poisonenvy's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Gallant follows Olivia Prior, a young nonverbal girl who's grown up all her life in an orphanage. Among the abusive Mothers and the bullying children, she's never felt like she's found a place where she belongs. All she has is her mother's journal and the ghouls that only she can she -- the ghosts of people who'd once lived and died there.
And then, one day, she recieves a letter from her family, calling her back to her family home where she belongs, and where she's wanted. But when she gets there, it's not what she expects.
This story was very enjoyable. It was an easy read with beautiful prose. I can't say that the story was especially deep -- it sometimes feels more like dressings than a fully realized story -- and the ending was anticlimactic, but I still very much enjoyed myself throughout the entire story.
As an aside, the book itself is beautifully out together too. I had the Illumicrate special edition, which is to be expected for some of the extra flourishes -- the journal pages were designed to look like journal pages and the section dividers were lovely -- but even the regular editions that my friends read had beautiful ink drawings and certain pages were white text on a black background which I thought was an especially nice touch. I'm a big fan of when books put forth just that little bit of extra effort to make their books something special.
And then, one day, she recieves a letter from her family, calling her back to her family home where she belongs, and where she's wanted. But when she gets there, it's not what she expects.
This story was very enjoyable. It was an easy read with beautiful prose. I can't say that the story was especially deep -- it sometimes feels more like dressings than a fully realized story -- and the ending was anticlimactic, but I still very much enjoyed myself throughout the entire story.
As an aside, the book itself is beautifully out together too. I had the Illumicrate special edition, which is to be expected for some of the extra flourishes -- the journal pages were designed to look like journal pages and the section dividers were lovely -- but even the regular editions that my friends read had beautiful ink drawings and certain pages were white text on a black background which I thought was an especially nice touch. I'm a big fan of when books put forth just that little bit of extra effort to make their books something special.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Ableism
Minor: Animal death and Mental illness
kathrynleereads's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I really enjoyed this book. I haven't ever read a book where the main character was unable to speak, and it was really enlightening to be able to visualize and better understand the struggles Olivia was going through.
I've always enjoyed reading a story with a static clue that twists and morphs throughout the story, just as the journal did in this book. The context and meaning of the journal entries and drawings shifted as the story went on and as Olivia began to understand her mother better and better.
I do believe that the story ended a bit abruptly and could have used a bit more at the end.
I've always enjoyed reading a story with a static clue that twists and morphs throughout the story, just as the journal did in this book. The context and meaning of the journal entries and drawings shifted as the story went on and as Olivia began to understand her mother better and better.
I do believe that the story ended a bit abruptly and could have used a bit more at the end.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Death of parent, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Abandonment
sapphicsoilscientist's review
adventurous
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Death
jes312's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Great world building, but not much happening in the world. The premise hooked me , but there characters didn't have much depth (I wasn't really impacted when . I wish there was more insight into Olivia's feelings at the end, how she feels about moving forward and knowing her predicament/fate . Or maybe she won't, because of her .
Spoiler
(the main character can see ghouls)Spoiler
Matthew diedSpoiler
wasting away like MatthewSpoiler
dad and being partially from the other world?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Ableism
nickoliver's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
CW: death of parent, death, (view spoiler) blood, bullying (only at the beginning), suicide
Overall, the book was very quiet. That could be explained with Olivia being mute, since that led to not as much dialogue as usual, but in my opinion, that wasn’t the only reason. It was also just the whole vibe of the story. It didn’t hinge on shock value or on fast-paced action, and Olivia didn’t have over-the-top reactions or seemed like she even reacted much to begin with. While I kind of liked that, it also did admittedly make it a bit boring and monotonous. I never really found myself at the edge of my seat or completely invested, since not much seemed to be going on. On top of that, it took a while for the plot to really get going - the first half of the book barely had any action to begin with. So because of that, combined with the quietness, I can see why some people struggled with this.
I liked the way Schwab progressed the plot. The whole idea of there being was intriguing. I do wish she’d played with it a bit more than she ended up doing, though. I had some theories that I thought would come true that excited me, and when that didn’t happen, I was a little bit disappointed. Not that the actual twist was bad by any means, but there was some potential that wasn’t being used.
The ending was a bit too depressing - which, fair enough, did fit into the book’s atmosphere and the way the story’d been written up to that point, but it left me with a sour taste in my mouth. Something happened during the climax that I wish didn’t, and it ruined it a bit for me. Plus, there were certain things that didn’t feel wrapped up enough to me. They weren’t exactly loose threads that Schwab forgot to properly end, but they did give the story a half-finished look.
