Name: Jaden Nelson's review of Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs
Item: Library of Souls
Rating: 5
Author: Jaden Nelson

Ransom Riggs

The New York Times #1 best-selling series. The movie adaptation of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is now a major motion picture from visionary director Tim Burton, starring Eva Green, Asa Butterfield, Ella Purnell, Samuel L. Jackson, and Judi Dench. Like its predecessors, Library of Souls blends thrilling fantasy with never-before-published vintage photography to create a one-of-a-kind reading experience. 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.

The Third Novel of Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children

Library of Souls

Megan Leprich

When a madman is on the loose and Miss Peregrine in peril, Peculiar Children Jacob Portman and Emma Bloom stage rescue missions, meet new allies, and face great dangers.

Jaden Nelson

This book actually did it for me. The previous 2 fell short in amazing me, but this book is quite a masterpiece. Plot twists, almost endless action, character development, and showy peculiar demonstrations, etc, made this book truly amazing. Not only that, but also amazing character development, flowing writing along with the pictures, and an oh so satisfying ending, which you sadly don't see in most books. Really good book, great series that I may reread in the near-ish future and watch the movie!

rumbledethumps

Disappointed by the final book, in that the first two were so good. This one, I saw the writer and storyteller lurking behind the pages, trying to explain away plot ends from the past books, and hurrying to get us to the end.

With a madman on the loose and Miss Peregrine in peril, peculiar children Jacob Portman and Emma Bloom stage rescue missions, meet new allies, and face great dangers. 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.

Nessa Luna

When I first opened Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, I had no idea what was waiting for me. I'd been told it was a horror story with horrific images inside the book, but it turned out to be an amazing story with a lot of peculiar pictures (see what I did there?). I devoured the first book, and waited for the second book Hollow City to come out. Devoured that one too, as if I were a hollow, and then I got my hands on the third and final book in this series. I kind of didn't want it to end, but I also wanted to know how the story would end. I wanted everything to be better. Did this book exceed my expectations? Yes, it did. And so much more!

Library of Souls starts off where Hollow City left us. With Jacob, Emma and dog Addison stuck on an underground platform between a wall and a hollowgast. Jacob had just discovered a new twist in his powers - he can talk to the hollow.

I really loved that I could read more about Jacob and Emma and the rest of the Peculiars, and I especially loved looking at the pictures. I did feel as if there weren't as many pictures in this book as there were in the previous two, or maybe they weren't that evenly spaced out as the previous two books. The pictures that were in the book were super cool and very nice to look at though. I love how Ransom managed to write the people and places on the pictures into the story.

We meet some new characters in this book, and the most important one - in my opinion - was Sharon. The three meet him in modern London and they quickly become allies in their journey to find the missing Peculiars, and the missing Ymbrynes of course. There is also a guy named Bentham who is kind of important in this story. I won't tell much about him, because it might be spoiler-ish, but I liked him quite a bit, until the end of the book. Oh well.

The old characters were still amazing of course; I really loved Jacob and Emma, I loved seeing them together and I loved them working together so thoroughly to get 'their' children and miss Peregrine back. They were just such an amazing team, and they trusted each other so much. The romance between them wasn't so out there, and that's what I loved too - because I don't like it when a story starts revolving around a romance so much.

To me, this story had a perfect ending, so perfect even that it didn't feel like an ending at all. With most series, when I'm reading the last book, I dread having to end it and close it - but I did not feel like that at all when I was reading Library of Souls. I did feel a tiny bit sad when I had only fifteen or so pages left, but that was just because I wanted more. I wanted to read more about Jacob and Emma, and Bronwyn and Olive, and Hugh and Millard, and Horace and Enoch and all the other characters! I don't think there'll be another Miss Peregrine story, but I will have hope!

In the end, I really enjoyed reading Library of Souls, I loved the characters, the storyline, the action, the pictures (especially those) and the ending! If you love strange (or should I say peculiar) stories, and if you love looking at those weird victorian pictures, you should definitely check out the Miss Peregrine series!


  My Review for Hollow City


My opinion on this book in one gif:

Matthew Royal

This 3rd book in the Peculiar Children series wraps up their adventure, but doesn't end their story. Less of the charm that hooked me in the original story, but Ransom uses the word mechanics to good effect in this one. It's also a bit darker than the others, and has more coming-of-age emotional content, which is angstier than I prefer.

