The Desolations of Devil’s Acre – Ransom Riggs (2021)

The Desolations of Devil’s Acre by Ransom Riggs, published in 2021, is the climactic conclusion to the bestselling Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children series. Set in the twisted world of Devil’s Acre, the book thrusts readers into a battle for the survival of peculiardom, where Jacob Portman and his friends face overwhelming odds against the mad tyrant Caul. This finale blends fantasy, time loops, and coming-of-age themes to deliver an emotional and action-packed adventure.

Plot Summary

In the heart of a storm-tossed world, where peculiar children fight to hold onto the last shreds of hope, Jacob Portman awakens disoriented on the porch of his grandfather’s Florida home. His mind reels as memories flicker back – Noor Pradesh at his side, the wreckage of a collapsed loop, and the thunder of a coming storm both outside and within. Noor, fierce and trembling, clings to the fading hope that their mentor, V, has survived the destruction. But in the wet grass beyond the porch, they find V’s lifeless body, her heart stolen, her prophecy half-spoken, and their hearts split between grief and resolve.

As the rain lashes against the house, a wight in a yellow raincoat lies dead, a knife still in his throat. But the true threat stirs in the trees – a hollowgast, monstrous and relentless, drawn by the scent of violence. Jacob’s rare and cursed ability to sense and control these beasts quivers at the edge of his nerves, but there is no time for mastery, only for escape. He and Noor drag V’s shrouded body into the bunker beneath the house, a hidden relic of his grandfather’s secret life.

Belowground, they huddle in flickering green light as the hollow prowls above, rattling walls and shaking the foundation with its rage. The weight of prophecy hangs heavy – Noor is one of the seven foretold to stand against Caul, the monstrous brother of Miss Peregrine, whose hunger for domination threatens to unravel peculiardom itself. Time slips through their fingers, and with no way to warn their friends in Devil’s Acre, desperation sharpens into action.

An ancient teleprinter hums to life in the bunker, offering a glimmer of hope. As commands blink and stutter across its screen, Noor hammers the keys, fingers dancing between panic and determination. A defense system buried deep in the bunker roars awake, shaking the house above, driving the hollow back for precious minutes. With their enemy wounded but not dead, Jacob and Noor flee through underground tunnels, bursting into a mirror-house across the street. The battered Caprice waits in the garage, engine growling against the storm’s wail.

As they tear through the streets, the hollow crashes from the shadows, its black tongue lashing against the car, shattering glass, peeling metal like paper. Jacob stabs at the creature, each strike a prayer, each drop of hollowgast blood a desperate plea. The chase twists through flooded streets and broken neighborhoods, until with a screech of tires and the crunch of a downed tree, the hollow is torn loose, left broken in the road.

But the escape is only the beginning. The world they return to is crumbling – Devil’s Acre, the last bastion of peculiar refuge, is under siege. Caul, once thought destroyed, has risen from death, his power swollen by stolen souls, his ambition stretched beyond the bounds of time. His army swarms the Acre, shattering the fragile peace held by the ymbrynes and peculiar rebels.

Jacob, Noor, and the other peculiar children – Emma with her fire, Bronwyn with her unbreakable strength, Enoch with his grim necromancy, Hugh with his bees, and Addison, the wise and anxious talking dog – race to the heart of the chaos. The Acre groans under the weight of battle, its alleys and rooftops alive with rebels and monsters, with betrayal and bravery.

Within the shattered bones of the city, Jacob wrestles with his power, torn between command and surrender. Noor burns with the light of prophecy, her gift of harnessing illumination flaring brighter as the final pieces fall into place. Caul, swollen with stolen power, storms through the city, his hollowgasts at his heels, his laughter shaking the walls.

The children’s resistance is a symphony of courage and sacrifice. Emma’s flames light the darkness, Bronwyn’s arms hold the walls from falling, and Enoch’s dark arts snatch soldiers from death’s grasp. But it is Jacob, trembling and fierce, who steps forward, his voice cutting through the howl of monsters, calling the hollowgasts to his side, turning Caul’s own weapons against him.

