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laurensalisbury's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, and Violence
poisonenvy's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Gallant follows Olivia Prior, a young nonverbal girl who's grown up all her life in an orphanage. Among the abusive Mothers and the bullying children, she's never felt like she's found a place where she belongs. All she has is her mother's journal and the ghouls that only she can she -- the ghosts of people who'd once lived and died there.
And then, one day, she recieves a letter from her family, calling her back to her family home where she belongs, and where she's wanted. But when she gets there, it's not what she expects.
This story was very enjoyable. It was an easy read with beautiful prose. I can't say that the story was especially deep -- it sometimes feels more like dressings than a fully realized story -- and the ending was anticlimactic, but I still very much enjoyed myself throughout the entire story.
As an aside, the book itself is beautifully out together too. I had the Illumicrate special edition, which is to be expected for some of the extra flourishes -- the journal pages were designed to look like journal pages and the section dividers were lovely -- but even the regular editions that my friends read had beautiful ink drawings and certain pages were white text on a black background which I thought was an especially nice touch. I'm a big fan of when books put forth just that little bit of extra effort to make their books something special.
And then, one day, she recieves a letter from her family, calling her back to her family home where she belongs, and where she's wanted. But when she gets there, it's not what she expects.
This story was very enjoyable. It was an easy read with beautiful prose. I can't say that the story was especially deep -- it sometimes feels more like dressings than a fully realized story -- and the ending was anticlimactic, but I still very much enjoyed myself throughout the entire story.
As an aside, the book itself is beautifully out together too. I had the Illumicrate special edition, which is to be expected for some of the extra flourishes -- the journal pages were designed to look like journal pages and the section dividers were lovely -- but even the regular editions that my friends read had beautiful ink drawings and certain pages were white text on a black background which I thought was an especially nice touch. I'm a big fan of when books put forth just that little bit of extra effort to make their books something special.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Ableism
Minor: Animal death and Mental illness
kathrynleereads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I really enjoyed this book. I haven't ever read a book where the main character was unable to speak, and it was really enlightening to be able to visualize and better understand the struggles Olivia was going through.
I've always enjoyed reading a story with a static clue that twists and morphs throughout the story, just as the journal did in this book. The context and meaning of the journal entries and drawings shifted as the story went on and as Olivia began to understand her mother better and better.
I do believe that the story ended a bit abruptly and could have used a bit more at the end.
I've always enjoyed reading a story with a static clue that twists and morphs throughout the story, just as the journal did in this book. The context and meaning of the journal entries and drawings shifted as the story went on and as Olivia began to understand her mother better and better.
I do believe that the story ended a bit abruptly and could have used a bit more at the end.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Death of parent, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Abandonment
_paperserpent's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, Child death, Suicide, Death of parent, and Blood
stormeno's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Blood, and Death
Minor: Death of parent, Suicide, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
underworld's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
lettuce_read's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Child death and Bullying
diadoodle's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Death, Blood, and Child abuse
charlottx's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
I wasn’t too fond of our protagonist in the beginning but I greatly enjoyed all of the side characters/ villains! I look forward to reading more of Schwabs works and hopefully I can find some that have more horror elements as that’s what I thought I was missing in this book!
Loved Matthew <3
Loved Matthew <3
Content Warnings
Minor: Abandonment, Body horror, Suicide attempt, Medical content, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
mallorypen's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Overall, this was an “eh” for me. The concept of a shadow/mirror realm ruled by the dead was cool, but for the length of the novel it was kind of surprising how not a whole lot actually happened.
I did like the idea of Death having his four soldiers (horsemen of the apocalypse?) and that Olivia’s mother was helped by one of them and ultimately fell in love with him. Their story seemed much more interesting than Matthew and Olivia meeting as long-lost cousins and the last scions of the Prior family.
I also didn’t have much of an emotional connection to Matthew, Thomas, or anyone else other than Olivia and her mother. Even then, I didn’t feel compelled to keep reading to find out what happened to them next.
The climax of the story where Thomas isn’t actually alive felt kind of blah. The betrayal of Death, Matthew sacrificing himself for Olivia, and Olivia commanding the ghouls in the real world didn’t give me any big emotional payoff.
The spooky melancholy feel was a mood the entire read, though.
I did like the idea of Death having his four soldiers (horsemen of the apocalypse?) and that Olivia’s mother was helped by one of them and ultimately fell in love with him. Their story seemed much more interesting than Matthew and Olivia meeting as long-lost cousins and the last scions of the Prior family.
I also didn’t have much of an emotional connection to Matthew, Thomas, or anyone else other than Olivia and her mother. Even then, I didn’t feel compelled to keep reading to find out what happened to them next.
The climax of the story where Thomas isn’t actually alive felt kind of blah. The betrayal of Death, Matthew sacrificing himself for Olivia, and Olivia commanding the ghouls in the real world didn’t give me any big emotional payoff.
The spooky melancholy feel was a mood the entire read, though.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Death of parent