Hollow City is the first sequel to the 2011 novel, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. (Click here for review)

Hollow City begins right where Home for Peculiar Children ends, in a cliffhanger style start. Having narrowly escaped the wights and hollowgasts on their now destroyed, secluded island home, Jacob, Emma, and their group of peculiars are cast adrift on the sea. Hopping through time loops on the run, they meet an odd assortment of characters, from peculiar animals to suspicious but kindhearted gypsies, who help them along the way. Terror and danger lurks around every corner and the monsters are not far behind. They finally arrive in and traipse through war-torn 1940's London trying to find a cure for their headmistress, Miss Peregrine, who has been trapped in her bird form, but time is running short. Even if the children reach their destination alive, will it be enough to save Miss Peregrine from staying in her birdlike state?

This book is nicely paced, suspenseful and could put a scare into some readers. It is dark and mysterious but with moments of humor and levity. The peculiars are intriguing, each with fascinating powers such as invisibility, firestarting or premonition. They play off one another's strengths and weaknesses, which progresses the story and further develops the characters.

One of the most interesting things about this book is the found photographs, vintage pictures that Riggs has collected from flea markets and personal archives. The odd and peculiar snapshots help to illustrate the characters and settings, reinforcing the dark atmosphere of the narrative.

I enjoyed this book more than the first one, and I really enjoyed the first one. The worst part about it is having to wait for the third book to be released, but luckily that's not too far in the future, as it's due out in late September 2015.

One piece of advice that I offered for the first book, I'll offer again here: this book is available in several formats, but if you want to get a better look at the photos that accompany the character descriptions, you will want to get the hardback edition. ~~ Dee Astell