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iane_reads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Child abuse, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Gore and Physical abuse
l_e_lavalle's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood, and Grief
Moderate: Self harm, Suicide, and Violence
binreads's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
5.0
The kind of dark that tricks the eye. Makes you see things where ther are none. Or miss things when they are there. The dark that lives in spaces you know you should not look, lest you catch sight other eyes, staring back.
I loooooved this. The story was extremely detailed and immersive that I could picture it all in my mind as vividly as if I was watching a movie. Not only is the cover beautiful but the illustrations within the book are gorgeous and are a great addition.
Very much gave Coraline vibes with the themes of the a girl finding a portal to this other world..
The beginning was a bit slow but once I got to the halfway point then banged it out in one night. Would not recommend reading in the dark in the middle of the night because I started to spook myself out, unless you're into that then go for it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Suicide and Injury/Injury detail
thessa_ggn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
keya_caivalur's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
A beautifully written haunting story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Violence and Gaslighting
louisegraveyard's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Death, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
missjeann's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Bullying
naomidanae's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Child death, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Medical content
letha_anderson's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
It was a good story, and it was told well. I would have enjoyed it more if the characters had been more complex. Some additional notes. The time period is very vague. The main character arrives at the fancy mansion in a car, but whenever it gets dark, they navigate the darkness by candlelight. Why is there no electricity or at least lanterns? Additionally, the author likes to use obscure words repeatedly. She used the words gutter, gutters, and guttering as it relates to candles, the word copse three times, and she uses the word pauldron five times. To use an obscure word once, as the author does with the word limns would have been fine, but using the same obscure word more than once is distracting.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Violence, and Death of parent
hannaws's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
When people see tears, they stop listening to your hands or your words or anything else you have to say. And it doesn't matter if the tears are angry or sad, frightened or frustrated. All they see is a girl crying.
My review side of my brains are so rusty that I have no idea what I'm supposed to do here now. I have not written a review since last April or something. This might be all over the place but if you're reading this for some reason, bear with me!
In all honesty, I grabbed Gallant from our library just because of the cover. I had no idea what I was getting into, I was just drawn to the beautiful cover. I've read some of her books before, so I had a vague idea of what it was going to be like.
I'd like to say that Gallant is a book about found family. Olivia is in an orphanage, kind of, when she receives a letter from a family member, asking her to come home. How she has been looked for and hoped to come back. But at the same time, her mother has written into her journal something that she should take into consideration.
Family is not always easy and neither is the road for Olivia either. She is in for a crazy ride which she did not expect to be facing once going back home. Or is it home?
I do like the characters in this book. It is especially nice to read a fantasy book with a brave main character whom is disabled. You don't get many books with characters with disabilities, you know. And especially the fact that she cannot speak. Yet she still has to make her way in a world where very few are able to understand her signing.
Yet, I still was hoping for a little bit more from the characters. For me all the character building seemed a bit shallow. I'd say this is a book that is more plot driven.
There is still some character growth happening throughout the story. Especially Matthew. He really grows into something completely different. Though sadly his development is a little short lived.
The story in itself is okay. A family with powers to see ghosts, ghouls, whatever you want to call them. And with a task to keep something out of this world in it's place. I would have liked some more information about all of this. You know, where, who, why, what? I've got a lot of questions about everything but very little answers.
But it is a medium paced book with some twists and turns that are somewhat foreseeable since the beginning. Gallant definitely has it's moments when you just can't put the book down. You got to read forward to see how it ends. But it does also has the moments when I was just wanting to put the book down and leave it there.
All in all I am glad I did end up finishing the book. It is a nice quick read for someone who graves for a little bit of fantasy but doesn't want to read a book with 700 pages.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Blood
Moderate: Bullying, Violence, and Death of parent