Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Gallant by V.E. Schwab

170 reviews

sageandcitrus's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.25

This book had INCREDIBLE vibes. Every chapter had me ready to dive in! The plot was so engaging and well paced, if a little slow at times. This book was very easy to immerse myself in. The art and design of the book adds to the overall experience. I would have ADORED this book as a young teen! While it didn’t absolutely blow me away at 23, I have no complaints! I’m looking forward to reading more of V.E. Schwab’s books. She has a wonderful voice as a writer!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Suicide, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Gore, and Self harm

sabrielsbell's review against another edition

emotional hopeful fast-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

4.5

You should read this if you like haunted houses, ghosts and ghouls, or middle grade books.  I love V.E Schwab and this was no exception.  It was spooky and somber but you still felt hope and I found myself really rooting for Olivia. I can't say this was a happy read but it was really beautiful.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Moderate: Suicide and Grief

Minor: Animal death and Blood

samanthaeumir's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent

macaroons06's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-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? It's complicated

4.75

Thought this book was creative and interesting. I was really hooked by the author's style of writing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Self harm, Blood, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Grief

Minor: Eating disorder and Gore

mrs_bastos's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

vira92's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Blood, and Death of parent

five_rats_in_a_trenchcoat's review against another edition

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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Bullying and Suicide

Minor: Animal death

juan_adhd_reading's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

As I struggle to write this review, I’m doubting if it really deserves 5 stars. Because the thing about a 5 star review is that it implies perfection, an exemplary book, a story that would be universally enjoyed. This book is not perfect and I don’t think everyone would enjoy it. But it was perfect for me; and so, it gets 5 stars.

The thing is, I just really love VE Schwab. I love how her prose can be both beautiful yet haunting: a shiny rose, vivid and colorful; its stem full of sharp thorns, tangling around a skeletal hand. This story was as dark, mysterious and fantastical as I hoped it would be. Though I wouldn’t describe it as fast paced, I was constantly kept at the edge of my seat, savoring the rich setting that is the Gallant manor along the way. The illustrations and the diary were beautiful, a perfect picture of Olivia’s parents’ relationship. This book, I think, will stay with me for a long time to come, and will probably remain one of my favorites of 2024.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Blood

Moderate: Ableism, Death, Self harm, and Suicide

Minor: Death of parent and Abandonment

sarah_shelf's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, and Death of parent

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, and Suicide

Minor: Animal death

Ghosts/the dead Powers over lifeforce/souls

hammie_32's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.25

This was delightful, I genuinely loved this book. It's been a while since something I've read has actually creeped me out or made me feel so intensely empathetic towards the MC. As far as I'm aware, the author is not disabled, however she seems to have done a great job writing for a

mute MC

and representing how frustrating it is to be so easily silenced and ignored. The reason this didn't get a full 5 from me is mostly the ending: most of the book was very slow-paced and did an excellent job at drawing you into the mystery and asking you to keep guessing, giving bits and pieces at a time. Unfortunately, the end felt really rushed. So much of the novel, we spend so much time in Olivia's head, and that falls off very quickly as the conclusion approached. It ended up feeling very impersonal to me, just because it stopped telling the story of Olivia's internal world/experience and moved on to the events as they were. It made it hard to celebrate with the characters at the end and connect with the stakes. Otherwise, I would read this over again just for the atmosphere and world-building that Schwab crafted, gripes aside. Had it been stretched to 400ish pages, I think this would've been perfect.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Mental illness and Death of parent

Minor: Ableism, Animal death, and Child death