| Title | : | A Map of Days (Miss Peregrines Peculiar Children, #4) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780735231481 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | ebook |
| Number of Pages | : | 496 |
| Publication | : | First published October 2, 2018 |
Vintage photographs reveal the never-before-seen world of peculiar America with a stunning addition—full-color images.
Having defeated the monstrous threat that nearly destroyed the peculiar world, Jacob Portman is back where his story began, in Florida. Except now Miss Peregrine, Emma, and their peculiar friends are with him, and doing their best to blend in. But carefree days of beach visits and normalling lessons are soon interrupted by a discovery—a subterranean bunker that belonged to Jacob’s grandfather, Abe.
Clues to Abe’s double-life as a peculiar operative start to emerge, secrets long hidden in plain sight. And Jacob begins to learn about the dangerous legacy he has inherited—truths that were part of him long before he walked into Miss Peregrine’s time loop.
Now, the stakes are higher than ever as Jacob and his friends are thrust into the untamed landscape of American peculiardom—a world with few ymbrynes, or rules—that none of them understand. New wonders, and dangers, await in this brilliant next chapter for Miss Peregrine’s peculiar children. Their story is again illustrated throughout by haunting vintage photographs, but with a striking addition for this all-new, multi-era American adventure—full color.
A Map of Days (Miss Peregrines Peculiar Children, #4) Reviews
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UGGHHHH I NEED THE NEXT BOOK NOW!!!!
I could seriously read 30 books in this series without getting old. I love the world, the characters, the action, the peculiarities. Even though I haven't read a book by Ransom in three years, cracking this open to page one felt like returning to an old friend and delving back into a story i'd only just put down.
I love that this book expands the characters' worldview and how their personalities begin to evolve. The way that they change and begin questioning authority and wanting to be independent feels such a natural eventuality, and it was done so organically. None of the drama or disagreements in this felt petty or unfounded. It brings up issues of identity and lost love and the complications that come with time travel that haven't been addressed in previous books, especially in previously uncharted territories like America.
Speaking of, delving into America in this book was genius. I love how Ransom was able to establish an entirely distinct world of peculiars separate from that of the UK with all different gangs, politics, and complications. Sometimes the explanation of what's going on could get confusing, but I was a huge fan of the use of time travel in this book and seeing all the different eras and cities in the US was an added bonus.
My one gripe with this series is that even though I love all the characters and I can imagine them and I think their dialogue is hilarious and genuine, they still feel somewhat at arm's length. In books like Six of Crows with big casts, there's just this spark about individual characters that makes me fall in love with them, and although I like the characters in this book, I'm just not sold on them entirely. Jacob is excluded from this because you get to see into his head a lot more, but this book is so action-focused that it feels like a lot of the side characters lose their shine because we don't know a ton about their past, and the narration typically focuses on actions instead of appearances, when I prefer the latter.
I'm so excited for all these sequels coming out to series I love and this one is definitely worth it!! It was so much fun, I came to love the characters more than I already did. Jacob's growth is remarkable and I love the new characters. I can't wait to see where this series goes. -
Wow have I been living under a rock this all time? I had no idea this existed.
-
And so our trilogy continues into book 4. Well if you are on to a good thing why not?
I enjoyed this one nearly as much as the very first book. It was long but easy to read and the pages seemed to race past. The characters are growing up and there are some very interesting scenes as a result. How would you feel if you used to date the grandfather of the boy you are now seeing? And how does he cope when he thinks you still love his (dead) granddad. This is the sort of problem you can come across when you used to live in a time loop.
There is an excellent story, more of those lovely, weird photos and a fantastic ending which leaves the door wide open for more great action. I am already looking forward to book 5! -
*groans*
Should have stopped at three.
I loved the original Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. It had some really novel ideas, interesting characters (Miss Peregrine especially), and a compelling story. When I found out there was going to be a new trilogy, I was excited, but cautious. Looks like I had a right to be.
