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bookswithlauren's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Stated by V.E. Schwab herself: "This is not a fairy tale, it is a death tale" and if I had to sum up Gallant in one sentence, that would be it. Yet again, Schwab has imagined, built and woven together every intricate detail that creates the unique history and entity of Gallant. Usually I am not a big fan of books deemed creepy or spooky but I did enjoy reading this! The build up and mystery surrounding Olivia, her past, her family and of course, Gallant.
Gallant was well written and kept me intrigued. Every word is carefully chosen, and every turn of phrase conjures up images that I am rendered speechless. Gallant is such a visual story and would make a fantastic TV series adaptation. I was also very impressed with how the character of Olivia was written as non-verbal as it is not the type of representation seen in many books and I do feel that the usual stereotypes are avoided. The absence of Olivia's voice will force you to hunt for answers outside the characters. It keeps the visual aspects of things in Gallant going strong. Growing up with family members who used sign language, I was also pleasantly surprised to find the character of Edgar able to sign and give Olivia that recognition and communication that she needed.
Some of my favourite quotes include:
“But the truth is, death is everywhere. Death comes for the roses and the apples, it comes for the mice and the birds. It comes for us all. Why should death stop us from living?”
“It is the difference between a language spoken and one signed, the mouth shaping words while the hands shape more, words and thoughts and feelings.”
The main reason I did not rate this book 5 stars was because I felt the ending was too quick. Schwab is by far my favourite author and I am used to her novels having a slower build and quicker ending but even for her, I felt this was just a little too quick. Nevertheless, I still really enjoyed reading all about Olivia Prior and would definitely like a prequel all about the first battle of Gallant and the Priors.
Gallant was well written and kept me intrigued. Every word is carefully chosen, and every turn of phrase conjures up images that I am rendered speechless. Gallant is such a visual story and would make a fantastic TV series adaptation. I was also very impressed with how the character of Olivia was written as non-verbal as it is not the type of representation seen in many books and I do feel that the usual stereotypes are avoided. The absence of Olivia's voice will force you to hunt for answers outside the characters. It keeps the visual aspects of things in Gallant going strong. Growing up with family members who used sign language, I was also pleasantly surprised to find the character of Edgar able to sign and give Olivia that recognition and communication that she needed.
Some of my favourite quotes include:
“But the truth is, death is everywhere. Death comes for the roses and the apples, it comes for the mice and the birds. It comes for us all. Why should death stop us from living?”
“It is the difference between a language spoken and one signed, the mouth shaping words while the hands shape more, words and thoughts and feelings.”
The main reason I did not rate this book 5 stars was because I felt the ending was too quick. Schwab is by far my favourite author and I am used to her novels having a slower build and quicker ending but even for her, I felt this was just a little too quick. Nevertheless, I still really enjoyed reading all about Olivia Prior and would definitely like a prequel all about the first battle of Gallant and the Priors.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Suicide, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
anntharai's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
The atmosphere of this book is phenomenally done. There are so many moments I would like to quote here, but in short this is a dark and truly haunting book with a good plot driving it and a plethora of horrific truths behind it.
I fell that this is another one from V. E. S. that I will be thinking about for a while.
I fell that this is another one from V. E. S. that I will be thinking about for a while.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Gore, Suicide, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Gun violence, Mental illness, Violence, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Animal death
darkefyres's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Death, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, and Murder
Minor: Animal death, Chronic illness, and Injury/Injury detail
puttingwingsonwords's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Blood, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Confinement, Violence, and Grief
Minor: Animal death
andra_mihaela_s's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
3.5 stars
As may others who listened to this book, I feel that a female narrator would have done better in conveying Olivia's emotions. Don't get me wrong, Julian Rhind-Tutt DID A FANTASTIC JOB with pacing, creating tension and atmosphere, but his particular style, in my opinion, did not match perfectly to Olivia's character.
Although I say all of this, I don't think the audiobook is flawed or a flop by any means; the 3.5 stars are deserved.
In this YA fantasy- mistery (closer to middle-grade actually), we follow Olivia Prior- a mute girl from Merilance School for Independent Girls as she receives a letter from an uncle(Arthur Prior) telling her she needs to come to Gallant.
The themes present in this novel are: loneliness, the overbaring weight of the PAST GENERATIONS ON NEWER ONES, family and familial bonds/found family, heirlooms an their many forms,etc.
I think that V.E. Schwab has amazing ideas, and for most of the time, her execution is great for me; but this time, I felt that she held back on consequences: we have real danger and tragic stories rooted in the main conflict of the book, but without the usual unconcious understanding of all this by our main character. Olivia is very much preocuppied with unraveling the mistery her mother is. The journal motif is over-utilised(in my opinion), and it comes a sort of obsession that instead of adding a layer of melancholy and dramatism, it comes off as a distraction from the plot. (I'm not sure how this is possible, given the fact Olivia, the journal, her mom and the danger are all connected...>.>)
Things I think were very much needed and extremely important, but somehow, they did not come of right: use of Gallant description, the fantastic element of this book...I feel it could have been better employed to strengthen the bond in the family...at it was done...Olivia is separated once again from her family...the irony...>..>
Besides the mistery element, we also have a romantic one that doesn't include Olivia in a direct way(thank God). This element is my second problem...I would have wanted more explanation, especially as it has a giant connection to the rest of the plot; it lacked development, or better said, it lacked the necessary unfolding of info in the final part of the book. In the current form, it just feels like a plot device...unfortunately...:(
My final complain...the bad guy...felt kind of cartoonish not gonna lie...>...>...maybe this is appropriate for the age range this book is targeting, but it was still kind of jarring...
