights and Hollows chasing them at every turn and the children following sparse clues and gut feeling, their adventure really is moment to moment, and feels like a dramatic race against the clock. Whether stranded at sea, captured by gypsies, losing their money, or escaping the bombs falling in wartime London, each new experience is a trial to be got through, while figuring out what to do next.

Because Jacob has gone back into the past to the setting of 1940s England, you get a real feeling of nostalgia, and it helps that Riggs writing is very atmospheric. He really brings the book to life, and at times you can almost imagine it as a screenplay. It feels very vivid and easy to picture (even without the addition of the photographs!).

The group of characters really complement each other nicely. Their personalities and unique powers all come in useful at different points in the story, so that everyone in the whole collective is as important as the other. Different skills are needed in different situations. And their banter and quirkiness makes for a very fun read as well. They really are their own little family and are both very supportive and protective of each other, but also very quick to criticise and tease in the way that all brothers and sisters do. But I really enjoyed the conversation between them.

It's a sweet book and clever and thrilling at the same time. Hollow Children is of course an absolute must-read for fans of Miss Peregrine's, and as a sequel it doesn't disappoint, but is as fun and engaging as the first book.

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You can read my 2012 Q and A with author Ransom Riggs here