Book Review: Hollow City

Hollow City (Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children #2) by Ransom Riggs

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Hollow City picks up where the first book left off, with the children on the run. Their ultimate goal is, London, the one place they may be able to find help for Miss Peregrine. While, under normal circumstances, the journey would be straightforward, on the run in the middle of a war means getting there won't be so easy.

The story continues in much the same vein as the first, with the same fantastical and clever revelations of peculiar ability. The found photos are found throughout, just as they were in the first book, although these are less cheerful and more eerie, depicting the death and destruction of war as much as the manifestation of peculiar abilities.

I enjoyed the continuing character development, particularly the revelation of several characters back stories. I also really enjoyed the way Riggs plays with time and time periods, from the distant fabled past to the present. Riggs' depiction of war torn Great Britain was beautifully done, subtle reminders scattered throughout the story as a whole.

In some ways I would have liked to see more. While Riggs in no way takes the war lightly, the severity of it fades a bit from view as the children face more immediate concerns and physical threats. Despite this constant tension, I did find the beginning of the book a bit slow, the sense of frantic energy too hyper-real to prevent my mind from wandering. The second half of the book, was no less suspenseful, but thankfully more evenly paced. And the ending, as expected was a surprise.

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