Hollow City

Hollow City Analysis

Part one

1 The group is leaving the island. They are exhausted but persist rowing until it starts to rain and the waves turn their boats over. Trying to regroup they realize that Bronwyn and Olive are missing. They find Bronwyn beneath her overturned boat and Olive floating attached with a rope to an anchor. Olive sees land close by and the exhausted crew start rowing towards it.

Analysis

The plot continues where it left off in the previous book. The group is helplessly trying to hold onto their precious objects that are part of the home they left. Jacob is also thinking about his home and how his father will react when he sees the letter Emma left on his table. The crew is also nervous that the wights might catch up to them so they want to get to safety as soon as possible.

2 The group arrived on land. All of their things are gone except Bronwyn's casket with books, volumes of Tales of the Peculiar and a shower mat. They soon notice air balloons scaling the coast and they decide to hide in the caves. Inside the caves they plan what to do next and realize that they have to put their trust in Jacob's abilities to track wights and hollows. Enoch is reluctant to trust him and compares him to his grandfather. Enoch didn't trust his grandfather either and starts to insult Jacob's abilities. Upset, Jacob leaves the cave to get some fresh air. Emma joins him. Soon they realize that they have been attacked by a submarine. The group starts running.

Analysis

The group is unsure what to do next because they didn't even expect they would get this far. Emma is the driving force, sure of herself and sure that they will get through it and find another loop. Jacob is still having doubts about his peculiar powers, overwhelmed by the responsibility of the group relying on him, afraid that he will let them down, that he will let Emma down.

3 The group is hiding beneath branches that one of the peculiars formed. They are exhausted and afraid. Claire is crying uncontrollably and she asks Bronwyn to read a story from the Tales of the Peculiar. Miss Peregrine opens the book for Bronwyn to read. The story is about a giant called Cuthbert who rescued other peculiars menageries, peculiar animals from hunters. The story ends with the giant being turned to stone and submerged into the lake by a witch's curse. As he is getting underwater he shouts for his rescued friends to come talk to him but they can't leave the safety of the mountain. The group is able to get some sleep and in the morning they begin to search for something, any sign of rescue, but they realise that searching by day is even worse than night, they seem to be completely lost. Hugh excitedly returns to the group because he discovered a lake with the giant from the story. After they reach the lake, Emma goes first to inspect the giants head peering above the water. Jacob goes after and soon the rest of the group and they discover that the head is an entrance to another loop. They are excited about finding it but their excitement is soon met with terror because there is a hollow in the loop. They manage to kill the hollow and they find a strange looking house sitting on top of what seems to be a pile of rails. They meet with a menagerie, a peculiar dog named Addison, and he invites them to the house to rest and eat.

Analysis

The Tales of the Peculiar seem to hold a much bigger importance opposite to what everyone thought. The Tale of Cuthbert the giant led them to another loop and the menagerie from the tale are real, even though this is surprising only to Jacob. In this chapter there is also a development of Jacob's powers. He is able to sense the hollows more intensely and is even able to predict their next moves. Jacob is afraid that the success of killing the hollow will get to his head, to everyone's head, and that when he stops being afraid something terrible might happen.

4 After they have met all the peculiar animals and eaten, the group have to think about their next move. They find out from Addison that Miss Peregrine has two more days to turn back to human form, or she will remain a bird forever and lose her human self. He also tells them that other ymbrynes are in a peculiar prison loop in London. The only way that Miss Peregrine can turn back human is with a help of another ymbrine. The group prepares to go to London; it is their only chance, even if it is a small one. Addison explains them the way out of the forest and into the city and gives them a map. He also asks of them if they see his ymbryne Miss Wren to tell her to go back home. Claire is sick so she has to stay behind; Fiona also stays to look after her.

Analysis

In this chapter we learn more about menageries. They were hunted and killed and there are not many of them left. After what seems that things couldn't get any worse for the group, they find out that Miss Peregrine hasn't much time left and needs to be healed as soon as possible. They have to go on a very dangerous mission, with very small chances of success, but at this point it is the only option they have left. Jacob is again afraid and burdened by everyone relying on him.