At the end of the Library Of Souls, Jacob left the loop and returned home to his parents, who consequently thought he was insane and attempted to have him committed. Luckily, Miss Peregrine and her wards showed up to save him. The Map of Days essentially starts off from that point. Miss Peregrine and the children have shown up to learn about the modern world, while also helping in Devil’s Acre regarding the reconstruction efforts for peculardom. The children are all disappointed when they are given menial tasks, with Jacob unhappy about being a celebrity for taking down Cain and saving the loops of the world.
Instead, Jacob finds a locked room in his grandfather’s home and discovers he worked as an independent agent tracking down peculiars in America and bringing them to safety. Believing that he was meant to find this and carry on his grandfather’s legacy, Jacob enlists the help of the children (whether they want to or not) on an adventure to New York in order to rescue a peculiar child from the mobs and other forces looking to claim her as their own
There are a lot of new elements to this series, mainly the state of American peculardom. It’s completely fragmented, with Jacob and his followers being in more danger mostly from the unknown. Really they had no idea what they hell they were getting into, but good thing they’re lucky, because they are just so incredibly naïve. They find a number of different loops filled with a variety of different peculiars who fill them in on how the country deteriorated and what happened to the their leaders. England this is not.
Now, there were a few things that really annoyed me. The first was (unfortunately) the characters. They have been in a loop for 80 years, cared for my Miss Peregrine, and faced ghastly situations with poor odds of survival. They have loved, they have lost. And they are still such….children. I think the loop also stopped them from maturing in any noticeable way. They told Miss Peregrine at the end that they were not children anymore, and she told them based on their actions it proves they are, and I have to agree with her. It couldn’t really be decided whether Jacob’s grandfather meant for him to find out about his double life. For a few chapters this was treated as what Jacob was meant to do, and then it changed to he was never meant to find out. Jacob had a hard time trying to decide what to do, and I think that’s because the story didn’t know what it wanted him to do. Jacob’s power is essentially pointless for his mission, and he didn’t solve any of the clues himself, and instead had to rely on the other children, who he dragged into danger and trouble in the first place.
I have to wonder, what is the point of the story going in this direction? The stakes don’t seem as high as the previous books, and would have worked just as well if it didn’t have anything to do with Miss Peregrine or her children at all. Is Jacob wanting to walk in his grandfather’s footsteps? Does he actually want to look for peculiars at all? What is to gain here? Jacob just seems like a stubborn little boy who didn’t want to wait around and instead go off on his own on an essential suicide mission to prove something to himself (or Emma), but ends up way over his head. Maybe this is the adult in me screaming at the irresponsible 16 year old, but I didn’t feel like that in the other books at all.
The original trilogy was fantastic, and while this new trilogy is exploring something completely different, it could be set with any array of characters and still be exactly the same. While entertaining in parts, I just was not impressed with the new direction and how dumb all the children came off. Shame really, because some of those pictures were really good and entwined well with the story. That’s always been this series strong point, what sets it apart, but it’s too bad the story was lacking on this occasion. -
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children: 4.25 stars
Hollow City: 4 stars
Library of Souls: 3 stars
A Map of Days: 3 stars
Pre-read:
The slight difference in the color of this book compared to the original trilogy is making me seriously uncomfortable.
Post-read:
Riggs really should have stopped at Book 3 (or book 2, if we're being honest). This book got way too long, with huge chunks of pages full of fillers. The characters got unbelievable annoying *looks pointedly at Jacob*, and the author seemed to try way to hard to make the photos a part of the overarching story.
I actually really enjoyed the ending, as Riggs has set the series up for his last 2 books with an intriguing new revelation. Unfortunately, I no longer feel compelled to follow through with the characters' stories, and will end my journey with the Peculiar Children here. -
Apparently we aren't
done yet with Creepy Vintage Photos..
We are gladly will have a new adventure with the Peculiars..in Modern Times in America this time..
And we really can't wait to be back to our...Peculiardom.. -
Wait, A fourth book? GOD HAVE MERCY ON ME.
-
NO.
-
My reaction, when thanks to Tahereh Mafi tweeting about it, I knew this book existed and all I could say was: I. AM. DECEASED.