The characters themselves also didn’t add much loudness. They didn’t stand out at all, and relationships developed almost a bit too quickly. While it made sense that Olivia got attached fast - after all, she’d spent her entire life living in an unwelcome and uninviting place with no family or friends -, it was still hard to understand it completely. I didn’t feel like I saw the relationship buildup well enough. The story was only set over the course of a few days, though, so maybe there was just no way to do it more realistically.
Admittedly, there was nothing wrong with the characters themselves; they were completely fine. Olivia was a non-annoying, sometimes painfully relatable protagonist. Matthew I even liked a lot, which made the climax and the ending a bit emotional for me. They - or at least the side characters - just didn’t feel developed enough .
A part of the book I really loved and appreciated was Olivia’s muteness. I had never read about a mute protagonist before, so it was really interesting to me. Plus, it was an integral part of the story and showed some hardships that I’d never thought about before. And while there was ableism, it didn’t get to be too much, and Olivia knew how to fight against it. She wasn’t weak-willed and meek, especially not at the beginning of the story (later a bit more, but the circumstances were different, so it made sense) which was an almost pleasant surprise. On top of that, she was completely okay with being mute; it was always just other people's reactions and actions that frustrated her.
The only part I wasn’t completely a fan of was the sign language. Part of that might just be a me-thing. Years ago, I once watched a video from a Booktuber who knew sign language, and she talked about disliking the way it was usually portrayed in books, because it was always full sentences written in italics, despite the fact that sign language didn’t have the same kind of syntax as spoken language. Ever since I watched that video, I can’t unsee that, and so it always bothers me a bit, even if I don’t think it’s problematic or offensive to write full sentences.
The other part was the unlikeliness of Olivia even being fluent in sign language. Schwab explained it by there having been a matron at Olivia’s pre-Gallant home, Merilance, who had taught her. And sure, that was a good explanation. But at the same time, all the matrons currently at Merilance were all rather bad people who didn’t actually care about their students. So the idea that there used to be one patient enough to teach Olivia presumably everything about sign language so that she could be fluent wasn’t very realistic.
However, none of that bothered me that much; it's just that I simply couldn’t help but notice it.
Lastly, the writing. It was a bit weird at times - there were a lot of similes used, and not all of them really made sense. While I enjoyed Schwab’s writing for the most part - it was whimsical and wonderful -, it did read a bit forced sometimes. As if the author wanted to make it obvious that her writing was beautiful but without making sure that it actually fit.
Now that I'm finished with this review, I can see that I have almost more negative things to say, which makes the 4-star-rating confusing. But the thing is that I enjoyed the book! I just think you should go into it with the right expectations. There’s not going to be much action until like two thirds of the way in. It was more of a quiet character-driven story that focused specifically on Olivia and her yearning for a family and a place to call home, and less of a fast-paced, nail-biting, intricate fantasy novel.
Overall, the book was very quiet. That could be explained with Olivia being mute, since that led to not as much dialogue as usual, but in my opinion, that wasn’t the only reason. It was also just the whole vibe of the story. It didn’t hinge on shock value or on fast-paced action, and Olivia didn’t have over-the-top reactions or seemed like she even reacted much to begin with. While I kind of liked that, it also did admittedly make it a bit boring and monotonous. I never really found myself at the edge of my seat or completely invested, since not much seemed to be going on. On top of that, it took a while for the plot to really get going - the first half of the book barely had any action to begin with. So because of that, combined with the quietness, I can see why some people struggled with this.
I liked the way Schwab progressed the plot. The whole idea of there being
Spoiler
two Gallants that were a bit like good and colourful and evil and greyThe ending was a bit too depressing - which, fair enough, did fit into the book’s atmosphere and the way the story’d been written up to that point, but it left me with a sour taste in my mouth. Something happened during the climax that I wish didn’t, and it ruined it a bit for me. Plus, there were certain things that didn’t feel wrapped up enough to me. They weren’t exactly loose threads that Schwab forgot to properly end, but they did give the story a half-finished look.
