Scan barcode
A review by rorikae
The Library of the Dead by T.L. Huchu
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
'The Library of the Dead' by T.L. Huchu is the start of a spooky YA series about a girl who can see the dead and help put them to rest.
Ropa lives in Edinburgh with her grandmother and her little sister. To make a living she talks to ghosts so she can help set them to rest. Her clients have mostly been ghosts from around town but then she is approached by a mother whose child has gone missing. While investigating this case, Ropa is brought into an underground society called The Library of the Undead and things take a turn for the worse as she gets closer to solving what is happening to children in Edinburgh.
T.L. Huchu does a great job of creating a plucky young heroine that you can't help but root for and then setting her down in truly terrifying situations. My favorite aspects of this story were the way that he weaves Ropa's Scottish and Zimbabwean heritage into the story as well as the terrifying horrors that populate the world that Ropa inhabits. There is a house in this story that is truly terrifying and that I will be thinking about for some time.
I do wish that the story was a bit longer as there is a lot that happens and the resolution is relatively swift. Before the story swung super dark, it did feel like younger YA tipping into potentially middle grade, which made that transition feel a little bit abrupt. I am excited that this is a series as I can tell there is more for Ropa to uncover and Huchu is clearly setting up for an overarching plot line.
I'm interested in the next book and where Huchu takes Ropa next.
Ropa lives in Edinburgh with her grandmother and her little sister. To make a living she talks to ghosts so she can help set them to rest. Her clients have mostly been ghosts from around town but then she is approached by a mother whose child has gone missing. While investigating this case, Ropa is brought into an underground society called The Library of the Undead and things take a turn for the worse as she gets closer to solving what is happening to children in Edinburgh.
T.L. Huchu does a great job of creating a plucky young heroine that you can't help but root for and then setting her down in truly terrifying situations. My favorite aspects of this story were the way that he weaves Ropa's Scottish and Zimbabwean heritage into the story as well as the terrifying horrors that populate the world that Ropa inhabits. There is a house in this story that is truly terrifying and that I will be thinking about for some time.
I do wish that the story was a bit longer as there is a lot that happens and the resolution is relatively swift. Before the story swung super dark, it did feel like younger YA tipping into potentially middle grade, which made that transition feel a little bit abrupt. I am excited that this is a series as I can tell there is more for Ropa to uncover and Huchu is clearly setting up for an overarching plot line.
I'm interested in the next book and where Huchu takes Ropa next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Torture, and Violence