The fourth book in Riggs' signature series plays out a bit like Iron Gold for me in that it's long and a little bit on the slow side sometimes, but it does a great job of expanding the world as built in the original trilogy too. Though Riggs doesn't do the four-POV route like Pierce Brown did - once again, Jacob's our sole POV character. But since he's about as new to the expanded peculiar world - and especially peculiar America - as the rest of us, it's to be expected that he remains our main window.
Peculiar America didn't get any exploration in the original trilogy, and now that we're getting a glimpse of it at last, it's not hard to see why. Not unlike America in real life, it's an enormous place, but unfortunately still suffers from a certain Wild West lawlessness too. Sharp sectarian divisions among America's peculiardom also reflect the bitterness of the political landscape, especially today. It's not unusual, of course, for Riggs to draw on history to shape his story. After all, the very premise, going back to Book 1, is rooted in a nightmarish metaphor for the Holocaust turning out to be the actual monsters all along. Now that we're on US soil in several times and places, Riggs doesn't waste much time putting both peculiar and non-peculiar America on blast for a long, ugly history of racism and colonialism and subjugation of anyone remotely different. On a more positive front, though, we get a very diverse and international cast of characters, even if most of them are minor at best - but at least this book is nowhere near as predominantly white as the previous three, or the movie, for that matter.
It's a heavy book, hard to digest at times, but Riggs does keep things light a lot of the time too. Jacob and Emma's relationship, for instance. Early on in the book, Emma ribs Jacob a bit for his lack of love experience - he's barely been kissed and is a virgin, which is par for the course given that he's always been kind of a loner (more than ever, in this book, I code him as a fellow autistic dude.) Jacob, in his internal monologue, talks about how much he knows he shouldn't internalize his virginity as a failure, and yet he can't help himself. But at least Emma knows the right thing to say to him, complimenting him for being careful with his heart.
I won't spoil anything about the developments in the plot or subplots, except to say that not unlike the very first book (and to a lesser extent, the second), there's a particularly diabolical weapons-grade cliffhanger.
As the peculiar world grows, everything explodes, and we're all guaranteed to never see anything about any of our faves the same way again. A Map of Days is Ransom Riggs' most timely novel yet, and I'll be eagerly awaiting the fifth book in the series - though remembering the long gaps between books in the original trilogy, it'll be an unbearable wait. -
I was so excited to see that there would be more books to this series. I absolutely loved the first three, I think it is a genius way in which to write, including vintage photographs and weaving a story through them.
When we left Jacob he had come home to Florida in which the peculiar followed suit and came to find him ending on what I thought was a lovely open ending. Well it did not stop there which I was about to find out. Oh how I have missed Ransoms writing. A Map of Days sat on my to be read shelf at the bottom as I was determined to read those before it. I flew through the other books in order to get to read it! It was very good motivation! On opening the first few crisp pages I noticed straight away that it was in colour. Yes colour! Then I started reading.
It all went a bit downhill from there. The book itself was quite slow to start I thought, I could not tell where the story was going which in this case was not good. It just felt all a bit washed out. Where is the adventure? The drama? The banding together to become a brilliant group of kids that kick ass but keep there sanity? The character development was lacking a little and I started to not like Jacob as much. He's supposed to be the hero?! It was so disappointing to not connect to this as much as I was hoping. My only thought is that this is a lead up to the next couple of books, setting the tone and the story to then go onto something magical.
I am still giving it a three stars as the concept is still amazing to me and it was enjoyable to read but just felt it lacked a lot of oomph, I am glad that this was not the first in the series as I feel most would put it down without a second thought. Fingers crossed the next is a bit more impressive. -
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children #4: A Map of Days happens to be disappointing beyond belief.
Okay, let's get something straight: I am a HUGE fan of this series (well, the trilogy that is)! I loved the first book for its well-placed mysterious and tense feeling. Then the sequel, Hollow City, was astonishing! I experienced reading a perfect adventure novel with non-stop suspense with an incredibly nasty twist towards the end. Soon afterward the third installment, Library of Souls, arrived. Ransom Riggs really nailed that installment home! There were compelling characters, a simple yet still enthralling plot, an intriguing setting, and even a couple of intense moments. After delightfully finishing three books, I considered without hesitation that this series was my favorite book series ever read!
