Library of Souls (Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children #3)

Well this volume was a truly satisfying conclusion to the Peculiar trilogy, if a sad send off. I want more of this world, dang it! LOL It ties up all plot threads, adds more to the mythology of the Peculiar world, gives explanations where needed, and gives us a rousing, nail-biting conclusion that had me on the edge of my seat.

My particular favorite of this book was how much it built of the Peculiar world and its various peculiarities. The bit with the souls, how theyre stolen, and their ultimate uses especially made me shiver. They actually physically disturbed me. Seeing how this aspect of Peculiar life impacts everything else was eye opening. It determines how Peculiars live and survive now, what their various ultimate fates could be, and how they eventually die.

I also loved all the depth we get to Peculiar history and folklore. We learn all the answers for how Hollows came about and get to see into the stronghold of them and the Wights. The actual body that is the title of the book, the Library of Souls, was a very intriguing idea. What could really be called a religion for Peculiars gave the overall story such body and depth. It adds a mystical element to the story and world that I loved.

The characters were just as vibrant and real to me as in previous volumes. I loved exploring all our established characters. Getting an eye into Jacobs powers as they grew and expanded was especially interesting. His powers play a pivotal role in the books ending but not in a way that one would expect. I was very pleasantly surprised. I also loved getting to explore Emmas and Almas pasts more as well.

I also enjoyed meeting some new faces who would play big roles in the overall story. Bentham and his gray view of the world kept me intrigued; I loved exploring the Peculiar conflict through his eyes, siding with whomever could give him the better deal. Sharon was also a fun addition. I loved his special blend of humor and guts.

The whole book was filled with intense action, constant chases, frantic escapes, and a final showdown that blew my mind. Even when things slowed down to give some exposition or background, the tension level was still ratcheted up by overlying danger or from action sequences that bracketed those wordy sections. The finale to the book was mind-blowing. The reader never expects the alliances that are struck, the friends that betray, and the format in which everything is won.

This is truly a gem of a book, definitely being added to my best of 2015 shelf. It wraps up a world truly unique in fiction, not something that can be said every day. We say goodbye to characters both old and new, seeing them resolve all plot threads and predicaments by books end. The story overall is incredibly tense and suspenseful, keeping the reader flipping page and page in rapid succession. Im sad to see the world end but satisfied as well. Thats a strange cocktail to feel and not one I feel after every read. Highly, highly recommended, not just this book but the whole series.

This is the third book in the Peculiar Children series, and the easiest so far for me to follow. I dont know if Riggs writing has gotten that much better (not that the first two books arent wonderful), or if Im just more accustomed to his world now. I can actually visualize the hollowgasts, with their multiple agile tongues.
Unfortunately, I purchased this book in the Kindle version, and the vintage photographs that illustrate the book (and inspired the plot) show up so small that I really cant see all the detail in them as I could in the hardcover editions of the previous two books.
Even though Im more comfortable in the series than I was, its hard to explain the dynamics of the story in a short review, so Ill just give you a brief overview: Jacob Portman has discovered that he has the power to control the hollowgasts, invisible monsters who like to consume people. That has made him the de facto leader of the children who are trying to rescue their teacher and her ymbryne colleagues. His affection for Emma grows to the degree that hes torn over returning to his real world when their quest is over, or remaining in the peculiar world.
You definitely need to read the books of this series in order, because they build on each other. There is also a fourth book, which I am planning to read eventually as well.

Jacob has been finding his ‘peculiar’ way, and Library of Souls is where he needs to step up, take charge, and save peculiardom. For Jacob, it’s more than a battle between good and bad, it’s a battle between an old life and a new one. Challenge after challenge helps him learn about his own strengths, his new peculiar world, and for his confidence to build to new levels.

Once again, the vintage photos that inspired the story are scattered throughout the book. They are an integral part of the experience and a wonderful tool in helping readers visualize the settings, the people, and the quirks. Riggs’ imagination is incredible and it’s such a gift that he found an original way to share the inspirations behind the series as part of the books.

For those of you who haven’t read Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (1) and Hollow City (2) I suggest you start at the beginning. You’ll need to know the full story to fully appreciate the different layers of the plot in book 3.