5 On their way to the town the group encounters travelling gypsies. They secretly climb onto their vehicles but are soon discovered and put into a cage. The wights arrive at the spot where gypsies stopped to camp and start searching for the group. The leader of the gypsies doesn't let the wights discover them and after realising they are a group of peculiars, gypsies start apologising for the way they treated them and now start treating them as guests. The gypsy leader has a peculiar son whose body is starting to disappear-he is the same as Millard. Early in the morning gypsies help the group get to the town and Radi, the peculiar gypsy boy, wants to go with them, but Millard assures him that his place is with his family and that they will know how to take care of him the best.

Analysis

After a strange turn of events the group finally appears to be getting at least a little lucky. With the hospitality of Gypsies they are finally able to forget about their trouble even for a little while. Despite this, in the morning as they are about to leave, the dreadful future seems to be getting closer, as Jacob describes the young gypsy boy looking at him with tears in his eyes, looking at him as if he were a ghost.

6 The group arrives to the town called Coal. They reach the train going to London and with Horace's help buy first class tickets. Just as they are about to reach their train cabin a wight stops them and orders them to get off the train. He has them at gunpoint and orders them to keep moving. They reach a small house in a field. There are a few other wights there holding the gypsies the group met before captive. As the wights are inspecting the peculiar children there is a gunshot and soon the room is filled with a swarm of bees commanded by Hugh. The bees kill the wights and Jacob and peculiar company take their car to try to reach the train. They manage to reach it just as it is about to depart from the station. Miss Peregrine is still there in the train waiting for them. The peculiar children are finally relieved and everyone wants to forget about the horrors that happened just a while ago.

Analysis

The group were so close to finally depart when they are finally captured by the wights. In this chapter we learn that the wights have been trying to capture them for a long time. We also learn more about the wights through Jacob's eyes. They seem human but their actions make them look more like machines. Ironically they meet a wight called White.

7 On the train Jacob is having nightmares about being back home, but as a ghost and attending his funeral. The group talks about their peculiarity. Some think it is just a part of them, some think it is a second soul. They talk about the possibility of extracting that soul and if the wights are already onto this. In this chapter we learn more about how the peculiar children found out they were peculiar. Emma tells her story to Jacob. When she was developing her powers her superstitious mother left home and her father locked her in. Her sister helped her escape and after a month Miss Peregrine found her and gave her a new home. The train arrives to London.

Analysis

The important part of this chapter is the discussion about peculiarity as a second soul and how the peculiars are more and not less than normals.

Part two

8 The group gets off the train and they go to the telephone boot to contact other loops. They are hopeful that there is at least one intact but they soon find out that there are no loops left to contact. They start to run through the town because the conductors and other adults are chasing them. After they reached the safety it's time to plan what to do next. They agree it's time to go to the punishment loop. Millard doesn't agree with this idea because it's too dangerous-punishment loops are filled with hollows and wights; there is no way they will make it out alive. Millard suggests that they search for Miss Wren's pigeons because if they find Miss Wren she might be able to fix Miss Peregrine. He consults the Tales of the Peculiar to find out about the pigeons whereabouts. He discovers they are at the St. Paul's cathedral. When the group reaches the cathedral bombs start falling. They have to find out where the pigeons and another loop are soon. They discover it at the bottom of the cathedral in the crypt. The entrance to the loop is the tomb of the man who built the cathedral.

Analysis

In this chapter we get a description of the war stricken London city. As they are approaching the cathedral the group stumbled upon a place where the bomb fell and they witness the scene after the destruction. They see an abandoned baby and a fire officer and are deeply disturbed by the scene but know this is the past, it already happened and there is nothing they can do about it.

9 The group enters the tomb and they meet two peculiar echo locators. Only Jacob, Emma and Horace enter the loop. There they meet another peculiar girl named Melina and find one of Miss Wren's pigeons. Jacob senses two hollows approaching them and they all start running to leave the loop quickly. The group and their new friends all go back to 1940. The hollows are right behind them, chasing them.

Analysis

The group soon finds out that this loop has been raided as well. Jacob can feel the remains of hollows and wights being there. But not everything is dark as they discover that some of the peculiars have survived and they managed to catch one of Miss Wren's pigeons. Now they just have to think about how to escape from the hollows that are hungry for killing and are just behind their backs.

