adancewithbooks's review
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
4.0
The Language of Ghosts is a middle grade that was recced to me by Jenna from Falling Letters. But even before that it had caught my eye because of that pretty cover. The Language of Ghosts is a beautiful story about 3 royal siblings trying to surive a war because of their magical abbilities.
We start the story in the night that the mother of Julian, Noa and Mite is assisinated and they have to run from the place they called home. It was a coup to take over the ruling of their country from those who were opposed against magic users. They succeeded. It drove the three siblings and their supporters to take up residence on an island that Julian then puts a spell on so it can move.
Years later they are still on that island, trying to find ways to keep from the grasp of those who want them dead while also finding ways to taking their place as rightful heirs to the throne back. Julian was meant to be king as the oldest (and most powerful in magic). He can speak all 9 magical languages. Mite seems to have some magic as well. But Noa doesn't seem to have none. But that doesn't matter when you have a smart brain, does it?
I think what I loved the most about this book was the relationship between the three siblings. How Julian seems to dote on young Mite, Mite who follows Noa everywhere, Noa who tries to keep her brother from becoming 'evil' as she calls it. It felt real. Siblings fight and argue. But the love was there. I loved how Noa would be the one that could always criticize Julian, and even if it frustrated or angered him, he still listened. He still heard her in the end. And he would always be there for her. I think that is so the heart of this story and its beautiful.
The magical system of the languages was really interesting. Different kinds of magic attached to a language. And one can only understand and use it if you were born with a natural inclination to it. I would have liked more on the wizards that hid the other languages but perhaps that is for another story. Wink Wink. Hope Hope.
There are also different creatures in this world like the sea serpent Beauty that Julian has tied to the island, who by the way was a great addition~.
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Murder, and Grief
liz_liz's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
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
4.0
aalbes's review
4.0
Unique fantasy story.
Various types of magic, ghost, mages, lost languages and a sea serpent who loves cakes!
Threw siblings who have already experienced a tremendous loss and need to find their way back home in more then one way.
Various types of magic, ghost, mages, lost languages and a sea serpent who loves cakes!
Threw siblings who have already experienced a tremendous loss and need to find their way back home in more then one way.
briarrose1021's review against another edition
5.0
Noa and her sister Mitia "Mite" Marchena have been living with their brother Julian on an island that he's enchanted to move for the last two years while Julian works to regain the kingdom and the throne that were both violently taken from their family with the assassination of their mother by a traitorous council member. While Mite is focused on collecting bugs, Noa is focused on her secret mission of making sure her brother doesn't go bad the way other dark magicians - those who can speak more than one magical language - have gone bad, all while trying to help him defeat Xavier and retake his rightful place as King of Florea.
This book had such an interesting way for its characters to use magic. Each type of magic, whether it be earth magic, water magic, ice magic, blood magic, etc., had its own language, and magicians who were capable of using that type of magic were born knowing the language - though they still had to study and practice to be proficient. Most magicians only knew one language. So-called "dark" magicians knew more than one language. Julian knew all 9 of the known languages. This, of course, is why Noa was so concerned about ensuring that her brother didn't go bad. The idea of each type of magic having its own language, and that those languages cannot be learned by anyone but only by those who are born knowing the language.
Throughout the book, I also really enjoyed the sibling interactions. With the three siblings being orphaned at a young age, Julian at 16, Noa at 11, and Mite at 5-6 (I don't remember her age ever being specified), they clearly had to band together to look out for each other, but the larger gaps between their ages made for some interesting dynamics. I thought Fawcett captured those dynamics well, along with the jealousy that Noa felt for being the only sibling to not have any magic.
Of the other characters - because of course the siblings aren't alone on their wandering island - I think my favorite one is Beauty. She is such a snarky sea serpent and though it is clear that she's unhappy with Julian trapping and tethering her to the island, she also has a begrudging respect for him. Then watching the relationship between her and Noa develop was also fun to see. I almost want a series of stories with Beauty as the main character; I think it would be a lot of fun to read those.
