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bickleyhouse's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Set in Edinburgh, at some point in the distant future (I think?), The Library of the Dead starts out as a kind of paranormal fantasy, urban fantasy, but at some point along the way, turns that dark corner into horror. And when it goes horror, it goes full-on.
Ropa, our main character, is a 14-almost-15-year-old girl, who dropped out of school to pursue her talent/occupation as a "ghostalker" full-time. She communicates with the dead, taking messages from them to their living relatives/friends. Sometimes, this helps the dead to cross over into the "land of the tall grass."
In my opinion, this is a beautiful story. Definitely, there are parts that are not "beautiful," especially during the horror moments, but overall, the story is crafted beautifully. This author definitely has a talent of weaving a tale.
It was a little challenging at first, because the entire story is in first person POV from the perspective of Ropa, and we get her dialect in the telling. So that takes a little getting used to, but is accessible.
Ropa, her Gran, and her little sister Izwi, live in a large field, in a "cara," which appears to be one of those tiny, one-roomed rvs. There is barely enough foom for the three of them to sleep, and if all three of them are up at the same time, it's crowded. They pay "rent" to the owner of the field, for allowing them to park their cara there.
There are remnants of days past, when things were different, and society lived well. Ropa has a pet named River, who lives outside. We eventually learn that River is a fox, which made me very happy, because I have always wanted a pet fox.
The story begins with Ropa helping a family with a paranormal need, and she gets quite a bit of money for it. But on her way home from the job, she is accosted by the local law enforcement, which extorts the newly-made cash from her.
At one point, she is approached by the spirit of a woman who is the mother of a living boy who has disappeared. She begs Ropa to help her, and Ropa initially refuses, because the woman cannot afford to pay. But Gran talks Ropa into helping her, and thus begins the meat of the plot. A deeper, darker secret is uncovered as Ropa investigates Ollie's disappearance, and discovers that he is not the only one.
Oddly, the titular library only seems to play a minor role in this story (at least in my opinion), so the title surprises me a little. Ropa's best friend Jomo is the one who introduces her to the library, a secret stash of books on magic and related arts deep below Edinburgh. In fact, Jomo's father works at the library. And when Jomo sneaks Ropa in, they get caught, which almost results in Ropa being "hanged by the neck until expired." Fortunately, one of the other "librarians," who sees something deeper in Ropa, rescues her and starts to give her some training.
There are many little subplots in this story, which make it seem to move along well. Ropa uses a little thumb-piano called a mbira, to communicate with the dead. When they first approach her, all that can be heard is "Booga-wooga-wooga," until she begins to play the mbira and create the right tune to help them communicate with her.
The blurb calls this book "The Sixth Sense meets Stranger Things." I don't know that I quite agree with that. There are definitely "Stranger Things" aspects to it, and I suppose Ropa does, in fact, "see dead people," but that's about as close as it gets to "Sixth Sense." The world that this author has created is vastly different from anything that I have ever experienced, and I absolutely loved it. I can't wait for the next one, as this appears to be a series, since this one is called "Edinburgh Nights #1."
A couple other interesting things: Whenever people meet, one always says, "God save the king," and the other responds with "Long may he reign." Something that is said concerning the evil house (where the tale turns into horror): "It's not a window. It's a mirror of your innermost desire." A quote that I found very interesting: "You can't erase what's written in blood. Ever." And lastly, a quote that really illustrates the author's wordcrafting skill: "I know that's Ballake Sissoko playing because the sound of the music is now falling cherry blossoms blowing in the wind through a courtyard, curved multi-layered pagodas, and courtiers scurrying about in silken garments."
Strongly recommended for fans of paranormal fantasy who aren't afraid of some horror mixed in.
Ropa, our main character, is a 14-almost-15-year-old girl, who dropped out of school to pursue her talent/occupation as a "ghostalker" full-time. She communicates with the dead, taking messages from them to their living relatives/friends. Sometimes, this helps the dead to cross over into the "land of the tall grass."
In my opinion, this is a beautiful story. Definitely, there are parts that are not "beautiful," especially during the horror moments, but overall, the story is crafted beautifully. This author definitely has a talent of weaving a tale.
It was a little challenging at first, because the entire story is in first person POV from the perspective of Ropa, and we get her dialect in the telling. So that takes a little getting used to, but is accessible.
Ropa, her Gran, and her little sister Izwi, live in a large field, in a "cara," which appears to be one of those tiny, one-roomed rvs. There is barely enough foom for the three of them to sleep, and if all three of them are up at the same time, it's crowded. They pay "rent" to the owner of the field, for allowing them to park their cara there.
There are remnants of days past, when things were different, and society lived well. Ropa has a pet named River, who lives outside. We eventually learn that River is a fox, which made me very happy, because I have always wanted a pet fox.
The story begins with Ropa helping a family with a paranormal need, and she gets quite a bit of money for it. But on her way home from the job, she is accosted by the local law enforcement, which extorts the newly-made cash from her.
At one point, she is approached by the spirit of a woman who is the mother of a living boy who has disappeared. She begs Ropa to help her, and Ropa initially refuses, because the woman cannot afford to pay. But Gran talks Ropa into helping her, and thus begins the meat of the plot. A deeper, darker secret is uncovered as Ropa investigates Ollie's disappearance, and discovers that he is not the only one.
Oddly, the titular library only seems to play a minor role in this story (at least in my opinion), so the title surprises me a little. Ropa's best friend Jomo is the one who introduces her to the library, a secret stash of books on magic and related arts deep below Edinburgh. In fact, Jomo's father works at the library. And when Jomo sneaks Ropa in, they get caught, which almost results in Ropa being "hanged by the neck until expired." Fortunately, one of the other "librarians," who sees something deeper in Ropa, rescues her and starts to give her some training.
