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A review by jayseejewel
Gallant by V.E. Schwab
4.0
Gallant is a horror for kids that felt reminiscent of Coraline (but with a little less of the charm)
What I liked:
- The setting. It's dark and brooding but not too creepy for children. The orphanage is equally dark (though for different reasons). The mansion and its wall also felt foreboding and filled with mysteries I wanted to see answered.
- The characters, while not amazing, were fine. The MC felt her age (young) and her disability was interesting without becoming her entire personality. She could have temper tantrums at times but it didn't detract from the story
- The mystery, while very basic, was good. I was curious for most of the book and it had a pretty satisfying conclusion
What I didn't like:
- The story was missing a character and immersive plot to fully draw me in. I'm not sure what it was exactly but this was very much a "one and done" book. You read it, it's quick and enjoyable, then you never think about it again.
- The MC, while fine, could sometimes be a little obstinant at times. This is characteristic of YA protagonists, though.
- The pacing got slow around the second half.
- There was a lot of repetition when it came to the journal and since what was written wasn't super interesting, especially the first time you read it, I found myself a little tired of hearing it repeated over and over.
- It felt like there weren't enough characters, though that might partly be because the ones in the story didn't interest me that much. The two servants also didn't have many stakes in the plot.
Overall, a good story and a solid, quick read for fans of horror who want something a little more YA and clean. I would recommend it to others but it isn't something I'll be picking up again.
What I liked:
- The setting. It's dark and brooding but not too creepy for children. The orphanage is equally dark (though for different reasons). The mansion and its wall also felt foreboding and filled with mysteries I wanted to see answered.
- The characters, while not amazing, were fine. The MC felt her age (young) and her disability was interesting without becoming her entire personality. She could have temper tantrums at times but it didn't detract from the story
- The mystery, while very basic, was good. I was curious for most of the book and it had a pretty satisfying conclusion
What I didn't like:
- The story was missing a character and immersive plot to fully draw me in. I'm not sure what it was exactly but this was very much a "one and done" book. You read it, it's quick and enjoyable, then you never think about it again.
- The MC, while fine, could sometimes be a little obstinant at times. This is characteristic of YA protagonists, though.
- The pacing got slow around the second half.
- There was a lot of repetition when it came to the journal and since what was written wasn't super interesting, especially the first time you read it, I found myself a little tired of hearing it repeated over and over.
- It felt like there weren't enough characters, though that might partly be because the ones in the story didn't interest me that much. The two servants also didn't have many stakes in the plot.
Overall, a good story and a solid, quick read for fans of horror who want something a little more YA and clean. I would recommend it to others but it isn't something I'll be picking up again.