You could only imagine how utterly excited I was when I heard Ransom Riggs was making the fourth book. I got it some days after it was released. Apart from hanging out with friends, exercising at the gym, reading Stephen King's Salem's Lot, and completing a butt load of classwork, I invested much of my time reading A Map of Days.
This book starts right after the 3rd book. I knew there would have to be roughly 50 pages dedicated to clearing the awkwardness between the peculiars and Jacob's parents. Ransom obviously needed to sort out how the peculiars would possibly live at Jacob's house. Jacob's parents were denying the peculiar children exist despite clearly looking at them. Frankly, I'd say Ransom handled these first few chapters quite well. Furthermore, I loved the moment when the century-year-old peculiar "kids" (some are actually over 100-years-old) were having pizza for the first time. Their reactions were hilarious.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of this novel was somehow even more boring than my Statistics class.
Although A Map of Days got somewhat exciting at times, there were too many bland and dull moments littered throughout this dumpster. The general plot of this book is that Jacob gets hired by this man under the pseudonym "H". He knows nothing about H. In fact, Jacob only accepts this job because H used to work with Jacob's grandfather. Jacob must retrieve this peculiar girl who has been hiding from menacing forces (who we readers don't meet until the end of the book). Sounds fairly interesting at first, however...
1. Jacob does not get hired by H until like 40% into the book. There was a non-stop filler between his parents agreeing to live with the peculiar children and Jacob finally meeting H. This is technically where the plot of this book starts after a huge chunk of the pages have been turned.
2. The filler is Miss Peregrine and the ymbrynes hiring the children to do part-time work. Ransom honestly should've taken this whole part out. This nonsense lasts way too long. In the end, all that changes is Jacob gets this clue about the whereabouts of H. This clue should have been discovered when Jacob and his friends locate Abe's (his grandfather) secret bunker instead.
3. Soon the group finds Noor. Every reader just reached the 80% mark of the book (wonderful)! The plan was to bring her to H. The readers must be wondering how this could possibly end with 20% left. Okay, in all seriousness, this might've been fine. However, after some weirdly described events where the group is lured into a bizarre trap, these evil forces capture them. Later in the novel, H "rescues" Noor. Jacob is eventually released and reaches H and Noor. The location is this hazardous zone within New York. You know, this 480-page book features almost nothing significant. Hollow City had roughly 60 pages less than this book yet was able to accomplish much more.
4. How about I rant about this novel's antagonists. First, this novel presented us with these evil "cops" (who wore "green fatigue pants and army boots"). These evil "cops" lasted for like 4 pages until Bronwyn, Emma, and giant poodles killed them. But I'm not done yet! This novel also featured these evil non-peculiars who possessed helicopters and I assume also possessed Stormtrooper accuracy. In addition, this novel presented us with the Five Boroughs clan. The Five Boroughs clan are these notoriously deadly dealers based in New York but their business is stretched across the entire American east coast. Their leader, Leo Burnham, was very charming. Just kidding! Like all gangsters, Leo possessed some of the biggest shitty arrogant doofus asshole characteristics in the history of mankind! He could have been the main villain, but he was only present for like 20 pages tops. Leo and his clan want Noor because she is allegedly quite powerful with her peculiar abilities. Noor is also apparently "1 out of the 7". In the end, these bastards just release Jacob and the peculiars from imprisonment because of this convenient dumb-luck scenario. To summarize, each antagonist had practically no involvement in the plot.
The reason why the scenarios in Hollow City and Library of Soul worked is that those novels had actual weight and tension. This book just feels like all the scenarios are cluttered piles of words on top of one another.
