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

By Ransom Riggs

The New York Times #1 best-selling series. 

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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Sep 22, 2015
• ISBN: 9781594747786

Reviews for Library of Souls

[bulletproofheeb-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Not a fan. They world is relatively well developed but the characters are thin and dull. Everything interesting in the Peculiar world reminded me of another novel were whatever was attempted was done better.

The London loppers was a pale cartoonish version of Neverwhere's London Below, and the second soul/harvesting of souls was a poorly executed nod to His Dark Materials.

None of the characters do much of anything and the wold building that was done so carefully in the first novel is abandoned here. Now even things like the climactic conclusion come across as muddle, convenient plot knots rather than any sort of earned accomplishment.

[decaturmamaof2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really loved this third book in the trilogy. Great storyline, and good conclusion.

[starla_aurora · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

aaaannddddd done. I love this series. ending was a tad predictable but still pretty amazing series.

[feeroberts64 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs is the third installment of the Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children series. It picks up where the second book leaves off.I can't say enough about this series. Fun, whimsical, strange, and yes, peculiar. A must read series.

[franklda · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Loves this series and so happy with the ending. The old pictures used to write the trilogy is incredibly interesting to me and makes the series quite fun. Can't wait for the movies!

[amaliagavea · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

So,the third installment of Ransom Rigg's trilogy of Miss Peregrine and her Peculiar Children was hands-down the best. Our favourite, wonderful, peculiar children encounter more peculiars, more threats, all leading to a spectacular closure. I won't say much (ever fearful that I will spoil half of the plot...) but the book is an utter roller-coaster. Literally. The action is almost frantic, and perhaps, this is one of the (extremely few) problems of the plot. The new characters introduced are very interesting -peculiar or not- and the new set of photos is exquisite. Also, Miss Peregrine is a real kick-ass heroine in this one (and I really hate this expression, but it is the only suitable for her).

I had only one small nitpicking about the end.It felt too lovey-dovey, too ''they lived happily ever - after, but that is just my taste. No need to pay it attention;)

Ransom Riggs has created a fabulous universe, bleak and hopeful and wonderful in all its peculiarity. I think we are looking at a future classic in the history of the Fantasy and Gothic genre.I mightily enjoyed every page of it.

P.S. I will start the ''Tales of the Peculiars'' soon, because I don't want to abandon the world of the loops and ymbrynes just yet.

P.S. 2 Can we have a book about Sharon's adventures, please?

[booklover3258 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I absolutely loved this book just like the other two. This time around Jacob and Emma go through a lot to try to save their friends. They meet a lot more stranger people, both friends and foes. Jacob finally learns to control the Hallows (which was pretty freakin' cool!). Happy ending? You betcha! Although Mr. Riggs tried to finish the series with the ending... the next book is supposed to be coming out soon! Looking forward to reading the next one!

[m.akter.tonima · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Theres nothing more to say than that what has already been said about this boom. Adventure, mystery, love, friendship, good plot. I loved this book. The movie did super injustice to the books.

[lenamaybooks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I couldn't put this book down and the ending was perfect.

[sarahebear · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A wonderful end to the trilogy. The book jumps straight into the action, picking up where the last one left off. It's so hard to describe the story without giving away the plot of this (and the preceding two books). Let's just say that it doesn't disappoint. Riggs' 'peculiar' world charms and delights. The book is full of wonderful and interesting characters, and the story moves at pace as the 'peculiars' work to solve their problems and learn who to trust. A fun, easy to read adventure for all ages.

[sadiebabie · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Better than the second, not as good as the first.

I don't usually read fantasy or young adult books, so the Peculiar Children series is very different to what I usually like. It was the photos that hooked me in to the first book when my son took it out of the library, and I've basically just nicked his copies of all the books. This book doesn't disappoint, with all it's twists and turns. Some of those twists and turns are obvious before they happen, and a lot of the time they're too convenient, which annoyed me a little as it was a bit lazy...but I have to remember this is a YA book. It's just as strange as you would expect and the story keeps you reading. I was disappointed about the pictures, the main reason I started this series in the first place, as pretty much none of them added to the story and some were shoehorned in really awkwardly. But plot holes and artistic licenses aside, it was a good read.

