Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Gallant by V.E. Schwab

118 reviews

elsea_readingelsea's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, and Suicide

phillyhufflepunk's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Olivia grew up in an orphanage with nothing but her mother's very confusing journal to connect her to anyone else. Unable to speak and surrounded by people unable to sign, she's alone. Even the ghosts, that only she can see, are silent. Then, a letter arrives from a family she never knew she had.

A young adult gothic novel which features a character who struggles within an ableist institution, doesn't needlessly info dump, and doesn't waste time telling the story. Would love to see this as a movie or limited series. Quality storytelling. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Ableism, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Minor: Blood, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, and Self harm

laguerrelewis's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This a quick little read for me, and one that I enjoyed very much. A little creepy, a little Romantic, this book is both cozy and cold. A wonderful dark companion for a rainy day, should you need one. V. E. Schwab is a beautiful master of prose, and the juxtaposition of beauty and horror in this story is fantastic. I think some of the mystery and drama could have been drawn out, but the pace certainly did not break my engagement or enjoyment!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Body horror, Blood, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Child death

Moderate: Bullying, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

onthesamepage's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I've had a similar reaction to Schwab's last two releases: an initial, "well, that was lovely" accompanied by a rating of 4 stars, but then, the longer I think about it, the more I realize the loveliness is very surface level. Of the 3 books I've read so far, This Savage Song is probably my favourite. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and Gallant have similar issues, which is a lack of substance.

Schwab's writing is always beautiful, and it makes it really easy to sink into her works and enjoy them. Gallant relies a lot on atmosphere and vibes, and that part was executed really well. The exploration of the manor, as well as the feeling of secrets being hidden from the protagonist by the other characters, put me in mind of The Haunting of Bly Manor. I actually liked the setup of this, and was intrigued by the story of Olivia's parents, but there are several issues that made me lower my rating.

Olivia is mute, and has spent most of her life surrounded by people who never bothered to learn how to communicate with her. In Gallant, Edgar knows sign language, but we get repeated instances of him deliberately turning his back on her when she is trying to communicate, and he's not the only character to forcibly silence Olivia this way. I could really sense her frustration with how they were acting towards her and all the secrets being kept from her, and it evoked a lot of sympathy in me for her situation. And yet, Olivia is never forthright with them about her family and her ability to see ghouls either, even when it becomes clear that the knowledge she has may be the key to saving them.

There's very little focus on developing the relationship between Olivia and the others. We do get a few scenes between her and Matthew, but I don't think it was enough to flesh out their bond or even the characters themselves, and this goes double for Edgar and Hannah. Ultimately, this led to a disconnect from them and their circumstances, which makes the story much less impactful than it could have been. I also thought the resolution happened way too fast, and ultimately wasn't very satisfying, but pretty in line with what Schwab usually does.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Bullying

Moderate: Ableism

rhayrhay's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Great atmosphere, dark supernatural mystery wrapped in a coming of age novel. Makes you think about home, parentage, family vs chosen family. I like how she determines where she belongs, and that she choses love over power, mourning over being stuck in the past. The ending broke my heart, and while that's okay, this is not a light-hearted read. The end is not a happy one, per se, but the plot is resolved and the main character arc is melancholic but beautiful.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Bullying

main character death, not lead character

liviamello's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Death of parent

Moderate: Bullying, Ableism, and Child death

Minor: Animal death

anntharai's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

The atmosphere of this book is phenomenally done. There are so many moments I would like to quote here, but in short this is a dark and truly haunting book with a good plot driving it and a plethora of horrific truths behind it. 

I fell that this is another one from V. E. S. that I will be thinking about for a while. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Abandonment, Suicide attempt, Gore, and Bullying

Moderate: Ableism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gun violence, Violence, and Mental illness

Minor: Animal death

mae_dexter_author's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Animal death, and Death

Moderate: Bullying

bookspaperink's review

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood and Death

Minor: Death of parent, Bullying, Child death, and Violence

anni_swanilda's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, Bullying, and Body horror

Minor: Child death, Death of parent, Abandonment, Animal death, and Gun violence