Another serious issue was the insane amount of new characters introduced. Allow me to explain: there are more introduced characters in this book than in both Hollow City and Library of Souls combined! Both those books fit perfectly the ADVENTURE genre! I was dumbfounded. No joke, at one point Jacob and his friends meet three creepy fish-people that emerge from a dirty pond and spout some weird nonsense to our main characters which frighten them off. That is all we readers know about the creepy fish-people. Why, Ransom, why? I honestly was confident that Ransom would stop introducing new characters after the first like 200 pages. Sadly, not all of your wishes turn true. Ransom kept on abusing the use of adding new people who only spout roughly 2-6 sentences of dialogue and last for 1-3 pages. I am completely okay with new characters (in fact I dare say I desire new characters since they might enrich this fantasy world more). But for the love of Jesus Christ, practically none of the new characters were interesting (aside from maybe Noor, H, and Leo).
I have a theory that might be completely misplaced but still believe could be true. Did Ransom make a gigantic list of potential characters prior to finishing the trilogy and only after Library of Souls did he realize the number of characters he never implemented into his novels? Perhaps he did not want all his time to go to waste. Again, this theory could be entirely misplaced but it still felt true.
However, as bad as the overload of new characters was, the worst aspect about the characters was what Ransom did with Jacob. The whole fucking plot of this novel revolves around Jacob implementing zero common sense, acting upon impulse, behaving like a toddler, and seemingly forgetting all he learned from the first 3 novels. He betrays Miss Peregrine by wanting to "follow his grandfather's footsteps". Jacob, along with Emma and a few other peculiars, go off on this stupid road trip adventure with virtually no plan or clear goal. Furthermore, when Jacob is interrogated by Leo, he acts so stubbornly that I honestly felt like burning the book in a fire. Why, Ransom, did you turn charismatic Jacob into pain-in-the-ass Jacob?
How about we analyze how many characters were killed in each novel in this series, shall we?
The first novel saw these lives lost...
-Abe
-Victor
-Martin (the museum curator who watched over that big hollowgast Malthus)
-Malthus himself
-Dr. Golan (that evil wight who disguised himself as Jacob's psychiatrist)
The second novel saw these lives lost...
-Mr. White (that evil wight who I think is third-in-command, and could command his own unit)
-Althea (Russian girl who served under Miss Wren)
-that stupid nonchalant clown guy
The third novel saw these lives lost...
-all the 12 hollowgasts Jacob managed to control and somewhat bond with
-presumably both of Miss Peregrine's brothers, Bentham and Caul (real name is Jack).
Furthermore, both Hollow City and Library of Souls featured many wights being killed in various action scenes.
Now, exactly how many characters meet their end in A Map of Days? The answer: only H who was shot by Leo's goons whilst fleeing with Noor. His death was admittedly fairly tragic to me. Afterall, he had a strong connection to Jacob's grandfather. He also died with a purpose which was to save Noor.
To put all this negative talk to rest, Ransom Riggs showed us to Jacob, Emma, and the peculiar children again. Like the previous books, each peculiar got their moments where their peculiar ability helped them and their friends (albeit not to the extent in the first 3 novels). The story was comprehensible enough with no spelling or grammar errors. And lastly, I appreciated how this novel ended on a cliffhanger.
Do I hate this book? Hell no!
Was I beyond disappointed and bored with this book? Yes.
Is this book worse in every regard when compared to Library of Souls or Hollow City? Yes.
I gave Library of Souls a 5-star rating. I give A Map of Days a 1-star rating. Sad.
Postscript
I am still looking forward to the inevitable fifth book, despite everything I ranted in this review. I dearly hope Mr. Riggs does a better job with the next installment. -
3.5 stars, I suppose, if I'm being generous. I liked this book, but part of me does wish that the author had stopped with the trilogy as planned. This book left more questions than answers and didn't feel as thorough or well-thought-out as the others. I can't help but feeling that it was simply an attempt to capitalize.