To help you out in the meantime, here’s a brief outline of the main concepts and character types as listed in the front of the book. I don’t believe this information would be classed as a spoiler. It’s more of a reference tool for budding peculiars 🙂

PECULIARS | The hidden branch of any species, human or animal, that is blessedand cursedwith supernormal traits. Respected in ancient times, feared and persecuted more recently, peculiars are outcasts who live in the shadows.

LOOP | A limited area in which a single day is repeated endlessly. Created and maintained by ymbrynes to shelter their peculiar wards from danger, loops delay indefinitely the aging of their inhabitants. But loop dwellers are by no means immortal: each day they skip is a debt thats banked away, to be repaid in gruesome rapid aging should they linger too long outside their loop.

YMBRYNES | The shape-shifting matriarchs of peculiardom. They can change into birds at will, manipulate time, and are charged with the protection of peculiar children. In the Old Peculiar language, the word ymbryne (pronounced imm-brinn) means revolution or circuit.

HOLLOWGAST | Monstrous ex-peculiars who hunger for the souls of their former brethren. Corpselike and withered except for their muscular jaws, within which they harbor powerful, tentacle-like tongues. Especially dangerous because theyre invisible to all but a few peculiars, of whom Jacob Portman is the only one known alive. (His late grandfather was another.) Until a recent innovation enhanced their abilities, hollows could not enter loops, which is why loops have been the preferred home of peculiars.

WIGHTS A hollowgast that consumes enough peculiar souls becomes a wight, which are visible to all and resemble normals in every way but one: their pupil-less, perfectly white eyes. Brilliant, manipulative, and skilled at blending in, wights have spent years infiltrating both normal and peculiar society. They could be anyone: your grocer, your bus driver, your psychiatrist. Theyve waged a long campaign of murder, fear, and kidnapping against peculiars, using hollowgast as their monstrous assassins. Their ultimate goal is to exact revenge upon, and take control of, peculiardom.

The book is quite long (over 460 pages) and the plot moves through many varied settings and challenges. Action crops up frequently, the characters have great depth, and the complexities of time-travel and loops are backed-up with a logical and conceivable explanation. The end of this series was quite satisfying. I felt that story lines were resolved well, all my questions were answered, and readers were given a comforting glimpse of how the characters would fare in their future.

My favorite quote:
“Sometimes it seemed like Emma had whole conversations with me inside her headones I wasnt privy toand then shed get frustrated that I was confused when she finally let me in on them.”

In A Nutshell
The final book in the Miss Peregrine series didn’t disappoint, and is filled with the same magic, action and quirkiness I enjoyed in books 1 and 2. It’s another of those times when I have to accept that the series is over. Recommended for fans of original fantasy, quirk and vivid settings.

PS – Fun fact I found out today – Ransom Riggs is writing a new peculiar trilogy set in America. YAY!

What to say about this book?? The author has excelled themselves in their ability to progress the story so far. I have read the two previous books. I have been seriously impressed at the author’s ability to keep a complex story line going in detailed continuity and to maintain the engagement of the reader. Although I understand this should be a teenager book, that is rubbish! Everyone older than being a teenager should read this book too. It is highly detailed and takes you inside of the story, so you are experiencing it with the characters. I have a diploma at University level in Creative Writing and I am used to critically reading books. So far, I have found no slip ups in characters and thrust of story line, which the author Ransom Riggs, has maintained over three books. It is sublime and he is a very clever user of words. I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys something ‘different’. I can’t liken it to any other works as it is highly unique. It is absolutely worth an intriguing read. Read the previous two books first, so that you know what is going on. It is captivating and entertaining, word after word. No boring parts at all. It is very well paced. Not too slow, nor too breathy. Just right. Really can’t recommend this serious of books enough. Definitely a page turner and author knows how to keep the reader hooked. All his characters are brought to life and his creativity in words and context and events is tremendous. Buy this book and the others too!

I read this a long while ago to writing this review (forgetful of writing reviews lol)
This is a great piece of fiction about Mrs Perigrine and her peculiar children, you can imagine the kids going through and picturing the journey they are taking. The journey of the peculiar children, rattles through the ages, between wars to present time and finding out how it ends, great for a bit of indulgence and forgetting the real world for a day or two.
As I said, I read this a while ago and can’t remember fully the story.

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