Well, weather is warming and fingers are busy with a selection of various projects. Reading has slipped just a bit. BUT I have managed to finish the third book in the Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children… Library of Souls (by Ransom Riggs). Now I must warn you… this is an impossible book to review without putting forth information regarding the first two books… and you really MUST read them in order!

Dramatic and at times heart rending, Library of Souls is full of action and angst, friendship and betrayal, love and pain. One of the things I love and hate about this book is the confusion that runs through it. There are so many possible allies and enemies. The world is a dark place in book #3 where the entirety of Peculiardom is in upheaval and distress. The Ymbrynes are all abducted, the peculiars dead, taken or destroyed by a need for what is later shown to be essence of other peculiar’s “second soul” which acts much like an addictive drug.

In this dark and dangerous scenario are Emma and Jacob and Addison the peculiar dog. There is something absolutely lovable about Addison… There are so many other characters… and so many amazing pictures to put faces to descriptions. That really is the key to these books, Ransom Riggs has such a touch and eye to combining amazing images to enthralling words. 

Book 1 was an introduction to the world, a hint a the troubles… book 2 threw us into danger and intrigue, book 3 brings us full circle to even more new and unique loops and worlds that defy imagination. Library of Souls is a dark book, but it is a book of hope and possible redemption. It is a book of adventure and battle and decisions made under pressure. 

I have a favourite line in this one… said by Emma Bloom – when asked whether or not she doubted…

Emma shook her head. “Doubt is the pinprick in the life raft.” 

I don’t know why but that resonates with me. I hope that you will hunt down these books at your local bookstore or library, they are well worth it… Go, jump into the world of the peculiar! 

Well, when the opportunity presents itself in the form of a graphic novel, well it is well worth revisiting a book that was so enjoyable in its original (rather quirky) form. So of course I had to request the graphic novel version of Ransom Riggs’ Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. It was more than enjoyable with a few differences from the original that I will warn right now could be SPOILERS for said original (and this version as well). So proceed at your own risk!

Some of the pictures that were used in the original are cropped slightly and definitely not sitting on pages all alone, I found this did lesson their impact. BUT on the flip side, I absolutely LOVED the way the artist (Cassandra Jean) drew the main character Jacob. The way she drew his eyes and his demeanor really embraced the emotional stress he was under, the feeling of imminent danger and unrest is palpable. 

I love the colour palate the artist chose, and her use of it in a situation specific manner (man is it difficult to talk about a graphic novel and not spill too much information). I will say there is less background on the characters shared and a few characters are completely written out… the friend, the “normal” is not mentioned in any detail, the family history and the chain of drugstores Jacob’s mother is to inherit only barely touched upon. This does not take away from the story in a grand sense, but for someone who enjoys the minute details… definitely read the original first. 

I think  you could read the graphic novel and feel you really understood and enjoyed the story, but my own preference would be to read the original and then enjoy the graphic novel for its images more than its story content. This does put my back up further against watching the movie. Tim Burton or not, the original story is AMAZING and I don’t wish to be disappointed. 

Sadly I do not have the second graphic novel available through the library yet… but I will keep an eye peeled. Hollow City was an amazing read and I have Library of Souls on hold request at the library. So do check back for my further impressions! 

WARNING could be construed as having SPOILERS in regards to the first book and this current novel.

The turnaround on my library requests has been amazingly quick. In the wake of the first of the series and the first of the Tales From Lovecraft Middle School series I got my hands on Hollow City. The second book in the series by Ransom Riggs… Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children. 

With even more photographs from the past, this is another page turner. Definitely darker than the first and equally mature in my mind. I would not worry much about a teenage reading it, though you do need to understand somewhat what life was like in the middle of the second world war in England to truly grasp the horror, fear and suspicion Jacob and the children face during September of 1940. For that is where they are now… in the past and out of loop. 

The Peculiars are in danger, their loops destroyed and ransacked and their Ymbryne protectors kidnapped or worse. Left to face the reality and the danger are 10 children and Miss Peregrine, who has been forced into her bird form and is now stuck. Into the thick of it they go… to bombed out London and all the dangers, peculiar and normal that are there. 

I won’t say more about the story but would suggest these are READ IN ORDER. And possibly with a light on and some warm tea. Really these are absolute page turners. I love that at the end of the novel you can read an interview where the author explains some of his methods, his process and other gems. You would swear the images were taken for the book instead of found, it is all so seamlessly done. Young Adult rated or not, I would highly recommend this series once again for anyone who can stomach a lot of adventure and a return to turbulent times… with a twist. I cannot wait until my request goes through for the third installment – Library of Souls.