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 Lib

Rachel Kanyid

I really enjoyed this! Love the pacing and storytelling in these books!

Ivy X

I borrowed this from Stephanie who has yet to read this trilogy. 

Initially, I felt like it was an interesting concept and that I wanted to continue reading it. The first book was enjoyable and it felt like an introduction to this peculiar world and to the children. You learn about the peculiars alongside with Jacob and you fall in love with the strange quirks and strong personalities each character possesses. These peculiar children don't seem like much on their own. One can float and needs to be kept grounded or else she'll float away. One can make his hoard of bee friends do things. One can make fire with her hands. True, they are fascinating but there is a limit as to how long a lot of them can perform their peculiar trait. For instance, if you use Olive as a look-out, her safety is out of your hands and if the weather sucks, she'll suffer greatly floating up there like a balloon. Emma's fire hands are definitely useful in fighting against hollows and scaring off wights. However, she will be exhausted over time and she won't be able to do much. Same with our main character, Jacob. Jacob can control hollows (these monsters that eat peculiars) but it drains him of energy and he has yet to master his talent completely. 

By the second book, it was extremely fast paced. The readers have caught on with what is going on in this world and they are ready to join the peculiars on their quest to save their ymbryne and possibly many more. It was extremely fascinating and an amazing read. I couldn't put the book down. 

By the time I got to this book, I was eager to read it. The story was amazingly put together. All the loose ends of the previous books get tied up. The concept of the "Library of Souls" was extremely fascinating and it was the reason as to why all these things were happening in the past few books. With interesting characters and an amazing plot line, this book sweeps you off your feet. You fall in love with characters you didn't think you would like. You become wary of people and their intentions at times. You marvel at how well the peculiars work together as a group and just how useful Jacob's power truly is in times like these. The time loop concept and all these things were brilliantly put together. 
Personally, I enjoyed the fact that though there was romance it didn't focus on it. The romance wasn't what you would typically see in stories involving teenagers. Instead, it felt very realistic and very raw. (Maybe because Emma is actually this super old soul stuck in a child's body living in a time loop) It was more of how they worked together to complete this mission and to save the world of peculiardom. It focused on friendship and character development. I loved how Jacob was constantly debating back and forth about what he wanted---his old life, the old version of himself OR the new life, the new version of himself---and was it possible to have both? 
I also loved how mutually supportive Emma and Jacob were. I loved how unique each character was and how they showed their personalities in the few chapters they were present in. I also liked the fact that not everything is explained fully. You don't get the full glimpse of things at times and there are things that don't get revealed to you. You just get an idea of what it might be. 
I love that because it is real. The story is being told from Jacob's perspective and it'd be odd if he knew exactly what happened in everybody's life and it would be annoying to have every character spill their life story to you. I loved Sharon's character and how he helped them like this sort of father-body guard figure. I also really liked Mother Dust. She doesn't say much but constantly sacrifices her body parts to heal others and she obviously has an interesting story that Jacob can only guess at. 
I also love how the peculiars came to his rescue from his parents who believed he went crazy when he needed them. And I loved how the story ended on such a sweet note where the peculiars could really enjoy their time with Jacob without having to worry about anything else. And I think, it really is only a matter of time before his family fall in love with Miss Peregrine and her peculiar bunch. It is really a matter of time. 

And just like how this story ended. The most beautiful words that could possibly be spoken in this series is probably: "We have time."

Tylar M

aisha

tina

4.5/5 stars. 

I think this book was really good. I enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed the second book. And the ending was great!

