Hollow city: the second novel of Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children

Hard on the heels of Riggs' first hugely successful effort, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2011), comes this equally creepy sequel, which picks up where the first book left off. Jacob and the 10 peculiar children are now headed to war-torn London (the year is 1940), desperate to find a way to release Miss Peregrine from the spell that has trapped her in the body of a bird. But the doughty band is headed into terrible danger, for the metropolis is overrun by evil wights and their minions, the fiendish hollowgasts. Together, the villains have imprisoned all but two of the surviving ymbrines: the missing Miss Wren and the transformed Miss Peregrine. Can Jacob and friends find the former, and can she then help them? Ah, therein lies the tale. Like the first volume, this one is generously illustrated with peculiar period photographs that capture and enhance the eerie mood and mode. Fans will be pleased with this second volume and downright delighted to know that a third in the series is in the offing.--Cart, Michael Copyright 2014 Booklist

In this sequel to the bestselling Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, young Jacob Portman, having discovered his ability to sense the monstrous wights and hollowgasts that are attempting to capture or kill Peculiars, has narrowly escaped with them and their injured leader, the birdlike "ymbryne," Miss Peregrine. The children must travel cross-country and through time loops, dodging monsters all the way, to Blitz-era London where, rumor has it that the last free ymbryne, Miss Wren, is hiding. En route, they meet talking animals, helpful Romany, and other Peculiars with odd talents: "The suitcase jiggled.... Its latches popped, and very slowly, the case began to open. A pair of white eyes peeped out at the crowd, and then the case opened a little more to reveal a face-that of an adult man... who had somehow folded himself into a suitcase no larger than my torso." Riggs's use of grotesque, unsettling, and sometimes lightly retouched photographs is just as successful in this outing, and while the plot occasionally feels forced to fit the photographs, it will easily please the previous book's numerous fans. Ages 14-up. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Gr 8 Up-This harrowing tale picks up right where Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Quirk, 2011) left off: having narrowly escaped wights and hollowgasts (monsters), Jacob, Emma, and their group of peculiars (young mutants, a la the X-Men, with a dash of time travel abilities) are on the move to London to find a cure for their headmistress Miss Peregrine who has been trapped in her bird form, but time is running short. Moving through time loops, they meet a menagerie of characters who help them along the way, but danger lurks at every corner, and horrors are not far behind. Even if the teens reach London alive, will it be enough to save Miss Peregrine from an ornithological fate? This book is perfectly paced, suspenseful, and scary. It is dark and dreadful but also humorous and touching. The peculiars are intriguing, each with fascinating powers, such as invisibility or premonition. They play off of one another's strengths and weaknesses, which progresses the story and further develops the characters. And of course there is the book's main attraction: the found vernacular photography, vintage pictures that Riggs has collected from flea markets and archives. The quirky and creepy snapshots perfectly illustrate the characters and settings, reinforcing the dark atmosphere of the narrative. New readers of the series will find this novel a treat and will be able to sift through summaries of previous events to place themselves in the story. Fans of the first title will find this book a treasure. The only downside: waiting for the third installment to find out what happens to Jacob and his peculiar friends.-Billy Parrott, New York Public Library (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

In Riggs's sequel to the best-selling Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, the peculiar children have narrowly escaped the island and are on the run from evil hollowgasts who would destroy them. Poor Miss Peregrine is stuck in bird-form, and it's up to the children to save her before her condition becomes permanent. Perhaps someone in 1940s London can help. As with the first book, the strange photographs add immeasurably to the story. One wonders if these mysterious photos inspired the plot, or the plot somehow inspired the images. Riggs has created a fresh and original world in these Peregrine novels, with likable, quirky characters and a very readable style. Verdict This works best for a YA/juvenile audience, although adults may also enjoy the whimsy and the strong bonds among these amazing children.-Laurel Bliss, San Diego State Univ. Lib. (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Along with picking up the action where it left off in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2011), Riggs fills in background detail while adding both talking animals and more children with magical powers to the cast. With evil wights and murderous hollowgasts in hot pursuitand only days to save their beloved Miss Peregrine from permanently becoming a birdJacob and his nine young (in body, if not age) companions fling themselves through time loops to Blitz-torn London. The growing attachment between Jacob and kindhearted fire-conjurer Emma turns out to play a crucial role in the plot. After a brisk round of chases, captures, escapes and bombingscapped by a devastating reversalthe two end up separated from most of their allies but with a new talent that just might save "peculiardom" from its seemingly all-powerful enemies. As before, the author spins his tale in part around a crop of enigmatic vintage trick or portrait photographs, including two men (corpses?) sharing a bed with skeletons, a pipe-smoking dog and a staring girl with a huge hole through her midsection. Though less of a novelty here than in the opener, these still add distinctly creepy notes (even when the subject is supposedly comical) to a tale already well-stocked with soul eaters and tentacled monsters. Less a straightforward horrorfest than a tasty adventure for any reader with an appetite for thepeculiar. (Fantasy. 11-14)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Hard on the heels of Riggs' first hugely successful effort, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2011), comes this equally creepy sequel, which picks up where the first book left off. Jacob and the 10 peculiar children are now headed to war-torn London (the year is 1940), desperate to find a way to release Miss Peregrine from the spell that has trapped her in the body of a bird. But the doughty band is headed into terrible danger, for the metropolis is overrun by evil wights and their minions, the fiendish hollowgasts. Together, the villains have imprisoned all but two of the surviving ymbrines: the missing Miss Wren and the transformed Miss Peregrine. Can Jacob and friends find the former, and can she then help them? Ah, therein lies the tale. Like the first volume, this one is generously illustrated with peculiar period photographs that capture and enhance the eerie mood and mode. Fans will be pleased with this second volume and downright delighted to know that a third in the series is in the offing. Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.