The plot moved along at a great pace, neither too fast nor too slow, though I would have liked the final battle to go on for a few more pages, but I think that has more to do with me wanting more information than there actually needing to be more information. I loved the overall pace of the book and I have now put the rest of Fawcett's books on my TBR list. If they are even half as good as Language of Ghosts (and of course I know they will be more than half as good), then I know they will be great and I will enjoy reading.
As a final note, I know that we're not supposed to judge books by their covers, and I do try really hard to not discount books because of their covers, but I have to admit that I totally picked up this book because of the cover. It is a beautiful cover! Props go out to Julia Iredale for a beautiful cover!
This book had such an interesting way for its characters to use magic. Each type of magic, whether it be earth magic, water magic, ice magic, blood magic, etc., had its own language, and magicians who were capable of using that type of magic were born knowing the language - though they still had to study and practice to be proficient. Most magicians only knew one language. So-called "dark" magicians knew more than one language. Julian knew all 9 of the known languages. This, of course, is why Noa was so concerned about ensuring that her brother didn't go bad. The idea of each type of magic having its own language, and that those languages cannot be learned by anyone but only by those who are born knowing the language.
Throughout the book, I also really enjoyed the sibling interactions. With the three siblings being orphaned at a young age, Julian at 16, Noa at 11, and Mite at 5-6 (I don't remember her age ever being specified), they clearly had to band together to look out for each other, but the larger gaps between their ages made for some interesting dynamics. I thought Fawcett captured those dynamics well, along with the jealousy that Noa felt for being the only sibling to not have any magic.
Of the other characters - because of course the siblings aren't alone on their wandering island - I think my favorite one is Beauty. She is such a snarky sea serpent and though it is clear that she's unhappy with Julian trapping and tethering her to the island, she also has a begrudging respect for him. Then watching the relationship between her and Noa develop was also fun to see. I almost want a series of stories with Beauty as the main character; I think it would be a lot of fun to read those.
The plot moved along at a great pace, neither too fast nor too slow, though I would have liked the final battle to go on for a few more pages, but I think that has more to do with me wanting more information than there actually needing to be more information. I loved the overall pace of the book and I have now put the rest of Fawcett's books on my TBR list. If they are even half as good as Language of Ghosts (and of course I know they will be more than half as good), then I know they will be great and I will enjoy reading.
As a final note, I know that we're not supposed to judge books by their covers, and I do try really hard to not discount books because of their covers, but I have to admit that I totally picked up this book because of the cover. It is a beautiful cover! Props go out to Julia Iredale for a beautiful cover!
evi_reads's review
4.0
3.5-4ish stars!
It took me quite a few chapters to get into this as it's a standalone, meaning a lot happens in a short amount of time. Once I got into it though, there was so much about this that I appreciated. The casual queer rep and non-homophobic world is always a bonus for me, and I loved how it got pretty dark and how the characters were all humanly unlikeable. It was a great exploration of good vs evil, if we can really be only good or only evil, if doing evil things with good intentions means it's still good, and if we can ever be good if we were once evil. The quirks of the magic system were really fun and I felt very connected to all the siblings by the end of the story.
It took me quite a few chapters to get into this as it's a standalone, meaning a lot happens in a short amount of time. Once I got into it though, there was so much about this that I appreciated. The casual queer rep and non-homophobic world is always a bonus for me, and I loved how it got pretty dark and how the characters were all humanly unlikeable. It was a great exploration of good vs evil, if we can really be only good or only evil, if doing evil things with good intentions means it's still good, and if we can ever be good if we were once evil. The quirks of the magic system were really fun and I felt very connected to all the siblings by the end of the story.
cpachet's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
slow-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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
shoelessgirl's review
3.0
3.5 stars. This was entertaining and has some great ideas, but I struggled a bit with the characters. I did like the relationships between the siblings a lot.
ayaros's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
bookboop's review
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
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
2.5