-
⭐⭐⭐½
Jacob Portman and his peculiar friends are off on another adventure, this time to 20th and 21st centuries America. I didn't enjoy this one as much as the others; I don't know if it's the book or if it's that I'm tiring of the series. I think 3 books sufficed and I won't be reading the 5th or 6th. I did derive some enjoyment from this book, especially from seeing the old photographs and the clever way Ransom Riggs weaves them into the story. I also enjoyed meeting some new Peculiars. However, I'm just not feeling the love like I did for the first 3 books, so I'll say Arrivederci to Miss Peregrine and her Peculiar Children. It was fun getting to know you all, but it's time for me to move on. Don't worry, it's not you; it's me. -
When I started this book my main thought was "this is way to big". After finishing it all I can think about is how I want more. This book definitely has a different feel than the previous trilogy, but in all the best ways. It is a great continuation of the story. You get so wrapped up in the world that the pages just fly by. I'm excited to see where the series will go from here!
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5/5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Guess who's gonna age forward 10 years waiting for the 5th book in this series?
Favorite Quotes:
"It's strange, what the mind can digest and what it resists.""There was something in the act of shouting along to that particular song with these particular people while driving that particular car that gave me a crazy, spine-tingling high like I'd never experienced before. It felt like we were claiming the world for ourselves and our lives as our own. This is mine. Yes. I'll do with it what I like."
Pros:
❇Where do I even begin? I honestly loved everything about this! This is one of my favorite series, so I was already a bit biased going into this one, but I enjoyed seeing all of the characters we already know and love in a new setting! I had so much fun learning more about the Peculiardom, and how different things are for the Peculiars living in America! There were also several new characters introduced that I'm looking forward to learning more about in the future!
Cons:
❇This book could've been 1000 pages, and I still would've wanted more! 😂 (Not an actual complaint)
Final Thoughts/Comments:
❇I don't think I knew how big of an impact this series had had on my life until it was announced that there would be more books in the series! I caught myself tearing up while reading the first couple of chapters, because I was THAT excited to be back in this world, and you can bet your ass I'm gonna be pre-ordering the next one a.s.a.p! -
In preparation for the finale book, I am done re-reading A MAP OF DAYS - Book 4 in the Peculiar Children hexalogy.
Author's Writing Style: 5 STARS. Yay - Riggs is consistent with his clear and clean style of writing. When I say clear, his choice of words visually entertains me whatever time of the day I chose to read. When I say clean, his grammar and sentence construction impress me. Is he an English Ninja?
Nay - Zero!
Characters' Development: 3 STARS. Yay - The main focus of this sequel is none other than Jacob Portman. He seems to become a man who fights for he wants to do. No one can stop him. Jacob turns himself into one stubborn non-conformist.
Nay - There are a number of passing characters. This sequel is filled with loop travels. Along the way, a couple of new characters pique my interest but their appearances are limited. They never shine through.
Plot: 5 STARS. Yay - This is a strong plot-driven sequel. There are 19 chapters in all. The first 200 pages are slow and safe. Nothing stirs yet. The peculiar children travel to Florida and they learn how to live like Americans. Yet, the degree of suspense skyrockets in the succeeding pages, especially in the last three chapters.
Nay - Sometimes, it gets too dark. I don't know how will the young audience handle the pressure.
* * *
Done reading A MAP OF DAYS - Book 4 in Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children series. I procrastinate a lot while reading it and I hated myself. I could have finished it much earlier, but it's all good. All things are okay. I'm still alive and I'm loving the book. The overall story felt lighter than its predecessors.
If Book 1 serves as the introduction and Book 2 prepares the readers to a heart-pulsating war in Book 3, Book 4 reboots it all but its crystal-clear tone of writing stays the same. The setting is different.
All peculiar children along with their resurrected ymbryne - Miss Alma Peregrine - found a new home in America. Jacob Portman welcomes them but realizes his lifestyle changes completely while living with them.
Jacob chooses to disobey Miss Peregrine as he, Emma Bloom, Millard Nullings, Enoch O' Connor and Bronwyn Bruntley embark on a mission to rescue a new peculiar in New York City. Will they succeed? Should they succeed, will Jacob finally obey orders? What happens if he's not?