The clash is titanic – light against dark, life against the hunger for eternity. Noor’s light sears through the black, Jacob’s hollowgasts tear through the ranks, and Caul, mad with power, crumbles as the prophecy fulfills its bitter promise.

When the dust settles and the screams fade, Devil’s Acre is left scarred but standing. The children gather amid the ruins, their faces streaked with ash, their eyes still shining with the wild, stubborn light of those who refuse to break. Loss hangs thick in the air – V’s absence a hollow in their circle, the fallen marked in every broken wall. Yet there is also laughter, quiet and exhausted, and the small, fierce smiles of those who have survived the storm.

Jacob looks to Emma, his heart tangled between past and present, between the family he was born to and the family he has chosen. Noor stands at the edge of the crowd, the last light of the prophecy still flickering in her eyes. Miss Peregrine, worn and wise, gathers her children with a quiet nod, her voice steadier than the trembling world around them.

In the end, it is not victory that lingers, but resilience – the fierce, peculiar stubbornness to rise again, to rebuild, to remember. The peculiar children turn toward the sunrise, their scars hidden beneath sleeves, their laughter echoing over streets still humming with the memory of battle. They walk forward, toward what comes next, into a world they have saved and remade by their own battered, brilliant hands.

Main Characters

• Jacob Portman – A teenager with the rare ability to control hollowgast, Jacob is courageous but burdened by self-doubt. His journey balances leadership and vulnerability, as he grapples with the fate of his friends and the weight of his power.

• Noor Pradesh – A fiery and determined peculiar girl who can manipulate light, Noor struggles with her role in the prophecy but shows fierce loyalty and resilience, especially as she confronts personal loss.

• Emma Bloom – Jacob’s brave and quick-tempered love interest, Emma can create fire with her hands. Her passionate nature and unshakable devotion drive her to protect the people she loves, even at great personal cost.

• Miss Peregrine – The authoritative but maternal ymbryne who leads the peculiar children, Miss Peregrine is a shapeshifter bound by duty, fiercely protective of her wards while facing the crumbling world around them.

• Caul – The monstrous antagonist and Miss Peregrine’s deranged brother, Caul is consumed by the lust for immortality and power. His chaotic hunger threatens to annihilate both the peculiar and normal worlds.

• Enoch, Bronwyn, Hugh, Addison – Jacob’s fellow peculiars: Enoch the cynical necromancer, Bronwyn the gentle strongwoman, Hugh the bee-controller, and Addison, the scholarly talking dog, all add depth, humor, and heart to the ensemble.

Theme

• Identity and Belonging – Jacob’s journey is deeply tied to questions of who he is and where he fits, both in the peculiar world and in his human life, making the theme of belonging central.

• Sacrifice and Heroism – Characters repeatedly face moments where they must risk themselves for others, illustrating that true heroism comes with painful choices and personal cost.

• Power and Corruption – Caul’s descent into madness serves as a warning of power without restraint, while the ymbrynes’ own authority is explored with nuance, showing both its necessity and its limits.

• Prophecy and Fate – The tension between destiny and free will drives much of the plot, as characters wrestle with the prophecy surrounding the “light-eaters” and whether their paths are predetermined.

• War and Resistance – The desolations, the final battle, and the defenses of Devil’s Acre mirror themes of revolution and resilience, reflecting the broader struggle between oppression and liberation.

Writing Style and Tone

Ransom Riggs’s writing style fuses lyrical prose with dark, cinematic action. He masterfully balances vivid imagery—such as ash falling like snow, grotesque monsters, and surreal landscapes—with sharp dialogue that captures the urgency of war and the tenderness of friendship. His blend of the macabre and the whimsical creates a unique atmosphere that feels both unsettling and wondrous, pulling readers into a world that teeters between beauty and horror.

The tone of the novel is intense, bittersweet, and at times grimly humorous. Riggs does not shy away from the psychological toll of violence and loss, infusing the narrative with emotional complexity. Yet moments of warmth, wit, and tenderness shine through, reminding readers of the deep bonds between the characters. The result is a tone that oscillates between dread and hope, perfectly suited for a series finale where the stakes are nothing less than survival.