Julia Lotz

Inhalt: Nachdem ihre Freunde von den feindlichen Wights entführt wurden, machen Jacob und Emma sich auf eine gefährliche Suche, um sie und die gefangenen Ymbrynen – so nennen sich die Schutzpatroninnen besonderer Kinder – zu befreien. Die Spurt führt sie in die Zeitschleife Devil’s Acre, wo der Abschaum der Gesellschaft der Besonderen lebt, und schließlich zur geheimen Festung der Wights. Dort decken sie ein noch größeres Geheimnis auf: Caul, Miss Peregrines böser Bruder, will die sagenumwobene „Seelenbibliothek“ Abaton finden und sich mithilfe der dort verborgenen Kräfte zum Herrscher der Besonderenwelt aufzuschwingen. Und Jacob ist der Schlüssel dazu … (Quelle: Verlag)
Meine Meinung: Nach all der Zeit der Warterei war ich super glücklich, als ich endlich den dritten und letzten Band der Besonderen Kinder-Reihe von Ransom Riggs in den Händen hielt. Die Reihe begleitete mich schon seit so langer Zeit und mit jedem Band verliebte ich mich ein wenig mehr in sie. So war das auch bei diesem Buch wieder der Fall. Immer noch bin ich sehr begeistert von der Idee, Bilder in die Handlung mit einzubeziehen. Das darf natürlich auch in Die Bibliothek der besonderen Kinder nicht fehlen und jagte mir wieder einmal Schauer über den Rücken. Ransom Riggs eh schon ein wenig gruseliges und geheimnisvolles Werk bekommt damit noch einmal eine ganz andere Aura.
Wie auch schon der erste Band, endete Band 2 erneut mit einem Cliffhanger und wir steigen zu Beginn des dritten Bandes direkt bei diesem wieder ein. Man war sofort wieder in der Geschichte und in der Situation und es war, als wäre man nie weg gewesen. Das erleichterte den Wiedereinstieg nach langer Zeit des Wartens enorm und man kann komplett auf langweiligere und zähere Passagen verzichten. 
Wir haben im Verlauf der letzten beiden Bücher eine Vielzahl an Charakteren kennengelernt und angesichts dieser Zahl war ich froh zu sehen, dass Ransom Riggs die tatsächlich agierenden Charaktere in jeder Szene ein wenig heruntergeschraubt hat, sodass alles übersichtlich blieb. Denn auch in Band drei machen wir die Bekanntschaft einiger neuer Personen, die nicht ganz irrelevant für die Handlung sind. Emma, Jacob und Miss Peregrine blieben als meine liebsten Charaktere jedoch der Kern der Geschichte.
Die Idee mit der Bibliothek besonderer Seelen fand ich sehr schön und hätte auch nicht mit solch einer Wendung der Ereignisse gerechnet. Für mich blieb das Buch also durchgängig spannend und undurchschaubar. Auch das Ende fand ich sehr schön und stimmig und bin mit diesem vollends zufrieden. Thematisch gefielen mir außerdem die vielen – besonders moralischen – Fragestellungen gut, die der Autor im Verlauf aufgeworfen hat. 
Fazit: Die Bibliothek der besonderen Kinder ist für mich der gelungene Abschluss einer herausragenden Trilogie, die mir noch lange im Gedächtnis bleiben wird. Auch im dritten Band konnte mich Ransom Riggs wieder mit seiner innovativen Idee und der Geschichte um Jacob, Emma und Miss Peregrine begeistern. Die Bibliothek der besonderen Kinder ist von vorne bis hinten spannend, undurchschaubar und regt durchaus auch zum Nachdenken an. 
Vielen lieben Dank an den Knaur Verlag für die Bereitstellung des *Rezensionsexemplars.

Dee B. 

I think I much prefer this one to all the rest

Steph L 

It's always sad when a series ends especially this one. This one went out with a bang and this was my favorite book. Everything from the characters you love, to the new ones you meet they were all just so amazing. The chapters were longer, but are broken into scenes for easier reading. The writing style and pacing of this book was so well done! I would recommend this series to anyone who has a love for off-center books, as at places this series is definitely off center.

Charlotte J. Ruth

Phillippa Hinds 

The Third and final book of Miss Peregrine’s peculiar children. As Emma and Jacob’s search for their lost friends and Ymbryne leads them to the worst place imaginable – Devils Acre- where only the worst of the worst go, Jacob learns to master his peculiarity and meets some new friends on the way. They discover the truth behind the Ymbryne’s being captured and learn more about what Jacob can do and just how rare his peculiarity is.

A better book than the 1st one however the ending felt somewhat rushed and/or unfinished but there was a definite ending. Overall the book was an incredible read as was the series of books and you definitly need to read the first 2 books before reading this one otherwise you will be lost but I would recommend it to any Action, adventure or fantasy reader as it was very enjoyable and adrenaline rising.

