LIBRARY OF SOULS, by Ransom Riggs

Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs
My rating: 4.5 stars.

A page-turner, and a fitting end to the trilogy. Same tone and pacing as Book 2, but with a more substantial plot.

This series is all-around fun. It almost falls into the same vein as "Harry Potter" and similar MG series, but it has a macabre flavor, sort of like "Beetlejuice" or "The Addams Family." I like the twisted things Jacob faces, and his matter-of-fact way of dealing with them.

When Jacob is with his parents, his tone (the narrator's voice) becomes a little more entertaining and realistic, for me. It's fun to see him interact with normal people.

SPOILER WARNING: SKIP THIS IF YOU HAVEN'T READ BOOK 1 YET!

My only criticism is that I feel as if too many of the characters remain sketchy sketches, or cloaked in mystery. At the end of this book, I'm still not sure if I would trust Miss Peregrine. She acts like an Aes Sedai. Friend characters such as Addison and Bronwyn seem like one-note personalities, so it's hard to care about them the way Jacob does, and the way I expect the author intended. One is boastful, one is nurturing, one is fashionable, one is bubbly, one is dour, etc. Like the seven dwarves, each has one defining trait (plus a peculiar power). Only Jacob and Emma seem more fully fleshed out, with inner conflicts and personalities that contrast with and compliment each other.

I wanted to know more about Miss Peregrine and her family, and Ymbrynes in general. I want to know how Emma feels about being 100+ years old and in the body of a teenager. I want to know if Enoch will ever have a redeeming quality. I want to know if Jacob's peculiar power can manifest in any other way. So in short, I wish there was more! But all the same, this was a satisfying ending for Jacob's tale.

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P.S. -- Can you believe the author made this trailer? This book is probably the best material that Tim Burton has chosen to work with in years. I can't wait!