10 The group takes shelter from the hollows in one of the houses. There they meet two girls-Sam and Esme. The hollows discover them and start entering the house. Suddenly a mine falls onto the ground and the hollows are wiped out. Surprisingly, the group is left unscathed thanks to the sweaters Addison gave them. They go back to the house to look for the girls. They find Esme alive in the bathtub mildly injured. They see Sam hanging from the ceiling with a whole through her mid section that should have killed her-but she is talking like nothing happened. They realise Sam is a peculiar too. The group starts following the pigeon in hopes of finding Miss Wren, leaving angry and disappointed Sam and Esme behind. Emma is deeply disturbed by Sam's opinion of them; because Sam thinks they are not good, compassionate people.

Analysis

The group has to face many difficult choices to save themselves. The choice of leaving Sam and Esme behind in the house at the mercy of hollows is a justified one because the two girls are part of the past already. But in the choice being a justified one it doesn't mean it's a moral one and Bronwyn sees this and this makes Emma deeply upset at the end of the chapter.

11 The group follows the pigeon into the train station. There they find a loop and enter it. Miss Peregrine in what appears to be a fit of rage kills the pigeon. They enter what seems to be a tourist loop. They dress to disguise as commoners and go to a carnival. After searching for Miss Wren hopelessly they come across a house where all of the ymbrynes meet. The house is frozen. In front of it they finally meet Miss Wren thanks to Olive. She guides them into caves and introduces herself as Balenciaga Wren.

Analysis

After going to several loops the group is running out of time and when they are at the brink of losing hope they finally meet Miss Wren. Miss Peregrine seems to be losing her human self when she cruelly kills the pigeon that led them all the way to the loop.

12 Miss Wren is surprised that the peculiar children managed to survive this long. She promises to heal Miss Peregrine. While they are waiting for her to do it the group meets other surviving peculiars, the ones they saw at the carnival. They lead them to the hospital part of the house where there are three patients that were captured by wights and tortured. After inspecting the patients Millard comes to the conclusion that their peculiar soul was extracted from them. With horror, the peculiar children realise that the wights are not only after the ymbrynes but after them as well. They need to decide whether they would stay and fight or find some place to hide. All agree it's best to wait for what Miss Peregrine has to say. Emma tells Jacob that he needs to go home now. He tells her that he loves her. She encourages him to go and tell the others the decision she made for him and he tells her that he needs some time alone.

Analysis

The group has finally met their only hope in the form of Miss Wren. As they thought that the chances of their survival were very low they never considered what they would do after Miss Peregrine is healed. There is a big decision in front of the peculiar children, to stay and fight or to hide somewhere and hope that they won't be discovered. There is a big decision in front of Jacob as well, a decision that would set the course for his whole life-to follow into his grandfather's footsteps or to follow his heart.

13 Jacob returns to the group to tell them that he will go home after everything is done. On his way he discovers a frozen hollow still barely alive and decides not to kill it. That night he dreams of his grandfather and hollows and wakes up holding the head of the frozen hollow. Miss Peregrine's transition is almost over. When the bird turns human it appears to be a body of a man and not Miss Peregrine. It is Caul a wight and Miss Peregrine's evil brother. He tells them that the house is surrounded by soldiers. Caul kills the girl who made the frozen fortress and it begins to melt. His soldiers capture the peculiar children and lead them through the loop into the present. In a combined effort of Jacob, Emma and Bronwyn Emma and Jacob manage to escape from the soldiers and hide with the help of Addison. Jacob sees his friends and Miss Wren being taken away by the train. Jacob answers a call from his father. Suddenly, in front of the phone booth where they are hiding Jacob sees the hollow from the frozen fortress, it followed them all the way to the present. The hollow takes hold of Jacob and as he thinks he is about to die something miraculous happens and he is able to tell the hollow to back off. Jacob tells his father over the phone that he is like grandfather, that he is a peculiar and then orders the hollow to stand. The monster is obedient to him.

Analysis

In an extremely unexpected plot twist we learn that Miss Peregrine is not Miss Peregrine. All the group did by bringing the bird to Miss Wren is helping capture the last free ymbryne. But not everything has fallen into water as Jacob and Emma managed to escape and Jacob learns about a new extraordinary part of his peculiarity.

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