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A review by micareads123
Sixteen Souls by Rosie Talbot
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Sixteen Souls is a fun, high-stakes book about a couple of boys who have come back from the dead and are banding together to solve the mystery of why some of the ghosts of York have gone missing.
I have seen a lot of reviewers say this book is “like Heartstopper, but with ghosts,” but I very much disagree. The only parallels I can draw between the two are the queer relationship and age range of the MCs, and some parallels could perhaps be drawn between the personalities of MCs of both stories, but the plot couldn’t be more different.
This book was a lot darker, tenser, intense and violent than I expected; that said, I did not check the CWs at the beginning of the book. That was okay for me, but I would urge other readers to check the CWs and TWs before beginning.
I did, however, think the plot was very original, and I appreciated seeing disability rep via the MC, Charlie, who had lost the lower parts of both his legs to Meningitis. He talks about his experience with using his prostheses and wheel chair, which was new for me. I was also happy to see trans rep via the secondary MC, Sam.
I enjoyed learning new words and colloquialisms from the York, England, vernacular. I love language and am always eager to learn more about the language spoken in a region other than my own.
Overall, while this book was not what I expected, I did enjoy it. I loved seeing the character development and cared about all of the characters involved, including the ghosts, who were utterly quirky and charming.
I am also interested in seeing — and will very likely seek out — whatever Talbot comes up with next, and I do suspect a sequel to this book will be in her future 😉.
I have seen a lot of reviewers say this book is “like Heartstopper, but with ghosts,” but I very much disagree. The only parallels I can draw between the two are the queer relationship and age range of the MCs, and some parallels could perhaps be drawn between the personalities of MCs of both stories, but the plot couldn’t be more different.
This book was a lot darker, tenser, intense and violent than I expected; that said, I did not check the CWs at the beginning of the book. That was okay for me, but I would urge other readers to check the CWs and TWs before beginning.
I did, however, think the plot was very original, and I appreciated seeing disability rep via the MC, Charlie, who had lost the lower parts of both his legs to Meningitis. He talks about his experience with using his prostheses and wheel chair, which was new for me. I was also happy to see trans rep via the secondary MC, Sam.
I enjoyed learning new words and colloquialisms from the York, England, vernacular. I love language and am always eager to learn more about the language spoken in a region other than my own.
Overall, while this book was not what I expected, I did enjoy it. I loved seeing the character development and cared about all of the characters involved, including the ghosts, who were utterly quirky and charming.
I am also interested in seeing — and will very likely seek out — whatever Talbot comes up with next, and I do suspect a sequel to this book will be in her future 😉.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Death, and Suicide
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Torture, and Violence