In Riggs's sequel to the best-selling Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, the peculiar children have narrowly escaped the island and are on the run from evil hollowgasts who would destroy them. Poor Miss Peregrine is stuck in bird-form, and it's up to the children to save her before her condition becomes permanent. Perhaps someone in 1940s London can help. As with the first book, the strange photographs add immeasurably to the story. One wonders if these mysterious photos inspired the plot, or the plot somehow inspired the images. Riggs has created a fresh and original world in these Peregrine novels, with likable, quirky characters and a very readable style. Verdict This works best for a YA/juvenile audience, although adults may also enjoy the whimsy and the strong bonds among these amazing children.—Laurel Bliss, San Diego State Univ. Lib. (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

In this sequel to the bestselling Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, young Jacob Portman, having discovered his ability to sense the monstrous wights and hollowgasts that are attempting to capture or kill Peculiars, has narrowly escaped with them and their injured leader, the birdlike "ymbryne," Miss Peregrine. The children must travel cross-country and through time loops, dodging monsters all the way, to Blitz-era London where, rumor has it that the last free ymbryne, Miss Wren, is hiding. En route, they meet talking animals, helpful Romany, and other Peculiars with odd talents: "The suitcase jiggled.... Its latches popped, and very slowly, the case began to open. A pair of white eyes peeped out at the crowd, and then the case opened a little more to reveal a face—that of an adult man... who had somehow folded himself into a suitcase no larger than my torso." Riggs's use of grotesque, unsettling, and sometimes lightly retouched photographs is just as successful in this outing, and while the plot occasionally feels forced to fit the photographs, it will easily please the previous book's numerous fans. Ages 14–up. (Jan.)

In this sequel to the bestselling Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, young Jacob Portman, having discovered his ability to sense the monstrous wights and hollowgasts that are attempting to capture or kill Peculiars, has narrowly escaped with them and their injured leader, the birdlike "ymbryne," Miss Peregrine. The children must travel cross-country and through time loops, dodging monsters all the way, to Blitz-era London where, rumor has it that the last free ymbryne, Miss Wren, is hiding. En route, they meet talking animals, helpful Romany, and other Peculiars with odd talents: "The suitcase jiggled.... Its latches popped, and very slowly, the case began to open. A pair of white eyes peeped out at the crowd, and then the case opened a little more to reveal a face—that of an adult man... who had somehow folded himself into a suitcase no larger than my torso." Riggs's use of grotesque, unsettling, and sometimes lightly retouched photographs is just as successful in this outing, and while the plot occasionally feels forced to fit the photographs, it will easily please the previous book's numerous fans. Ages 14–up. (Jan.)

Gr 8 Up—This harrowing tale picks up right where Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Quirk, 2011) left off: having narrowly escaped wights and hollowgasts (monsters), Jacob, Emma, and their group of peculiars (young mutants, à la the X-Men, with a dash of time travel abilities) are on the move to London to find a cure for their headmistress Miss Peregrine who has been trapped in her bird form, but time is running short. Moving through time loops, they meet a menagerie of characters who help them along the way, but danger lurks at every corner, and horrors are not far behind. Even if the teens reach London alive, will it be enough to save Miss Peregrine from an ornithological fate? This book is perfectly paced, suspenseful, and scary. It is dark and dreadful but also humorous and touching. The peculiars are intriguing, each with fascinating powers, such as invisibility or premonition. They play off of one another's strengths and weaknesses, which progresses the story and further develops the characters. And of course there is the book's main attraction: the found vernacular photography, vintage pictures that Riggs has collected from flea markets and archives. The quirky and creepy snapshots perfectly illustrate the characters and settings, reinforcing the dark atmosphere of the narrative. New readers of the series will find this novel a treat and will be able to sift through summaries of previous events to place themselves in the story. Fans of the first title will find this book a treasure. The only downside: waiting for the third installment to find out what happens to Jacob and his peculiar friends.—Billy Parrott, New York Public Library