The characters themselves also didn’t add much loudness. They didn’t stand out at all, and relationships developed almost a bit too quickly. While it made sense that Olivia got attached fast - after all, she’d spent her entire life living in an unwelcome and uninviting place with no family or friends -, it was still hard to understand it completely. I didn’t feel like I saw the relationship buildup well enough. The story was only set over the course of a few days, though, so maybe there was just no way to do it more realistically.
Admittedly, there was nothing wrong with the characters themselves; they were completely fine. Olivia was a non-annoying, sometimes painfully relatable protagonist. Matthew I even liked a lot, which made the climax and the ending a bit emotional for me. They - or at least the side characters - just didn’t feel developed enough .
A part of the book I really loved and appreciated was Olivia’s muteness. I had never read about a mute protagonist before, so it was really interesting to me. Plus, it was an integral part of the story and showed some hardships that I’d never thought about before. And while there was ableism, it didn’t get to be too much, and Olivia knew how to fight against it. She wasn’t weak-willed and meek, especially not at the beginning of the story (later a bit more, but the circumstances were different, so it made sense) which was an almost pleasant surprise. On top of that, she was completely okay with being mute; it was always just other people's reactions and actions that frustrated her.
The only part I wasn’t completely a fan of was the sign language. Part of that might just be a me-thing. Years ago, I once watched a video from a Booktuber who knew sign language, and she talked about disliking the way it was usually portrayed in books, because it was always full sentences written in italics, despite the fact that sign language didn’t have the same kind of syntax as spoken language. Ever since I watched that video, I can’t unsee that, and so it always bothers me a bit, even if I don’t think it’s problematic or offensive to write full sentences.
The other part was the unlikeliness of Olivia even being fluent in sign language. Schwab explained it by there having been a matron at Olivia’s pre-Gallant home, Merilance, who had taught her. And sure, that was a good explanation. But at the same time, all the matrons currently at Merilance were all rather bad people who didn’t actually care about their students. So the idea that there used to be one patient enough to teach Olivia presumably everything about sign language so that she could be fluent wasn’t very realistic.
However, none of that bothered me that much; it's just that I simply couldn’t help but notice it.
Lastly, the writing. It was a bit weird at times - there were a lot of similes used, and not all of them really made sense. While I enjoyed Schwab’s writing for the most part - it was whimsical and wonderful -, it did read a bit forced sometimes. As if the author wanted to make it obvious that her writing was beautiful but without making sure that it actually fit.
Now that I'm finished with this review, I can see that I have almost more negative things to say, which makes the 4-star-rating confusing. But the thing is that I enjoyed the book! I just think you should go into it with the right expectations. There’s not going to be much action until like two thirds of the way in. It was more of a quiet character-driven story that focused specifically on Olivia and her yearning for a family and a place to call home, and less of a fast-paced, nail-biting, intricate fantasy novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Blood, Death, and Ableism
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, and Child death
midnightrubies's review against another edition
hopeful
mysterious
slow-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
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism
singalana's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
2.75
I accidentally picked two very similar books to read at the same time: this and the audiobook In the Shadow of Spindrift House by Mira Grant. Both have young protagonists trying to figure out the mystery of a weird house. The main character of this story is a girl called Olivia - a girl with no voice. At the beginning of the story she lives in an orphanage, and the only thing she has from her family is her mother’s journal. She receives a letter from her uncle, inviting her to return to their family home - a house called Gallant. When Olivia arrives at the house, she realises there is much she doesn’t know about her family and the house.
The book has an interesting layout: spread throughout the book are illustrations and pages from her mother's journal. And the cover design and the end sheets are absolutely gorgeous. The content, however… I don’t know whether I was somehow distracted or if the writing style was not for me, but I noticed that I had to constantly reread pages and parts of the text because I realised my mind had just drifted and I hadn’t internalized anything I had read.
The reading experience felt heavy, I didn’t much care for the main character and the plot raised a lot of questions.
Spoiler
I didn’t feel too connected to the characters, and somehow the mystery of the house was not explored enough for my taste. I didn’t understand the logic behind the plot: why were the Priors so determined to guard the secret? Why was the big bad dying? What would have happened if all of the Priors were to disappear? And my biggest pet peeve of them all: the main character falls into a trap that causes the death of another character. I don’t like this trope at all.
Content Warnings
Minor: Ableism, Death of parent, Death, Blood, Child death, Animal death, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
kimtazo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, and Suicide
Minor: Child death
naomidanae's review
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: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, Violence, Child death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Medical content
mysticlucy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Abandonment, and Ableism
Minor: Child death