Mariane Ferrantino 

Without giving too much away, I just feel like Library of Souls wrapped things up too neatly while at the same time completely forgetting about some of the social issues Riggs teased halfway through the novel. At times I couldn't put it down, but then there were other instances when I just said "Come on already!" to myself. At times good, but never really great. This is more like a 2.5 star rating.

Maria Banning

Jasmine Neville

Finally I finished this book. At first it was slow and I was struggling to get into it but when I got just before halfway through the book that was when I started to enjoy it. All in all this was a good enjoyable book

Sabetha Danes

i have never been more disappointed in a series finale book. this book took me 8 months to read because of how poorly it was written. I'm curious if he got the the movie deal between this book and the last because that would explain a lot. the first two books I couldn't put down but this one was impossible. I've never read a story that climaxed as much as this one did. everything that could go wrong did and then some. it got to the point that it wasn't even believable anymore. i mean come on, we get it they were up shit Creek. the photos in this book were much more forced than the previous two books. it read like they had to be described as such just to use the photo, I felt they flowed better in the previous books. i also don't think these books have ever mentioned being a memoir previously, I could be wrong but at one point the author has Jacob say that what he saw was so bad he couldn't describe it here. is that the authors way of saying fuck it?!? i read that the author is going to continue this world with 3 new books. i won't be continuing with him.

Emi Gilmore 

What a beautiful conclusion to this wonderfully peculiar series. 

Out of all three books, the first was by far my favorite but they all took my breath away. I love Ransom Riggs and this amazing story he created.

Valeria

OMG! I liked every bit of it and it's amazing to see how Jacob is becoming so powerful and strong! I absolutely loved Sharon, probably best character ever, I hope he appears in the next books!

Giulia Pianta

** spoiler alert **
           Devo dire che ho fatto fatica a essere presa da questo libro.
La prima parte è molto lenta, Emma e Jacob devono scappare da un hollow e trovare i loro amici, per cui si ritrovano ad andare in un loop pieno di peculiars crudeli. Incontrano molti ostacoli e ogni volta mi saliva l'ansia per la situazione in cui erano.

La parte del panloopticon è stata decisamente molto interessante, è stato bello conoscere di più sul mondo dei peculiars. Da lì poi si scorre presto verso la parte finale della battaglia e della scoperta della library of souls.

Come storia in generale, a parte un inizio lento, è bella e interessante. Il mio problema principale è la relazione fra Emma e Jacob. Ok, lei sono anni che è una 15enne, ma lui ha 16 anni, e la sua voce narrante non è quella di un sedicenne. I pensieri che fa sulla loro relazione sono esagerati pure per un poeta melodrammatico adulto, figuriamoci per un teenager. Il loro amore mi è sembrato particolarmente forzato, non era basato su granché ed era decisamente un po' troppo. Se non ci fossero stati tutti quei paragrafi su come lui morirebbe per lei o su come sono una cosa sola bla bla, sarebbe stato molto meglio.

La cosa migliore resta però l'uso delle fotografie. Danno un contributo enorme alla storia, rendono tutto molto più vivido e peculiare, e sono il motivo principale per cui continuerò a leggere anche la prossima trilogia.

Sophie Collins

Out of the first 3 books in the peculiar children series, this one is by far the best yet! There was loads of action that kept me fully engaged, and the creepy photographs added even more to the story. I really liked how Jacob's power developed from simply seeing impossible monsters to communicate and control them. The cliffhanger at the end of the book was different from what you usually consider a cliffhanger to be. Instead of the standard doom and gloom, this book ended on a somewhat positive note, one that I'm rather interested to see play out.

Mayra Melo

DNF at page 121.
Completely lost interest in this. Just reading a paragraph was taxing and boring work. I fully believe Miss Peregrine should have been a stand-alone. It should have NEVER been a trilogy, as the second and third books seem needless and just serve to spoil the first one. I loved Miss Peregrines's Home for Peculiar Children, I thought it was smart and very well written. The story should have had a conclusion then. I dragged myself through Hollow City, which was extremely boring, and can't seem to find much to be excited about in Library of Souls. I always hate to do this, but I had to abandon it.

Megan Leprich &
Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs

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