A review by hannaws
Gallant by V.E. Schwab

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. 
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