(Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children #5)
By Ransom Riggs
If you haven’t read the series before now -STOP! – go do that, I’ll wait…okay so this is a continuation of the great Peculiar Children series. They need to be read in order, definitely not a series you can pick up anywhere in the middle. In this one, we come back from America, figure out a horrible prophecy is coming true, go back to America to try and stop it and end up fulfilling it. Like all prophecies seem to occur: best intentions and roads of ruin etc.
We join Jacob as he liberates Noor, finishing H’s job at the end of the last book. This book creates a relationship between Jacob and Noor, helping liberate him from Emma, his previous almost-girlfriend that is still hung up on his dead grandfather, Abe. Again, important to read the other books before this, people! They assemble the Peculiar posse to figure out clues from this prophecy while also trying to circumvent hostilities in America, branching out from the ymbryne-dominate European side of the world.
The team has better trust with each other, there is more support for each Peculiar’s role, and there are some surprise reunions along the way. I am obviously a fan of this series, or I wouldn’t read be five books in. That being said, I miss the suspense, drama, and dynamic climaxes of the first three books. After that, Riggs seems to be giving us episodes of a mini series, but no more season finales. I miss the well-encapsulated in one book story, the suspense and the build to something mind-blowing, dramatic, and totally devastating. Again, I’m already hooked, so I will keep reading, but this one is less than some of the ones before it.
Soundtrack
- Get Together by The Youngbloods
- Have You Ever Seen the Rain by Creedence Clearwater Revival
- Humans Being by Van Halen, because it was on the Twister soundtrack and I needed something that was also a battle cry
Pros & Cons & Potential Spoilers
Pros
- Get to see deeper sides of some of our favorite characters
- End to the awkward dating my grandfather’s ex saga
- Noor seems like a great new addition to the crew, and there is a lot more plot surrounding her arrival and what is to come, guaranteeing more books are coming
Cons
- Not a great climax and then a not-ending to set up the next book
- Weird sudden reversal of Leo’s feelings, specifically toward Miss Peregrine, I believe setting up future romance (only the first half is a con)
- We hear so much about V, and get to actually see her for two pages