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Front cover of Hollow City

Hollow City

by Ransom Riggs

Jacob and the peculiars flee their destroyed loop and travel across war-torn England to reach London, seeking help for the trapped Miss Peregrine in this sequel to Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar C

$14.27 on Amazon

Best for

Readers aged thirteen and up who have already experienced the first Miss Peregrine graphic novel and want a panel-by-panel visual continuation of Jacob and the peculiar children's story, with Cassandra Jean's illustrations bringing the WWII-era chase narrative to life.

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At a glance

Pages272
First published2016
SettingWWII-era Europe and London
AudienceYA (13-18)
ISBN0316306797
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Ransom Riggs

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Ransom Riggs

2 books reviewed

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Hollow City

by Ransom Riggs

LuvemBooks Verdict

Best for: Readers aged thirteen and up who have already experienced the first Miss Peregrine graphic novel and want a panel-by-panel visual continuation of Jacob and the peculiar children's story, with Cassandra Jean's illustrations bringing the WWII-era chase narrative to life.

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Hollow City — the Yen Press graphic novel adaptation illustrated by Cassandra Jean — continues Jacob Portman and the peculiar children's desperate flight toward WWII-era London, racing to restore Miss Peregrine's humanity before she is lost forever. Ideal for readers already invested in the peculiar universe, it earns praise from Shelf Awareness for masterfully building suspense while expanding the series' lore, though those new to the series must start with the first installment and some readers find the middle stretch requires patience before the final quarter delivers its reversals.
Is it worth reading?
For readers already familiar with the first book, Hollow City delivers on its core promise: sustained narrative urgency built around Miss Peregrine's ticking-clock transformation, a clearly differentiated ensemble of eight peculiar characters, and a meaningful expansion of the series' lore. Shelf Awareness wrote that Riggs 'masterfully builds suspense while revealing new information about the peculiars' world, making it at once sinister and captivating.' The chief caveat is structural — the middle section loses some forward momentum before the final quarter reasserts pace and delivers several plot reversals, so readers should come prepared for a story that earns its ending rather than sustaining full throttle throughout. Reader consensus places it slightly below Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children in overall impact, but Booklist still described it as one fans 'will be pleased with.'
Similar books
Readers drawn to Hollow City's blend of dark fantasy, WWII atmosphere, and young outsider protagonists will find several strong companions. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs is the essential starting point — the world, rules, and characters introduced there are prerequisite knowledge for Hollow City. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak shares the WWII European setting and a similarly haunting, atmospheric tone, though it is a prose novel rather than a graphic adaptation. For younger readers who love unsettling, imaginative dark fantasy with a brave child protagonist navigating a world that is not quite right, Neil Gaiman's Coraline and The Graveyard Book occupy adjacent territory in mood and theme, as does Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell for older readers seeking intricate magical world-building in a British historical setting.
Who should read this?
The clearest audience is readers already invested in Ransom Riggs's peculiar universe who want to continue Jacob Portman's story in a panel-by-panel visual format — or who want to supplement their experience of the prose original with Cassandra Jean's graphic novel adaptation. Those who enjoyed the first book's blend of dark fantasy, WWII atmosphere, suspense, and an ensemble of vividly differentiated peculiar children will find the sequel rewards their familiarity. Readers new to the series should begin with Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children before coming here — Hollow City offers no on-ramp for newcomers and assumes complete knowledge of its predecessor's world, rules, and cast from the very first pages.
What age is it for?
Best for ages 13 and up. The Yen Press graphic novel carries an official rating for readers thirteen and older. The story features sustained peril — hollowgasts and wights hunting child characters, wartime bombing, and an ensemble facing life-or-death decisions — as well as dark fantasy imagery that Cassandra Jean renders visually in the graphic adaptation. The themes of self-doubt, collective courage, and the cost of choice under pressure are well within the emotional range of teen readers, but the atmospheric darkness and wartime setting make 13 a sensible floor.
About Ransom Riggs
Ransom Riggs is an American writer and filmmaker best known for the book Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.
How does it compare to the first book?
Reader consensus places Hollow City slightly below Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children in overall impact — with some readers finding elements such as the peculiar-animal sequences less compelling than the human-centered tension of the original, and the middle section losing forward momentum before the final quarter restores pace. On the other hand, Hollow City is broadly recognized as the stronger world-builder of the two: it introduces Miss Wren's menagerie loop, the broader network of imperiled ymbrynes, and the significance of The Tales of the Peculiar as a navigational text, considerably expanding the mythology established in the first book. Shelf Awareness credited Riggs with masterfully building suspense while revealing new lore, and Booklist described it as a volume fans 'will be pleased with.'
What are the main themes?
Hollow City centers on self-doubt, resilience, collective courage, and the cost of choice under pressure — themes that emerge organically from the peculiar children's desperate flight and their need to function as a group despite their very different personalities and peculiarities. The ticking-clock mission to restore Miss Peregrine's humanity before she is permanently lost gives these themes a concrete narrative anchor: the question of whether the group can hold together long enough, and at what personal cost, drives the emotional core of the story. Jacob Portman also faces a meaningful personal decision regarding his relationship with Emma Bloom, adding an individual stakes layer beneath the ensemble adventure.
Summarize this book

