Reviews with content warning for Animal death - Gallant

Cue the creaky stairs, the voices of ghosts, and the sudden whoosh of the wind; Gallant is a spoooooooky read. Main character Olivia Prior has grown up all her life at the Merilance School for girls but suddenly, a letter arrives for her stating that Olivia has a home and long-lost family at a manor named Gallant. Olivia leaves her orphanage, knowing that any home will be better than her current living situation. But Gallant manor is hiding secrets, and after all, her late mother’s journal warned her to never return to Gallant.

While short and sweet (or perhaps eerie is the more appropriate word), Gallant is filled with spooky sensations. While I enjoyed the plot, what really intrigued me was the incredible atmosphere that V.E. Schwab created through her unique prose. You can’t help but wonder if there are ghosts in your house wandering around looking to create havoc. I quickly realized that the synopsis of Gallant gives way too much away, so I opted to read the novel for its ~vibes~ rather than for its plot. Gallant is one to read if you are looking for something ghostly and is the perfect novel for curling up on your couch while watching the fall leaves flutter to the ground outside.

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hayleygray's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

V.E. Schwab is a magical author. I find myself truly absorbed in her words, worlds and characters. With each of her novels, I have never read another one like it and I am mesmerised, each time. This book was dark, twisting and extraordinary with an incredible protagonist – young woman who cannot use her voice to speak – and the true meaning of home. Incredible!

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puttingwingsonwords's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-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? No

4.0

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homestylereads's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

Gallant is a book I will think about for a long time. The theme of family is probably one of my favorites, and that’s exactly what this book relays. The main character starts out completely alone with no friends or family, and then she meets these strangers who take her in, although with hesitation. Olivia is such a loveable character, and I very much enjoyed that she is a teenager, and I got to watch her discover the world. The writing is simple due to the fact the narrator is a teenager, but that does not mean the writing is bad because Schwab’s writing is utterly amazing and whimsical.

This book is definitely not light-hearted. It is the most unsettling non-horror book I have read. It’s not that is was scary, but it was creepy. I believe this has to do with some of my personal issues surrounding nightmares and how they are described in the book, but the unnerving scenes become more uneasy as the book progresses. If you are not comfortable with ghosts and death, I would recommend not reading this. V. E. Schwab doesn’t go into gory detail, but the way she expresses scenes is very poetic, and I feel that tugs even harder than blatantly describing death and wounds.

I would say Gallant is a wonderful story for teenagers and older, especially people who love to read about darker subjects. It was such an emotional book, so grab some tissues if you read this!

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stardustandrockets's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

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arthur_ant18's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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andra_mihaela_s's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-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? No

3.5

3.5 stars

As may others who listened to this book, I feel that a female narrator would have done better in conveying Olivia's emotions. Don't get me wrong, Julian Rhind-Tutt DID A FANTASTIC JOB with pacing, creating tension and atmosphere, but his particular style, in my opinion, did not match perfectly to Olivia's character.
Although I say all of this, I don't think the audiobook is flawed or a flop by any means; the 3.5 stars are deserved.

In this YA fantasy- mistery (closer to middle-grade actually), we follow Olivia Prior- a mute girl from Merilance School for Independent Girls as she receives a letter from an uncle(Arthur Prior) telling her she needs to come to Gallant.

The themes present in this novel are: loneliness, the overbaring weight of the PAST GENERATIONS ON NEWER ONES, family and familial bonds/found family, heirlooms an their many forms,etc.

I think that V.E. Schwab has amazing ideas, and for most of the time, her execution is great for me; but this time, I felt that she held back on consequences: we have real danger and tragic stories rooted in the main conflict of the book, but without the usual unconcious understanding of all this by our main character. Olivia is very much preocuppied with unraveling the mistery her mother is. The journal motif is over-utilised(in my opinion), and it comes a sort of obsession that instead of adding a layer of melancholy and dramatism, it comes off as a distraction from the plot. (I'm not sure how this is possible, given the fact Olivia, the journal, her mom and the danger are all connected...>.>)

Things I think were very much needed and extremely important, but somehow, they did not come of right: use of Gallant description, the fantastic element of this book...I feel it could have been better employed to strengthen the bond in the family...at it was done...Olivia is separated once again from her family...the irony...>..>

Besides the mistery element, we also have a romantic one that doesn't include Olivia in a direct way(thank God). This element is my second problem...I would have wanted more explanation, especially as it has a giant connection to the rest of the plot; it lacked development, or better said, it lacked the necessary unfolding of info in the final part of the book. In the current form, it just feels like a plot device...unfortunately...:(

My final complain...the bad guy...felt kind of cartoonish not gonna lie...>...>...maybe this is appropriate for the age range this book is targeting, but it was still kind of jarring...

Enough with the negativity! Good things worth mentioning!: THIS IS A 100% V.E. SCHWAB BOOK, albeit for a much younger audience! GREAT ATMOSPHERE LIKE ALWAYS, you can feel the emotions exuded by the MCs (Olivia and her cousin Mathew and their lack of understanding...both stranded on their own little solitude island :))); the concern from Edgard and Hanah :) )

If I was to give a number from 1 to 10 for components...here they are :
Characters: 6
Atmosphere: 8 (great but not the best ever)
Writing: 7
Plot: 7
Intrigue: 6
Logic: 7
Enjoyment: 7

Content Warnings: forcibly restraining someone to a bed; graphic imagery of dead bodies; death, mental ilness developed under constant stress for long periods of time and slow mental degradation described on page; animal death, mental torture.

Representation: mute MC.

In conclusion, this book is great for anyone enjoying V.'s writing style, but head's up to the age range! I also think this is a great read if you are new to fantasy-mistery/ a little bit of horror elem. I will recommend this book to people enjoying young MC's who look for found family, mistery/horror, and supernatural component as a glue holding everything together!

Enjoy

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bluehairedlibrarian's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Olivia was found at the doorstep of the Merilance School for Girls at two years old with nothing but a journal bearing her mother's writing. Unable to speak, she keeps to herself and dreams of a family. When she receives a letter from an unknown uncle, she packs her things and heads for Gallant. There mysteries unfold as Olivia learns more about her parents, the task given to the Prior family, and the darkness that lives behind an iron door at the edge of the property.

This is a proper YA gothic novel with a giant, creaky house, ghouls in the shadows, and a protagonist that may or may not be going crazy. Olivia is a compelling character especially because she's limited in how she can communicate with the other people in her life. The uneasiness spreads as Olivia slowly starts unraveling the mystery behind the family she never knew she had, and her shifting relationship with the cousin who lives at Gallant. This was a difficult book to put down, and the interstitial pieces of Olivia's mother's diary and the ultimate reveal involving the drawings inside it was really great. The writing is vivid and creates an atmosphere of inevitable doom that lingers long after the story is over.

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