Library of Souls: The Third Novel of Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children

If you like books about magic and friendship, and if you enjoyed the first two books of the Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children series, then this might be the book for you. Taking the peculiar world to a new level of weird, Ransom Riggs introduces new nuances in this book. I really liked how much Library of Souls added to the world of peculiardom. With these new details, the world of peculiar children felt much more realistic. The characters also developed more. This seems to have been written as the final book of a trilogy, though I believe the author has written three more in this same world. I felt a little unsatisfied by the ending and felt that this wasn’t exactly an end. The main storyline resolves well, but in terms of character development, it did not feel completely finished. All in all, I really enjoyed reading Library of Souls and look forward to reading the next books in the series. [For Marshmallow's complete review, see the book bunnies' blog.]

This is a continuation of Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children. You must read the books in order to know what is going on. I have very much enjoyed this series! The movie is book 1, but there is so much more excitement that unfolds in the other books.

Ordered for a gift

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 blessed—and cursed—with 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 that’s 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 they’re 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. They’ve 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 head—ones I wasn’t privy to—and then she’d get frustrated that I was confused when she finally let me in on them."In A NutshellThe 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!

I read this in a couple days and it was so good. I'm glad I bought the remaining books in the series. I love the character development and the building of suspense. I also like, from an anxiety standpoint, that there are 6 novels so I *know* certain characters will be okay because there are future books they will be in, so I can see them go through conflict without getting anxious. I needed a nice fantasy book that wouldn't up my anxiety and this fit the bill.

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 they’re 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 Jacob’s powers as they grew and expanded was especially interesting. His powers play a pivotal role in the book’s ending but not in a way that one would expect. I was very pleasantly surprised. I also loved getting to explore Emma’s and Alma’s 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 book’s end. The story overall is incredibly tense and suspenseful, keeping the reader flipping page and page in rapid succession. I’m sad to see the world end but satisfied as well. That’s a strange cocktail to feel and not one I feel after every read. Highly, highly recommended, not just this book but the whole series.

Produto chegou rápido conforme o prometido e em perfeito estadostado.

Excelente libro para jóvenes lectores muy bien escrito y con mucha imaginación

Les aventures des premiers chapitres, quoique haletantes, sont un peu longues. Mais les 3 derniers chapitres sont à la hauteur des premiers tomes de la série

Excellent condition, arrived as described.

Loved the book, of you are into quirky young fiction it has a lovely story exposed with such language sophistication. Perfect combination.