Enough with the negativity! Good things worth mentioning!: THIS IS A 100% V.E. SCHWAB BOOK, albeit for a much younger audience! GREAT ATMOSPHERE LIKE ALWAYS, you can feel the emotions exuded by the MCs (Olivia and her cousin Mathew and their lack of understanding...both stranded on their own little solitude island :))); the concern from Edgard and Hanah :) )
If I was to give a number from 1 to 10 for components...here they are :
Characters: 6
Atmosphere: 8 (great but not the best ever)
Writing: 7
Plot: 7
Intrigue: 6
Logic: 7
Enjoyment: 7
Content Warnings: forcibly restraining someone to a bed; graphic imagery of dead bodies; death, mental ilness developed under constant stress for long periods of time and slow mental degradation described on page; animal death, mental torture.
Representation: mute MC.
In conclusion, this book is great for anyone enjoying V.'s writing style, but head's up to the age range! I also think this is a great read if you are new to fantasy-mistery/ a little bit of horror elem. I will recommend this book to people enjoying young MC's who look for found family, mistery/horror, and supernatural component as a glue holding everything together!
Enjoy
As may others who listened to this book, I feel that a female narrator would have done better in conveying Olivia's emotions. Don't get me wrong, Julian Rhind-Tutt DID A FANTASTIC JOB with pacing, creating tension and atmosphere, but his particular style, in my opinion, did not match perfectly to Olivia's character.
Although I say all of this, I don't think the audiobook is flawed or a flop by any means; the 3.5 stars are deserved.
In this YA fantasy- mistery (closer to middle-grade actually), we follow Olivia Prior- a mute girl from Merilance School for Independent Girls as she receives a letter from an uncle(Arthur Prior) telling her she needs to come to Gallant.
The themes present in this novel are: loneliness, the overbaring weight of the PAST GENERATIONS ON NEWER ONES, family and familial bonds/found family, heirlooms an their many forms,etc.
I think that V.E. Schwab has amazing ideas, and for most of the time, her execution is great for me; but this time, I felt that she held back on consequences: we have real danger and tragic stories rooted in the main conflict of the book, but without the usual unconcious understanding of all this by our main character. Olivia is very much preocuppied with unraveling the mistery her mother is. The journal motif is over-utilised(in my opinion), and it comes a sort of obsession that instead of adding a layer of melancholy and dramatism, it comes off as a distraction from the plot. (I'm not sure how this is possible, given the fact Olivia, the journal, her mom and the danger are all connected...>.>)
Things I think were very much needed and extremely important, but somehow, they did not come of right: use of Gallant description, the fantastic element of this book...I feel it could have been better employed to strengthen the bond in the family...at it was done...Olivia is separated once again from her family...the irony...>..>
Besides the mistery element, we also have a romantic one that doesn't include Olivia in a direct way(thank God). This element is my second problem...I would have wanted more explanation, especially as it has a giant connection to the rest of the plot; it lacked development, or better said, it lacked the necessary unfolding of info in the final part of the book. In the current form, it just feels like a plot device...unfortunately...:(
My final complain...the bad guy...felt kind of cartoonish not gonna lie...>...>...maybe this is appropriate for the age range this book is targeting, but it was still kind of jarring...
Enough with the negativity! Good things worth mentioning!: THIS IS A 100% V.E. SCHWAB BOOK, albeit for a much younger audience! GREAT ATMOSPHERE LIKE ALWAYS, you can feel the emotions exuded by the MCs (Olivia and her cousin Mathew and their lack of understanding...both stranded on their own little solitude island :))); the concern from Edgard and Hanah :) )
If I was to give a number from 1 to 10 for components...here they are :
Characters: 6
Atmosphere: 8 (great but not the best ever)
Writing: 7
Plot: 7
Intrigue: 6
Logic: 7
Enjoyment: 7
Content Warnings: forcibly restraining someone to a bed; graphic imagery of dead bodies; death, mental ilness developed under constant stress for long periods of time and slow mental degradation described on page; animal death, mental torture.
Representation: mute MC.
In conclusion, this book is great for anyone enjoying V.'s writing style, but head's up to the age range! I also think this is a great read if you are new to fantasy-mistery/ a little bit of horror elem. I will recommend this book to people enjoying young MC's who look for found family, mistery/horror, and supernatural component as a glue holding everything together!
Enjoy
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Mental illness
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Suicide, Torture, and Grief
kayladaila's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Minor: Ableism and Pregnancy
ridesthesun's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
This was beautifully written and I LOVE the concept and characters. Such a cool idea, and I want to wrap Olivia and Matthew in the coziest blankets. The parallel world concept is creepy af and really well done.
The only reason I rated this how I did it that for me is that it just doesn't feel... done. And that may be that I'm just too much of a Happy Ending person to really enjoy this one to its fullest. I don't mind bittersweet, and I don't mind some open endings. But so little felt resolved here, and it just broke my heart.
The only reason I rated this how I did it that for me is that it just doesn't feel... done. And that may be that I'm just too much of a Happy Ending person to really enjoy this one to its fullest. I don't mind bittersweet, and I don't mind some open endings. But so little felt resolved here, and it just broke my heart.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Suicide, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
kerrygetsliterary's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Death of parent