Review: Hollow City by Ransom Riggs

Hollow City by Ransom Riggs
Author Website Amazon (UK) Amazon.com Quirk Books (ebook), 2014
400 Pages

BLURB
September 3, 1940. Ten peculiar children flee an army of deadly monsters. And only one person can help them-but she's trapped in the body of a bird. The extraordinary journey that began in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children continues as Jacob Portman and his newfound friend's journey to London, the peculiar capital of the world. There, they hope to find a cure for their beloved headmistress, Miss Peregrine. But in this war-torn city, hideous surprises lurk around every corner. And before Jacob can deliver the peculiar children to safety, he must make an important decision about his love for Emma Bloom. Like its predecessor, this second novel in the Peculiar Children series blends thrilling fantasy with vintage photography to create a one-of-a-kind reading experience.

OPENING SENTENCE
We rowed out through the harbour, past bobbing boats weeping rust from their seams, past juries of silent seabirds roosting atop the barnacled remains of sunken docks, past fishermen who lowered their nets to stare frozenly as we slipped by, uncertain whether we were real or imagined; a procession of waterborne ghosts, or ghosts soon to be.

REVIEW
Hollow City is even better than Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. I absolutely loved it. This is a much darker book than the first one and contains a lot more action and drama. Hollow City picks up where Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children finished and fairly races on. Riggs reveals a lot more about the peculiar world and I felt the characters are developed a lot more. I enjoyed the fact the child were away from their world and roaming the streets of London even when things got a little dicey. The children meet other peculiars in their search for Miss Wren who they believe will help Miss Peregrine. I loved reading about the menagerie of peculiar animals and Miss Wren's refuge inside a massive palace of ice built by a very powerful peculiar. Hollow City has even more surprises than Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and also ends on a cliff-hanger with a very surprising turn of events. I really can't wait to read Library of Souls. I enjoyed the odd photographs in Hollow City as much as I did in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. They create an odd sense that you're reading about real people and events even though you're not. Nice touch. I'd highly recommend Hollow City.