Summarize this book

The graphic novel adaptation of Hollow City, illustrated by Cassandra Jean and published by Yen Press in 2016, picks up the instant Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children ends: Jacob Portman and the peculiar children flee hollowgasts by boat, make landfall, and set out across wartime Europe toward London to find Miss Wren — the one ymbryne who may be able to reverse Miss Peregrine's dangerous transformation into a bird before her human self is permanently lost. Their path winds through a menagerie time loop populated by peculiar animals including Addison, a speaking dog, a traveling Gypsy caravan, an ambush on a railway, and ultimately the bombed cityscape of WWII London. The story layers new peculiar mythology — additional time loops, the significance of The Tales of the Peculiar as a navigational text, and a broader network of ymbrynes imperiled by the wights — around a propulsive ticking-clock chase narrative. A surprising twist at the novel's close positions the story toward the third installment.
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

4.3

/ 5

Ransom Riggs' 2011 debut novel blends found vintage photography with young adult contemporary fantasy to tell the story of Jacob Portman, a teenager drawn to a mysterious Welsh island after his grandfather's cryptic dying words — a structurally original premise that earned the book a place on the New York Times bestseller list and launched a six-book series.

View on LuvemBooks →

Hollow City by Ransom Riggs

Hollow City by Ransom Riggs

4.6

/ 5

The graphic novel adaptation of Hollow City, illustrated by Cassandra Jean and published by Yen Press in 2016, brings Ransom Riggs's dark fantasy sequel to visual life — following Jacob Portman and his peculiar friends on a desperate flight from hollowgasts and wights toward WWII-era London, with Miss Peregrine's humanity hanging in the balance. The original novel debuted on the New York Times bestseller list, and the graphic novel format offers a distinct entry point into a sequel praised for its suspense-building and world-expanding storytelling.

View on LuvemBooks →

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Editorial Review

The graphic novel adaptation of Hollow City, illustrated by Cassandra Jean and published by Yen Press in 2016, brings Ransom Riggs's dark fantasy sequel to visual life — following Jacob Portman and his peculiar friends on a desperate flight from hollowgasts and wights toward WWII-era London, with Miss Peregrine's humanity hanging in the balance. The original novel debuted on the New York Times bestseller list, and the graphic novel format offers a distinct entry point into a sequel praised for its suspense-building and world-expanding storytelling.

Read the Full Review

Ransom Riggs on Hollow City

Ransom Riggs discusses incorporating vintage photographs into his novels during an interview at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.

Uploaded by Detroit PBS, 2015 · Watch on YouTube ·

More from this interview on Ransom Riggs' page →

How photos and story reversed dynamic in sequel

Riggs explains that while found photos inspired the first novel, by the second book the story had developed its own momentum. Instead of photos dictating the plot, he had to search for specific vintage pictures to match the narrative.

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Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Ransom Riggs

Book one of the Peculiar Children series — essential grounding for Jacob's world, the loop system, and the peculiars whose survival drives Hollow City.

Everything that makes the second volume urgent — Jacob's bond with the peculiars, the rules of time loops, the threat of the hollowgast — is established here. Readers who jumped in mid-series will find the stakes click into place, and readers who finished Hollow City and want to revisit the beginning will notice foreshadowing they missed the first time.

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Library of Souls

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Direct series finale — picks up the peculiars' desperate mission and resolves every thread left dangling at Hollow City's cliffhanger ending.

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The Book Thief

Markus Zusak

WWII Europe setting, a young protagonist surviving wartime destruction — trades peculiar magic for raw emotional power, suits readers drawn to the historical backdrop.

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The Cruel Prince

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Hidden supernatural world, a mortal protagonist out of their depth, and escalating political danger — delivers the same propulsive chase energy in a fae-court setting.

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Deeplight

Frances Hardinge

Eerie creature lore, a desperate cross-country journey, and a friendship tested under supernatural pressure — Frances Hardinge's worldbuilding matches Riggs's imagination beat for beat.

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The Inheritance Games

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For readers who stalled in Hollow City's slower middle stretch — tightly plotted mystery, no lore front-loading, and puzzle momentum that never lets the pace drop.