“How many people would spend their lives among shades and ghosts, were they able? Every parent who’d lost a child, every lover who’d lost a mate: If they had the choice, wouldn’t most do the same? We’re all riddled with holes, and there were days when I would’ve done anything to patch mine, if just for a while. I was glad I didn’t have a choice. Gladder still that I didn’t have the powers of an ymbryne. The temptation to misuse them would’ve been overwhelming.”

The Desolations of Devil’s Acre: final part of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. It all comes down to the final battle between the biggest evil Caul and the peculiar children in this sixth and final instalment of the series. There is no need for me to say that I had been waiting with eager excitement for this book to release.

The Desolations of Devil’s Acre starts where The Conference of the Birds ended; with the world going black for Jacob and Noor. They both find themselves in the backyard of Jacob’s grandfather’s house and from there on another struggle to survive begins.

Caul is back and more powerful and dangerous than before. He has a vendetta against his sister, Elma or Miss Peregrine as she is widely known and wants to enslave all peculiar children to do his bidding. What ensues now is a struggle to survive and defeat Caul before he destroys everything the ymbrynes have been working hard to build and protect.

The novel is full of action and there is never a dull moment. Where The Conference of the Birds may have been a little slow in the beginning, this one starts with a fight with a wight (eyeless men who kill without remorse) and continue with one adventure after another. Time travelling right into the middle of 2nd World War is also aptly written. Ransom Riggs has done justice to the setting of the War and to the whole fantasy genre as a whole. And the photographs he uses add to the joy of reading this book. It renders a surreal quality to the story and the author’s idea of using the photos has been great.

My one complain: all the original peculiar children should have been part of more action. I guess I am a bit biased towards them but once you start a series with particular characters, they sort of grow on you and you want them everywhere. Other than that, I think it was perfect.

The fact that this was the last part of an amazing book series made me want to read the book as fast as I could and yet not want to ever end the series. I had read the 1st part back in 2016 and I am so glad I picked up Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children to read. I know for sure that soon enough I will be re-reading the series from the beginning.

My rating: 4.9/5