Reviews

City of Ghosts by V.E. Schwab

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I honestly didn't really know what to expect when reading City of Ghosts. It's a story centered around ghosts, but geared towards younger readers. So was the book going to be scary, not very scary, or something else all together?

I wouldn't call the book scary really. Sure it has ghosts, but they range from the friendly to the neutral to the malevolent. The main character, Cassidy Blake, can sense and see ghosts. Her best friend is actually a ghost named Jacob who saved her from drowning, or at least kind of did. It seems that Cassidy's ability to see ghosts comes from her dying, or nearly dying, or dying and coming back to life. You see the book's not entirely clear on this point or how exactly a ghost saved Cassidy in the first place.

Cassidy doesn't necessarily see ghosts just in normal life other than Jacob, rather she senses that they're around by this kind of tap tap tap feeling of ghosts nearby. She is then able to go into what she calls The Veil in order to see the ghosts.

Ironically enough her parents are a pair of ghost hunters who have written multiple books are now going to have their own television show. The ironic part is that they can't really see ghosts at all. As part of their new television show they're going to some of the most haunted cities in the world and the first stop is Edinburgh, Scotland. However here she meets Lara a girl who can also see ghosts and tells her there may be more to this power than she thought.

So while there are places who these ghost encounters do get a little intense, particularly with the malevolent ones, personally I wouldn't call them scary. We were reading this with our daughter who is 9, and she was maybe a bit more tense than the adults, but didn't seem too scared more just worried about what was going to happen to the characters in the book.

I thought the book was enjoyable, but it does leave you with a lot of unanswered questions. What exactly is up with Cassidy and Jacob's connection? How was Cassidy supposed to know the purpose behind this gift (and is it really what she's supposed to do in the first place)? How many other people are like Cassidy and Lara?

I thought that some of these things could have used a bit more explaining, but the book is a fairly brisk affair and doesn't really delve too deeply in developing characters too much. I'm guessing some of these things will be answered in the next couple books, but one can never be certain. However, I'm certainly looking forward to reading the next books to see if my questions will be answered.

stayupnaddie's review

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-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

3.75

literaturefaerie's review

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3.0

3.5 stars. It was cute

kalin_grace's review

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adventurous tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

stephycbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

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

3.5

neonblaze's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

karenholmes's review

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5.0

I love Victoria Schwab. I loved her trilogy A Darker Shade of Magic and I loved this cute ghost story aimed at younger kids but easily read by anyone else with a love for stories and ghosts and Edimburgh.
Will continue reading Cassidy's adventures thorughout enchanted places and see where she takes us. But for now, a great start of a new series. Absolutely enjoyable and satisfying till the end with an impossible enemy to overcome.

alexbthelibrarian's review against another edition

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5.0

This book got me out of a reading slump. It was fun, quick, and just enough spooky to keep me interested. The writing is beautiful even for a middle grade level title.