Title: Hollow City
Author: Ransom Riggs
First published January 1, 2014
399 pages, Hardcover
ISBN: 9781594746123 (ISBN10: 1594746125)
Rating: 4.06
Overview
In the second installment of the Peculiar Children series, Hollow City, Jacob Portman and his friends must embark on a journey to London, the peculiar capital of the world. The fate of their beloved headmistress, Miss Peregrine, is in their hands, and they’ll stop at nothing to find a cure.
But in a city ravaged by war, danger lurks around every corner. As they navigate through telepathy and time loops, they’ll encounter sideshows and shapeshifters, all while making an important decision about Jacob’s love for Emma Bloom.
With never-before-seen vintage photography, Hollow City will transport readers to a richly imagined world filled with adventure and suspense.
About the Author
Hello, I’m Ransom, and I have a passion for storytelling. My love for storytelling started at a young age.
Growing up, I split my time between a farm on the Eastern shore of Maryland and a small house by the beach in Englewood, Florida. In Florida, I spent my days swimming and soaking up the sun until I became half fish.
At first, I wrote stories on an old typewriter that constantly jammed and on legal pads. Then, when I received a camera for Christmas, I became enamored with photography.
As I got older, my friends and I acquired a half-broken video camera and began producing our own movies, using our bedrooms and backyards as sets. Since then, I’ve continued to write stories, take photographs, and make movies.
These three mediums have become a significant part of my life, and I’m always eager to create something new.
Editoral Review
Ransom Riggs Hollow City takes readers on a thrilling adventure through time and space in this young adult, fantasy novel. Riggs, who is known for his peculiar children series, published Hollow City in 2014, following the success of the first book in the series, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.
Set during World War II, the protagonists of the book are a group of peculiar children, each with unique abilities and characteristics, notable among them is the protagonist Jacob Portman,who has a gift for seeing invisible monsters. The children are on the run from the wicked wights, who are seeking to use their peculiar abilities for evil.
They escape to London, entering another time loop to continue their fight against the wights and to find a cure for Miss Peregrine, who has been trapped in bird form. Riggs’ writing style is descriptive, vivid, and imaginative, bringing the world of peculiars to life with rich detail.
He has woven a complex plot, full of twists and turns, keeping readers on the edge of their seat until the very end. Riggs also incorporates historic events, such as the bombings of London, highlighting the devastating impact of war on ordinary lives.
The characters are well developed, each with their unique personalities and distinctiveness, adding a layer of depth to the story. Jacob, in particular, undergoes significant character development, becoming more self-assured and confident in his abilities as the story progresses.
However, the book is not without its flaws. The pacing of the plot is slow in a few chapters, and some of the elements of the story feel underdeveloped or unresolved, leaving readers with unanswered questions.
Hollow City” reaches beyond the target audience of young adults, connecting to a broader audience that will surely appreciate the adventure and fantasy elements of the story. It also raises important questions about power and its consequences, and the importance of friendship, loyalty, and bravery.
Riggs does an excellent job of weaving these themes into the narrative, making it a thought-provoking read. Overall, Hollow City is an extraordinary work of fiction, and if you enjoyed the first book in the series, you will love the second installment.
The story is engaging, thought-provoking, and imaginative, a delightful read for anyone who yearns for adventure and enjoys exploring new worlds. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give this book a rating of 8, because it had enough intrigue and excitement to keep me hooked.