[passion4reading_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Still facing the hollowgast on the London Underground platform and pursued by wights at the beginning of the book, Jacob, Emma and Addison need to think quickly how to make their escape and help their friends and Miss Peregrine, who have been abducted.Taking up the thread right where the second volume ended, it is essential that the reader is at least halfway familiar with the characters and events in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and Hollow City, as otherwise the majority of the novel will make little sense.I'm not really sure what I was expecting (not that you really can expect anything in this series) but I was hoping for a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. Instead, it appeared to me that Ransom Riggs ran out of ideas and steam to tell his peculiar story. Characters faint a lot in this final instalment, as if the author couldn't think of any other reactions to certain events they were experiencing, and there are several credibility-straining coincidences woven into the narrative, without which the plot wouldn't have progressed. I also found the entire story strangely predictable while retaining its unfailing imaginativeness, with one or two genuine surprises. It was disappointing to find out that the villain, when we finally meet him, is in the end just another garden-variety kind of megalomaniac, even if he goes about it in a peculiar way.It is true that Jacob and Emma grow into their characters in this novel, but to me their romance never had a grain of truth to it, there not being an ounce of chemistry between them (not to mention it having a slight yuk factor as Emma was previously attracted to Jacob's grandfather), and it is just too convenient for Jacob to suddenly develop more peculiar abilities at their time of need, which might just save the day. To me this has the whiff of deus ex machina about it, with the author desperate to come up with plot devices to wrap up the storyline. Along with several small, niggling inconsistencies and contradictions, this is by far the weakest volume in the series, and the heavily contrived ending nearly ruined the entire book for me, if not the series.On the plus side, the descriptions of Devil's Acre are very atmospheric and while I felt that the photographs dictated the storyline in Hollow City to a certain extent, this wasn't quite as apparent here, and some of the photos are so bizarre they have to be seen to be believed.In short, after a highly original and mostly engrossing first volume the author couldn't maintain the high standards he'd set himself, and while Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children had a message of tolerance towards others who are different in some way at its heart, in Hollow City and Library of Souls this had turned into a sort of good-against-evil trope, with admittedly rather peculiar characters peopling the story, and a rather straightforward (and hence predictable) chase and flight for survival. I can't help but feel disappointed as I had expected more. Still, it'll be interesting to see what project the author comes up with next.

[mithril_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Most satisfying.

[laurochka-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A fitting finale to the trilogy. It was suspenseful and sad at times. I wasn't entirely convinced by the ending but still enjoyed it.

[boredness-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this third book of the series. They new characters were great and it was fun watching the old ones develop. They did a wonderful job of wrapping up the story but I really hope there is another book to continue on. I would read this book again.

[danaenicole-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

So, I had several complaints about this book, but overall, I thought it was a good ending to the trilogy.There's some more inconsistency in "Library of Souls". We were told in the first book that the Peculiars could only be outside of their loops for a few hours before aging up (remember the apple?), but in this book, they say that they have two or three days to work with...I got really confused when they started using the word "suul". At first, I thought it was a typo, but they kept using it. I don't think it was ever explained, but I think it's supposed to be the second soul of the Peculiars. But to use a made-up word without warning and explanation was annoying.I'm also confused about the names of Miss Peregrine and her siblings as they seem to have different surnames. Did I miss something here? They were often referred to as Alma, Bentham and Caul, though, and I wondered if the alphabetization was on purpose. Were they born in that order? It seemed like Caul was the middle child.I was disappointed by the lack of secondary characters. I care about them more than Jacob and Emma. I realized it was kind of boring with just the two of them around.And really, why must each chapter be 50 pages long?But the book gets bonus points for referring to Frankenstein's monster and not saying "Frankenstein" while meaning the unnamed monster.I thought it was interesting that we had three male characters with names that are typically considered female these days: Addison, Sharon, and Kim.[SPOILERS BELOW]Most importantly, I enjoyed the ending. The chapter involving Jacob's parents and new therapist successfully pissed me off (in a good way). I like to imagine that the Peculiars stole back the letters. Or that the parents got them back from the therapist.

[gail616 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very much enjoyed the book. Good ending.

[debbiemccauley-2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The last in the 'Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children' series in which Jacob Portman discovers that, as well as being able to see hollowgasts, he also has the ability to control them. With the help of a boatman named Sharon, they cross over a polluted river to Devil's Acre in order to try and save their friends. Illustrated throughout with an interesting array of 'found' photographs which adds an unusual dimension to the book. Enjoyed.

