Summary
This YA horror novel follows a young mute girl named Olivia who can see ghouls. Her only clue to her family remains in a strange journal left to her by her birth mother. After finally being taken away from her oppressive boarding school to the residence of her ancestral home, Gallant, she realizes that her new home may be more dangerous than she had previously fathomed.
Thoughts
This story reminded me a lot of Coraline due to the parallel universe trope. I did not know this book would have parallel universes, which trope doesn’t usually draw me to a story, but the author weaved it together very effectively. It also contained extensive description. The language was original and vivid on the author’s part, but sometimes it distracted me from the plot. The book also contained epistolary entries in journal-form as well as watercolor illustrations which added uniqueness to the story.
I wasn’t sure what the plot was at times, since the spooky aesthetic was so strong, but towards the end the first-person narration became an effective tool for the “why” behind the character’s decisions. This helped the plot become a little clearer to me in the conclusion.
Author
I wasn’t too familiar with V.E. Schwab’s work prior to this novel, but I recognize some of her newer novels have been popular with the modern reading crows on social media platforms like BookTube and Bookstagram. She is the author of not only novels, but short stories, graphic novels, and even TV and film.
Recommendation
I would recommend this book fans of gothic fiction and novels with dark suspense. Due to the detailed descriptions and the subject matter, I would recommend this book to older audiences, such as YA age instead of teens.
