“The present seemed suddenly strange to me, so trivial and distracted. I felt like one of those mythical heroes who fights his way back from the underworld only to realize that the world above is every bit as damned as the one below.”
Jacob is a peculiar who can see the deadly hollows when no one else can. He can even sense them when they are near. His grandfather also had that power, but Jacob only came to discover his by accident after his grandfather died. He thought he was going crazy with what he thought he had seen kill his grandfather, so he decided to visit the island to see if his grandfather’s stories were true. During a walk, he discovers a loop (a place where a day repeats over and over and can only be entered into by peculiars) and the truth. (See the review of book 1 here and book 2 here.)
(Sorry to repeat what I wrote in the review of the second novel, but even the books have a definition of characters and plot in the second and third books.)
I recently read the first two books in this series after seeing that a movie is coming out based on the novels. It’s young adult fiction that is too mature for my children right now, but I’m enjoying the plot and characters.
In the third and final book, Jacob and the children finally figure out where their caretaker has been taken to and what the plan their enemies have in mind. They have to travel to one of the worst loops in existence – where people live in poverty near a river full of sewage, called Devil’s Acre. Jacob and the children have been fighting so long now that they see enemies even among friends and strangers. Jacob realizes there might be more to his gift than just being able to speak to Hollows. Jacob and his friends risk their lives to fight for the future of all peculiars, but, at the end, Jacob must make the ultimate choice for his own future.
I would recommend this series to anyone who plans to see the movies, although I think it is meant for middle school ages and older. Adults should read it with their children to discuss the dark events that happen in the book. I am interested to see how the movie brings this series to life and will probably see it once it comes out on DVD.