"Sometimes, imperfect situations must be tolerated in order to achieve a greater good," is my favorite part of the book, which is found in Chapter 18, page 452. -
This picks up where the last book left off with everyone back in the present. Jacob finds some clues about Abe's life and sets out on a mission up the East Coast. American Peculiardom is quite different. It makes for a very interesting contrast and a complete new series of trouble for Miss Perregrine's Peculiar Children to get into. The format still revolves around building the story through creepy old-timey photos. If you've ever been curious, this is a fun and original series to pick up.
-
I hardly ever cry when it comes to books. But did I cry when I found out that Ransom Riggs was working on A Map of Days? You bet I did.
(You can read the complete review on my blog!)
MY RATING:
This novel follows the events in the previous three books. Go read those first for the best results!
The plot built up pretty slowly, but it continued to get more interesting along the way. At about page 400, the plot just… well, the only way I can describe it is like this: if the first 400 pages was like a gentle-yet-fun rollercoaster, then the last 80 pages was like the end of the rollercoaster where your stomach just drops and you’re having fun but you’re also scared for your entire life.
Everything in my little heart is longing to give this book 5 stars, just because I can… but my brain is telling me that wouldn’t be an honest review.
So 4 stars it is!
PROS:
- All your favorite characters are back! And in America!
- If you think the peculiars would have difficult yet hilarious times getting to know modern America, you would be 100% correct.
- Jacob, who continues to be one of my favorite characters and is secretly the male embodiment of myself.
- The pictures! Even more of them appear, and they’re still creepy.
- More adventures! More peculiarities!
NOT REALLY A PRO OR CON:
- It didn’t start to actually get interesting until around page 90.
- If we’re going to talk about creepy levels, the pictures in this book weren’t that creepy.
- While this book did seem overly long, I remained interested throughout the whole novel and there was never an “ah yes, this is just a filler scene” moment for me.
- The ending scene? I can't say much, but: the next book may be very much different than the previous ones.
CONS (I guess):
- Have you ever read a sequel, and you just knew in your heart that something was different but you couldn’t describe it in words? That’s what this book is like.
- While I think the idea of Jacob and the peculiars trying to live in the modern world is fun, it is very truly… different than the other books. Maybe in an out-of-character sort of way. I could feel that perhaps the author moved these characters along to fit them into the story he wanted, and I’ve been secretly feeling this way for the past couple of books.
Overall, as a personal preference, I choose to see through these cons when it comes to the Peculiar Children series. Why? I don’t know. All I can say is that I relate to Jacob on so many levels, and I care about him enough to follow his character through whatever happens.
Sometimes you just feel that way about a character.
I’m still here for you, Jacob. Even if you sometimes make crazy choices.
-
UM.
WAIT.
WHATTT??
ANOTHER TRILOGY?
sign me up please :D -
While this was still really really good, it was not as good as the previous 3 books.
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Quite different from the first trilogy.
Full review to come.
********************
TMR !
Oh my gosh! The title. The cover. I'm dying.
Every author I know has planned to release the new trilogy of the series that I've been following, but it's okay as it means I have something to read and look forward to for the next three years, at least.
*I'm soooooooooooo ready for this btw* -
I loved the original trilogy, and this honestly feels like a cheat after how the original finale wrapped up. That said it was good to see the characters again and how they deal with the present day, especially Enoch. I feel like this left me with way too many questions at the end and not enough answers, but I am very interested and have been to learn more about Abe's life. Two things that really bothered me in particular: the reaction of Jacob's parents to the truth about their son and all the dumb, dangerous decisions Jacob and the other Peculiar children make throughout. Honestly I was rooting for Miss Peregrine to tear them a new one. On that note, will I read book five? You bet!
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Sigh. I just DNFed this at 25 percent. I wasn't enjoying the children in this one and following Jacob as he is crowned "The One" through a fourth book didn't sound like a good time to me.
