Monday, January 25, 2016

Library of Souls


Library of Souls
Author: Ransom Riggs
by: Quirk Books
released: September 22nd 2015
my rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars


Warning: This is a review for the third book in the Miss Peregrines peculiar children series, so it may contain spoilers for the first and second book!






A boy with extraordinary powers. An army of deadly monsters. An epic battle for the future of peculiardom.

The adventure that began with Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and continued in Hollow City comes to a thrilling conclusion with Library of Souls. As the story opens, sixteen-year-old Jacob discovers a powerful new ability, and soon he’s diving through history to rescue his peculiar companions from a heavily guarded fortress. Accompanying Jacob on his journey are Emma Bloom, a girl with fire at her fingertips, and Addison MacHenry, a dog with a nose for sniffing out lost children.

They’ll travel from modern-day London to the labyrinthine alleys of Devil’s Acre, the most wretched slum in all of Victorian England. It’s a place where the fate of peculiar children everywhere will be decided once and for all. Like its predecessors, Library of Souls blends thrilling fantasy with never-before-published vintage photography to create a one-of-a-kind reading experience.


"Is anything illegal here?" Addison asked
 "Library fines are stiff. Ten lashes a day, and thats just for paperbacks"

"Library of Souls" was the perfect concluding novel for this peculiar series. I absolutely loved the first two books, so my expectations for this one were high. And I got to say, they were not disappointed. I ended up laughing and almost crying, especially at the end of the book and I am more than happy how Ransom Riggs ended this adventure with the peculiar children.

Just like the second book, Library of Souls continues exactly where Hollow City left off. It took me a few pages to remember what was exactly was going on, but after that I was fine.
The story starts off in modern London, Jacob, Emma and Addison the only ones to remain uncaptured by wights. I had my problems with the idea of the peculiar children on a mission in the present, because it didn't sound as exiting as traveling through loops, but soon they they travel to Devils Acre, so that wasn't a problem.

The world building in these books is phantastic, especially Devils Acre. My favorite part about the peculiar world is, that you meet so many peculiars on the way, each with its own strange ability and very interesting story, although you don't always get to know about the latter very often.
Miss Peregrines home for peculiar children is of course made special by all the vintage photographs and so they couldn't be left out in Library of Souls. I always look forward to the photographs because they are mostly very intriguing but in this book some of them seemed almost normal, which was a little disappointing at times. I had to push myself a little to get into the story again, but eventually, I got sucked into the world and couldn't put the book down again.
There are a couple great plot twists in Library of Souls and although I thought more than once, I knew what was going to happen, I never actually did.

As for the characters, Emma is definitely my favorite. She's tough but also vulnerable and has a big heart, that you just can't help but love.
I also like Jacob, but I was a little annoyed with his doubts and inner conflict to where he belongs, that already started in Hollow City. Although I can generally understand his problem, I couldn't help but think that it sounds whiny, listening to him wondering where he belongs most. Luckily he was mostly concentrating on getting his friends back, so I only had to put up with that once or twice.
Addison is the third companion in their team. He is also a very likable character and very entertaining as well. I mean, a speaking dog with glasses? Who wouldn't want someone like that? The only problem I had with Addison,  I sometimes almost forgot he was there, when he didn't say anything for a while.
Since their peculiar friends weren't with them I really missed them, especially Bronwyn and Olive.
Every character has depth and you get to know them so well, so you really get attached to every single one of them.

I definitely recommend this book and the whole series to everyone who wants to read a peculiar book about truly unique characters.

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