There are many little subplots in this story, which make it seem to move along well. Ropa uses a little thumb-piano called a mbira, to communicate with the dead. When they first approach her, all that can be heard is "Booga-wooga-wooga," until she begins to play the mbira and create the right tune to help them communicate with her.
The blurb calls this book "The Sixth Sense meets Stranger Things." I don't know that I quite agree with that. There are definitely "Stranger Things" aspects to it, and I suppose Ropa does, in fact, "see dead people," but that's about as close as it gets to "Sixth Sense." The world that this author has created is vastly different from anything that I have ever experienced, and I absolutely loved it. I can't wait for the next one, as this appears to be a series, since this one is called "Edinburgh Nights #1."
A couple other interesting things: Whenever people meet, one always says, "God save the king," and the other responds with "Long may he reign." Something that is said concerning the evil house (where the tale turns into horror): "It's not a window. It's a mirror of your innermost desire." A quote that I found very interesting: "You can't erase what's written in blood. Ever." And lastly, a quote that really illustrates the author's wordcrafting skill: "I know that's Ballake Sissoko playing because the sound of the music is now falling cherry blossoms blowing in the wind through a courtyard, curved multi-layered pagodas, and courtiers scurrying about in silken garments."
Strongly recommended for fans of paranormal fantasy who aren't afraid of some horror mixed in.
managerofmischief's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
- Strong character development? No
3.5
monalyisha's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
This book about a Scottish and Zimbabwean high school dropout who can talk to ghosts, solving the mystery of one missing child and another resurfacing drained of his youth, walks the line between YA and Adult Fic. Is “New Adult” still a term people are using? I’m not sure how much I would’ve enjoyed this if I’d picked it up in print but I’ll likely continue the series based on Tinashe Warikandwa’s performance.
The language can be embarrassingly colloquial & crass, which isn’t *inappropriate* for a story that centers a street-savvy teen in a dystopian future society…but it still made me cringe. 🙈 The plot is predictable but the unique setting did it for me.
Bonus points for the unconventional “library card” system at the occult library; Ropa’s pet fox, River; diverse representation; and the Murder, She Wrote reference.
The language can be embarrassingly colloquial & crass, which isn’t *inappropriate* for a story that centers a street-savvy teen in a dystopian future society…but it still made me cringe. 🙈 The plot is predictable but the unique setting did it for me.
Bonus points for the unconventional “library card” system at the occult library; Ropa’s pet fox, River; diverse representation; and the Murder, She Wrote reference.
bubbeleh's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, and Classism
awesomebrandi's review against another edition
5.0
The Library of the Dead is a dark fantasy novel with a scrappy, teenage heroine who happens to communicate with ghosts. I really enjoyed this book, and I feel like the character development is absolutely top notch. I felt a lot of connection with Ropa, as a poor, autodidact who cares for her family. The linguistics in this are a word nerd's dream, because of the great combo of African (Zimbabwe) and Scottish dialects and slang. While Ropa is a little rough around the edges, as you expect a scrappy street wise young person to be - she also has amazing heart and drive. She is a big fan of learning and growing, even though she quit school because she wanted to focus on her responsibilities and freedoms.
Ropa uses music and magic to talk with spirits of the dead, to help the communicate with their family members. She gets approached by a spirit, who's living son is missing, and ends up going on an adventure to help find him and solve a plot. This definitely had some unexpected twists and turns in it, but they just kept the action nice and high.
It was nice to see a prominent disabled character in the book, who wasn't painfully cliche - outside of them being a wheelchair user, which is a little bit of low hanging fruit, but I thought the character was written well. There were only a couple of issues I had, when it comes to disability visibility in this book - one, still plenty of use of ableist slang like 'idiot' and related. And, then, the part that really made me cringe was when the Ropa's sister's teacher talked about being gifted and saying it was different than those with 'special needs' and that whole thing just rubbed me the wrong way. It had no real bearing or addition to the story (we can assume Ropa's sister was very capable, based on her sister's behavior) - and it contributes to dangerous stereotypes that being 'gifted' and being disabled are two different things, when they commonly overlap.
Otherwise, I really, really enjoyed this book. I look forward to reading more. Such a great, unique voice and wonderful story development.
Ropa uses music and magic to talk with spirits of the dead, to help the communicate with their family members. She gets approached by a spirit, who's living son is missing, and ends up going on an adventure to help find him and solve a plot. This definitely had some unexpected twists and turns in it, but they just kept the action nice and high.
It was nice to see a prominent disabled character in the book, who wasn't painfully cliche - outside of them being a wheelchair user, which is a little bit of low hanging fruit, but I thought the character was written well. There were only a couple of issues I had, when it comes to disability visibility in this book - one, still plenty of use of ableist slang like 'idiot' and related. And, then, the part that really made me cringe was when the Ropa's sister's teacher talked about being gifted and saying it was different than those with 'special needs' and that whole thing just rubbed me the wrong way. It had no real bearing or addition to the story (we can assume Ropa's sister was very capable, based on her sister's behavior) - and it contributes to dangerous stereotypes that being 'gifted' and being disabled are two different things, when they commonly overlap.
Otherwise, I really, really enjoyed this book. I look forward to reading more. Such a great, unique voice and wonderful story development.
nienkemarjolein's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
vanessapajarito's review against another edition
4.0
It was really fast paced! I enjoyed the explanations and the backstories of magical spells. The author really worked to bridge science fiction and fantasy together. The main character Ropa is incredibly entertaining, smart, and quick witted. I wish there was a better ending for the children that were affected in the book, but I know it’s a series, so there may be a better ending for them in future books.
sophiepaige227's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
bookwyyrm's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5