[shannon.dolgos · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Jacob, Emma, and Addison are on the trail to rescue their friends from the grips of Caul. Jacob's peculiarity has grown, he can now see hollows and control them.

The peculiar friends find themselves allied with Sharon in Devil's Acre, a hell on Earth for peculiar and normal people. Peculiar people are put into slavery and sold/rented for the right price. Caul has the umbrynes and the children locked away on the other side of the bridge, which appears impossible to cross. After a fierce attempt to get across, Addison is whisked to the other side, Jacob and Emma are severely injured...all is lost? Or is it?

The third and final book in the trilogy introduces new characters and layers to the fantastic world of peculiarity.

[mmoj_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I liked this 3rd in the series of Peculiar Children better than the second book. I think in this book that the Peculiar Children felt like they were going to be able to save the rest of the Peculiars.
Jacob is gaining control of his powers and he's starting to get attached to these Hollowgasts. I enjoyed the ending of this book. It leaves room for more in the series - even allows for a different direction. I enjoy that.

[thewallflower-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Much better than the sequel. I'm glad I stuck around -- I was very close to giving up series completion after that tepid book 2. This one fixes the mistakes made in the last. It's much more action-oriented, and stays focused on the two main characters (and their talking dog) instead of an entourage of children. New characters add new obstacles, both of which have dynamic identity. It gives the villain some personality and motivation, develops him and his desires finally. The settings are creative and original. The plot is a bit by-the-numbers (the "quest to stop the bad guy"), but the brush and art painted on the framework are lovely.It reminded me of The Golden Compass, but it's much easier to understand. Given that, the peculiarity becomes more of a gimmick. But I believe this can be a modern near-classic, like "The Great Brain". It's trying to emulate Harry Potter, with larger-than-life characters and settings, and though it misses the moon by a mile, it's still among the stars.

[evelynbernard · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In Library of Souls, the third and final book in the 'Peculiar Chlldren' series, Jacob has discovered his 'peculiar' power and learns to develop and use it. The book picks up precisely where the previous one left off. The children and the ymbrynes have been captured by the wights and Jacob, Emma and Addison (the talking dog) rush to escape the ice fortress and rescue their friends. Once again, a series of loops allows the group to travel back and forth between modern times and the past - in this case Victorian England - where our heroes discover what really happens to peculiars whose souls have been captured by the villains (who happen to be Miss Peregrine's two brothers). There is the introduction of an excellent new character - Sharon - a boatman who ferries the group across the river to Devil's Acre. Sharon serves as navigator, guide, and protector for the group (think 'Charon' of Greek mythology who ferries passengers across the river Styx to Hades). As Jacob becomes more adept at controlling his peculiar trait, he is able to call upon it throughout to control the group's enemies and, eventually reach a 'happy ending'.As in the previous books, the narrative is accompanied by a series of vintage postcards from the author's collection. Here's where this book became a 4 star rather than a 5 star read for me. In the first two books, the stories seemed to flow hand-in-hand with the illustrations - one enhancing the other. In this one, I got the feeling that the author had a drawer full of postcards and now needed to figure out how to make the story fit the pictures. This led to the introduction of characters who contributed nothing to the story - except explain the use of one or another illustration. I also found the ending to be a bit contrived to give the reader a happy ending. Still, I don't mind a happy ending and contrived or not, it was still a good read.A highlight? The group finds themselves in a convention centre where a Comicon weekend is taking place. Suddenly, they don't feel so very peculiar.These are not stand-alone books - to really enjoy them they need to be read as a trilogy and I would very much recommend them.

[anacskie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It ended perfectly! Everything was nicely finished off and all the loose ends are tied up, wrapped up in a neat little bow. I did not expect it to end the way it did but I'm so happy with the ending. One thing is for sure... I would miss reading about these peculiar children and their Head Mistress Miss Peregrine.

[mml2286 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Definitely the weakest book in the series. I wouldn't say it was bad, but it was difficult to finish. It just did not keep attention the way the first two did. Also, I have read a lot of books in my life, never have a read one with so many missing words. It completely took me out of the story every time I read a sentence that was missing "the, a, and, but" etc.

[composingcomposer · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Jacob and Emma both had a great deal of character growth in this book. The story was amazing and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I've rated it five stars and added it to my favorites shelf. That said, there were a few things that could have been improved.

