#portdesh

[a-tad-bit-peculiar]

Thoughts on Book Five.

WELCOME TO THE SHITSHOW EVERYBODY BUCKLE THE FUCK UP (spoilers and some capslock under the cut, lads!)

Alright, I have too many thoughts, so I’m going to sort them into a list, starting from ten and counting down to one. Also, as a disclaimer: I really enjoyed this book! I can’t wait to see how the series ends, but I have lots of things to complain about. So, here we go!

Also, no hate to anyone who liked these parts. This is just my personal opinion!

10. The Kids

I LOVE all of the content focusing on the kids and their personalities! The dinner scene where everyone is talking about the resurrection soup is a really good Enoch scene, plus there’s SO MUCH good Hugh in this book! 

On the other hand, I noticed a few negative things about Emma and Millard.

Millard felt really bossy and arrogant, or at least, Jacob thought he was. Multiple times throughout the book, his enthusiasm and passion is twisted into something annoying and condescending. On top of that, Emma was turned into nothing but her relationship with Abe. She doesn’t do anything but mope over her failed relationships, which brings me to my next point.

9. Jemma vs. Portdesh (aka the romance plot)

What the actual fuck.

Jacob Magellan Portman, please quit thinking with your dick. It’s okay to be single. You don’t need to get into a relationship with every heartbroken girl you find, okay?

My main few problems with Portdesh are these:

For one, Jacob just dropped his feelings for Emma far too quickly to be reasonable. For instance, I’m a teenager around Jacob’s age, and I just went through an incredibly messy breakup (not going to go into details due to privacy on my partner’s part). It’s been almost two months--which isn’t a lot of time, mind you--and I’m still dealing with the repercussions. Jacob dropped Emma far, FAR too quickly, rendering an ENTIRE BOOK SERIES OF EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT completely null. I’m not saying that Jacob and Emma should get back together, I’m saying that Jacob isn’t dealing with his feelings in a realistic way. He’s a teenager, and an incredibly dramatic one at that. Love is messy and imperfect. It’s okay for him to be heartbroken and single. Let him have negative feelings.

Also, there’s the whole thing about him doing the exact thing Abe did to Emma. Again.

For another: NOOR’S CHARACTER IS SQUANDERED BY JACOB.

Noor Pradesh has the potential to be an amazing, relatable character--it’s just that Jacob is in the way. Instead of being her own person and allowing for solo development, Noor is thrust immediately into the role of “love interest for protag.” Instead of Noor reacting on her own to situations, she always traces it back to Jacob, because Epic Teen Romance. Please, Jacob. Quit making her into this perfect trophy girl. Nobody wants to read about that.

This book barely passes the Bechdel test, and the only reason it does is because Miss Peregrine exists.

8. Caul and the Prophecy

I’m honestly really disappointed. Caul was dead and gone. The ‘oooo he knew all along’ thing feels lazy and bland. I would’ve much preferred if Leo was the main villain; the dangers of peculiar America were much more interesting to me than reviving Caul. Also, Leo just being suddenly chill feels like a total letdown. I really hope he’s planning something nasty in secret, otherwise the whole Niece Monologue would have been for nothing.

About the prophecy, I have a single thought: cheap. I’m honestly not too interested in where it leads at this point, as it feels impossible to resolve well in a single book. I mean, come on. There are SIX MORE saviors to find. In ONE. BOOK. Riggs better have something great hidden up his sleeve.

7. Hugh’s desperation

Now HERE”S how you write some heartbreak, folks! Jacob needs to take a few notes from this man, because Hugh definitely cares more than Jacob seems to.

Despite what Jacob tells the reader, however, I feel that Hugh’s completely justified in his feelings.

NOBODY gave two shits about finding Fiona in books four or five. Everyone just accepted it, gave a sad little nod, and moved on with their lives. Hell, the only mentions of Fiona were when Hugh was upset and Jacob felt bad for him.

Miss Peregrine wore black forever because of Victor, and yet here we are. Not caring about Fiona.

As much as I love Miss P, I smell some unintentionally written favoritism.

6. Abe

Are we gonna just never tie off all of the loose ends related to Abe? Like, what the fuck happened to Leo’s niece? Is there anything else he’s hiding? Was Emma rightfully jealous of V? Are there any other agents who worked with him? Are there any more peculiars mad at him? How does Jacob feel about him? Is Abe just...a bad dude now? 

Abe being written off as a bad guy seems wrong to me. He tried so hard to protect people, and this is how he’s repaid. Such a damn shame.

5. V

(Haha, number five is V. I’m hilarious.)

Oh, want a new and interesting character who’s revealed to be an ymbryne with a badass shotgun? One you’ve been looking for for literally the entire book? Who was arguably more important than the titular event? Who you can already tell you’re going to love, just by how she’s written?

Oops, too bad, she’s dead now.

4. Horace’s cravat

The best goddamn thing in this entire book.

3. The Deadriser Loop

Jacob should’ve taken Enoch with him instead of Noor. Bonding opportunity: wasted.

2. Sharon and the Anti-Ymbrynes

Now we’re fuckin’ talking. The loop protesters are SO intriguing, I really want to see more of them! But please, Ransom Riggs, don’t just write them off as fools!

Jacob needs a reason to act so reckless. One of the reasons the fanbase is beginning to dislike him is because he acts so selfishly all the time. If the protesters were used as a springboard to drive Jacob into going against the ymbrynes, he’d be much more justifiable. ESPECIALLY if the protester group is gradually shown to be bad, not immediately.

1. Fiona

Fiona Frauenfeld I missed you so goddamn much.

Fiona is LITERALLY my favorite character in this entire series. Yes, even in front of Enoch and Horace. She’s so interesting and complex, and the fact that she’s coded to be neurodivergent (PTSD) and is CANONICALLY MUTE is so, so great!

It’s just...even with her being so wonderfully reintroduced...

She feels like a scapegoat. 

Who was the one to go missing? Fiona. Who was the one presumed dead? Fiona. Who was the one who got her tongue cut out by wights? Fiona.

I know I’m not explaining my thoughts well, so I’ll put it this way:

It feels like a bit of a cop-out to have the mute person lose their tongue, but maybe that’s just me.

Despite that, though, I missed her and Hugh so much.Their reunion broke my heart into a billion pieces! I’m glad she’s back, and I really hope she gets lots of screentime in the next book! Her tongue being gone seems like a great opportunity for character development, and my fingers are crossed that Riggs plays with that in book six.

Fiona I love you sweetie mwah...

And that’s it for my thoughts! Once more, I really enjoyed this book! I’m just picking it apart because I love this series so much. Ciao, dudes!