Jacob Portman grew up hearing fantastic stories from his grandfather, Abe, about an orphanage in Wales where he was raised during World War 2 after he escaped Nazi occupied Poland. The orphanage was full of kids with special talents that were supported by photos that Jacob’s grandfather had held onto after coming to America when the War ended. As Jacob grows up, he gets teased for believing in fairy tales and begins to realize the stories and photos are fake which makes him angry and […]
Peculiar fail saved by Sharon
I could almost title this review ‘Anticipation gone wrong again’. I loved Miss Peregrine’s Home etc. (vo.1), Hollow City was ok (vol. 2), and I had to force myself to get past page 20 of Library of Souls (vol.3). The first 150 pages felt twice as long as the second half. Terrified running from monsters in search of kidnapped pals isn’t interesting for that long. It’s also hard to pay attention when you’re really only following a few of the Peculiars, and only one of […]
Then we shall plumb the very heart of this mountain and eat it.
In “Library of Souls,” the final book in the “Peculiar Children” series, I was finally, to my great joy, surprised. The characters continued to be predictable to me, but the plot took some really exciting twists and turns down some very imaginative paths that I couldn’t have seen coming, but were well-laid-down-for in the first two books. This was a satisfying and thrilling end to a series that I really enjoyed reading, even if it did also lay me low with a whole bunch of […]
Do you ever find yourself climbing into an open grave during a bombing raid and just wish you’d stayed in bed?
“Hollow City” is the second book in the “Peculiar Children” series, picking up immediately where the first book left off without much catch-up exposition. As I continued reading the series, my feelings got darker and more desperate, in line with the experience of the characters. There is very little hope or joy in Jacob Portman’s journey. He is a young man who answers the call, and then just plugs away at all the minutiae of being a hero. It’s not that it’s a chore to […]