I think that the last book ended perfectly and had the right message that life isn't fair. I thought it had a good logic behind Jacob following in his grandfather's steps with him not being able to say with the people he loved. I thought it was up there with "His Dark Materials" in showing children how life can be cruel sometimes. But Riggs ruins it with a handwave with somehow Miss Peregrine and the rest of the children being able to follow Jacob into his world. And then we have Jacob and a lot of the children acting like rebellious jerks. I just got sick of Jacob being rude and nasty and being jealous that Emma was in love with his grandfather. Also, can we talk about how weird that whole thing is???
I also thought that Riggs missed out on including Jacob's parents in this one. I think that could have made the story more exciting. Jacob is hostile and nasty to Miss Peregrine to the point I wish she had shaken him. And Jacob just wanting to be alone with Emma for kissing and something else just made me sigh. This book started to remind me of the worst parts of Harry Potter when the characters grow up and just become hormones. I am going to compare it to "His Dark Materials" again because to me that book showcased a young girl coming into her own and finding love. I thought it was more true about how many of us find our first love. I didn't feel any of that with Jacob and Emma.
This book seems to be following more mysteries of what Jacob's grandfather was up to which...I just don't care anymore. Seriously. Just pick a new plot and move on to something else.
The pictures in this one felt more meh to me too which is sad. I remember the first book really incorporating the pictures and stories of the Peculiar much better.
I skimmed ahead and read the ending and am glad I passed on finishing this one the whole way through. It just seems to set up another book and I am just not that excited about following this series anymore. -
An underrated book that you can't put down. Loved the setting, new characters and their development, the plot and everything of it. It was really cool that Jacob and his friends are now thrust into the untamed landscape of American Peculiardom where new wonders and and dangers awaits them.
The vintage photographs again works flawlessly to create a brilliant story. This book left me hanging. A Map of Days is my first book to read in 2019 and it means something special to me. -
3.5⭐️
The peculiars need to figure out how to live in the real world.
It was cute and funny but I wasnt in the mood for it I think so I will reread the whole series and try again later on and hopefully enjoy it more. -
This book should never have happened is my main thought after finishing it. Now hear me out! I still love this series and this book was decent but it just wasn’t necessary and didn’t live up to the same standards as the original trilogy. The same cast of characters was there and I do love them but it seems like they’ve aged backwards from the last book. They’re all incredibly bratty and selfish and it really made me enjoy this book a hell of a lot less than if they had remained as awesome as in the first books. After fighting to hard to save Miss Peregrine now they’re constantly disobeying her and putting themselves in jeopardy? It just doesn’t fit and it was such a disappointment. It does still get points for the incredibly formatting though, the vintage photographs are stunning as are the other physical details of the book!
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Mostly I just loved to be with the people again and didn’t mind the slow first 2/3. The ending though, wow! Everything changed and there is all the potential for an epic story to come!
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For my full review, visit me at
https://mrsbrownsbooks.wordpress.com/...
In my previous Ransom Riggs’ review, I was very skeptical about how the writer could continue the series without being repetitive. To be honest, I approached this book expecting boredom and no new ideas but, I am pleased to say that Riggs has got it right and I am left looking forward to reading the next one of the series (once it is released!).
For my full review, visit me at
https://mrsbrownsbooks.wordpress.com/... -
The peculiar children are off for another peculiar adventure!
This forth book in the series, pretty much like every other, turned out to be very enjoyable for me! But, just like the others, had a very big flaw in my opinion: the first half was veeery slow, and really felt more like an introduction to the book itself than a part of it. I was even tempted to stop reading, but I pushed through and I am glad I did because, at around 60%, the real action started and it was GREAT! Really, the main plot of this one is definitely the best so far!
But how can I forget the fact that it was such a pain to reach it? I'm giving three stars but I see them more as an average between the first part, which I would give one star to, and the second part, which in my opinion would deserve five stars. Now I just have to wait for the next one! 😊 -
Absolutely brilliant. I love this series so much, it's been one of my favourite things to read over the last few years. In this installment I really liked the evolution of Jacob and the others, the complexities of their world and situation and the way it was all so perfectly complimented by the photos (in colour for this book).
I won't say much more for fear of spoiling things, but I can't recommend this (or the series itself if you're new to it) enough.