The photography. In the first book, and even the second, it appeared that Ransom Riggs had simply found photographs and chosen to link them together with a story. In the second book I still felt like the photographs matched very well with the story. In this book some of the photographs did match, but not all of them. It felt more like the author had gone searching for certain photos, and then almost forced them to work in the (wonderful) world that he was creating. The photo of Mother Dust, in particular jarred me a bit from the story as she was described as having only one arm, but if you look closely you can see that her other arm is reaching up to clutch her head-covering. The writing improved at least from Hollow City (to close to the level of the first book,) but the photographs didn't do much to aid the story, unlike the first two books, and I would've liked to see the strengthening of the writing, along with the brilliant use of the photographs like what we saw in book one.

The ending. The ending wrap-up was way too fast. In many ways I was satisfied with it, but in some ways I feel like the story is not yet finished. The first problem is something that I saw someone else point out in their review: Fiona. Fiona was one of my favorite characters and I thought it was sloppy of Ransom Riggs to leave her fate unknown. Maybe in Emma's letters she talked about returning to the loop where Fiona was lost and finding her (preferably alive.) It just felt clumsy that the last mention of her was Hugh being sure she was alive, and Enoch saying that she was probably dead. The other ending problem was Jacob's peculiarity. One of the things I'd been curious about since the first book is if there had been peculiarities with Jacob and Abe's talent forever, but no one had known it because there were no hollows. The revelation about the Library of Souls was wonderful, but ultimately unsatisfactory. Why? Because the loop collapsed. There is no more library. The fact that this happened at the same time as the Hollows were brought to (near) extinction makes me truly feel bad for Jacob. Even though he has grown to the point that he no longer feels like he needs a flashy talent, we were left feeling like everything that showed his talent had been eliminated. I would have been pleased if the library had been moved to another loop in Florida that Jacob had to guard. Or I would have been satisfied if we had seen Jacob's talent beginning to manifest in another way. I would have also rather enjoyed it if there'd been another librarian at the Library of Souls, who could have taught Jacob more about his gift.

The loops. The weird thing is that in the first book we continually heard about the resetting of the loop. It was a vital thing that needed to happen if the loops were going to keep functioning. It struck me as odd that for the length of time Jacob and Emma were in Devil's Acre there was never once a mention of the loop reset.

Another problem was the battle with Caul and Bentham I had been given to believe that the Peculiars had small and more subtle gifts, (for all that being invisible or having bees living in your stomach isn't very subtle, both things can be either hidden, or shown in a circus with the Normals simply believing these things were a trick) so having some stolen souls turn people into all-powerful, angry giants with telekinesis, or giant insect-like gods. I could see it more so if it were multiple stolen souls, mixing together with bizarre results, but to have those things occur from just one soul apiece was stretching the way that I had seen this world beyond what I'm willing to suspend my animation for. The other thing I did wonder about is if Caul could potentially have left what was left of the loop the same way the peculiar children did at the end of the first book, and wreak havoc on the ancient world.

I know I've mostly just complained about the book, but it is a lot easier to point out flaws then excellence, especially when there are more good things in a book than bad ones. As previously established this book is on my favorites shelf, and I wish the Miss Peregrine movie was coming out sooner than an entire year. And I hope they don't ruin it the way that so many other books get ruined as movies.

[slmr4242 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Good, but the ending felt rushed. A lot of threads got pulled together very quickly, and that felt forced, though I did like the repetition of scenes from the very beginning of the series.

[kristennicoson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is action packed and ties up all the loose ends of the Miss Peregrine series. It may have tied them up a little too neatly, but I prefer that to leaving us hanging.

[rempala · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very good series. I hated to see it end.

[shahnareads · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It's okay. I really like the first one, and it will probably always be a fav.
As the series goes on, I don't like Emma. ugh.
I do love all the old photographs though.

[cj82487 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book, as expected, picked up where the last one, Hollow City, left off in the Miss Peregrine's series. As usual, I was not disappointed with Ransom Riggs (Love the pen name!). With no break in the action, Jacob begins to finely tune is peculiarity. He also learns the history of peculiardom, wights, and hollows and answers to questions posed during the first two books are finally revealed. Jacob, Emma, and their newfound friend, Addison, are forced to quickly decide who to trust in their journey and who has been fooling them from the moment they met. With more beautiful pictures to provide a glimpse into Riggs' peculiar world, the story is palpable and leaves readers still wanting more.


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