Sunday, January 29, 2017

Book thoughts - Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs

Library of Souls Library of Souls (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children #3) by Ransom Riggs
published 9/22/15
464 pages

Synopsis - 

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.

My thoughts -

Oh, good gravy I loved this series. From the first time I picked up the first book I was hooked. And, for me, Library of Souls was a beautiful ending for these characters I've come to love.

As usual, Riggs has his motley crew struggle through a good number of harrowing situations, and Jacob and Emma must use all the wits at their disposal to figure out a way to rescue Miss Peregrine and save the world. I appreciated that a happy ending wasn't a foregone conclusion, and the author didn't tie up all the loose ends in a neat little bow. I feel like I spent the last 1/4 of the book just holding my breath, and didn't feel safe to let it out until the very last page. And what a lovely, meaningful phrase to end the series - "We have time."

I know these books won't be for everyone, but for me the combination of storytelling and pictures worked to make this series a unique and fully engaging reading experience. I know these will be books I return to, and I'm excited to introduce my kids to Jacob, Emma, and Miss Peregrine, and watch them take this journey too. Highly recommended.

Finished - 10/25/16
Source - my shelves
MPAA rating - PG-13 for some intense, scary scenes involving children
My rating - 5/5



4 comments:

Mary Lynn said...

Yes, yes, yes! Thank you for introducing me, and being my "supplier." You got me hooked again! I would definitely recommend this series for young adult readers - especially great for boys who love fantasy and adventure. I have recommended to my book club of "seniors," and we hope to watch the movie. Have you seen it yet? Does it only include the first book, or did they try to squish all 3 into one movie?

Rebecca said...

I had fun with this series. I enjoyed them a lot. Have you seen the movie yet? Not as dark as the books and they made some pretty big changes, but my kids LOVED it.
Rebecca @ The Portsmouth Review
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Carolynn said...

aaaaah! I haven't even read book 2 yet!
Nor did I see the movie, which I heard went farther than book 1, but not all the way through Book 2 - an odd choice, and also one which many viewers didn't like much. Other changes from the source material were also called out as problematic by loyal readers. (Of course I'm still totally going to watch it.)

Can't wait to catch up w/ books 2 AND 3.

Kristen M. said...

I recently relistened to book 1 and half of book two, trying to eventually get to this one. I'm not connecting with the story the same way I did the first time through but I think it might partially be the audiobook narrator. I'm going to try just reading the second half of book two to see if it can draw me back in. I sure hope so!