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Gallant

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Gallant is dark, tragic, and heartbreaking, but also warm and moving. The basic desire to belong and be loved is so fundamental to human nature. That is all Olivia wants.

A girl. A boy. A shadow with eyes. A door that won’t open. A place and its copy. Hidden rooms and hidden secrets. A shard of bone. And death itself. V.E. Schwab writes with a poetic beauty that reminds me of some of the finest authors of our time. This might be a grand statement, but it is that good. Schwab can make words flow like a clear stream of water in a quiet forest. Her language is soothing, without being overly flowery.For so long, Olivia has longed to be wanted, especially in a place like Merilance... until one day she receives a note from her uncle, Arthur Prior, about coming to live in Gallant--a mysterious, large estate. However, once she gets there Olivia realizes Gallant is not all what it seems to be and there was a reason her mother warned her away from it... I want Schwab to try out writing different characters and stop presenting the exact same thing to us. I'd love to see some amazing female friendships as well, because I don't see that in Schwab's work either. Olivia Prior has never been a quiet girl. She has always made a point of making noise, everywhere she goes, in part to remind people that just because she cannot speak, does not mean that she is silent, and in part because she simply likes the weight of sound, likes the way it takes up space.” The writing was beautiful, though. So haunting and delicate and vivid. If only the quality of the content matched the quality of the prose. In a time of typewriters and steam engines, Iris Winnow awaits word from her older brother, who has enlisted on the side of Enva the Skyward goddess. Alcohol abuse led to her mother’s losing her job, and Iris has dropped out of school and found work utilizing her writing skills at the Oath Gazette. Hiding the stress of her home issues behind a brave face, Iris competes for valuable assignments that may one day earn her the coveted columnist position. Her rival for the job is handsome and wealthy Roman Kitt, whose prose entrances her so much she avoids reading his articles. At home, she writes cathartic letters to her brother, never posting them but instead placing them in her wardrobe, where they vanish overnight. One day Iris receives a reply, which, along with other events, pushes her to make dramatic life decisions. Magic plays a quiet role in this story, and readers may for a time forget there is anything supernatural going on. This is more of a wartime tale of broken families, inspired youths, and higher powers using people as pawns. It flirts with clichéd tropes but also takes some startling turns. Main characters are assumed White; same-sex marriages and gender equality at the warfront appear to be the norm in this world.

literally how did this win GR choice awards in YA fantasy with all the other amazing books on there??? make it make sense Everything casts a shadow. Even the world we live in. And as with every shadow, there is a place where it must touch. A seam, where the shadow meets its source. I also have a bias against books where the main female characters have no meaningful relationship with other girls her age. And in fact, they are shown to be jealous, petty, and mean towards her even if she’d done ‘nothing wrong’. Like, can we put a stop to this girls-hating-girls trend in YA? Thank you. Olivia Prior can see ghosts, shadows of the long-dead: a bony hand here, a half-formed face there. She carries her mother’s last written words with her: stay away from Gallant, her family’s manor. But when she’s given a chance to escape the bleak gray walls of her boarding school, she takes it. However, Gallant is hiding something even darker than the ghouls she sees around her, and Olivia is determined to solve this mystery.In all seriousness, if you asked me what happened in this book I couldn't tell you. It literally feels like nothing happened at all the first half. I almost fell ASLEEP reading it and that never happens to me?? Never in my life have I ever almost fallen asleep reading a book. Gallant is the first to ever do this to me.

Even the ghouls didn’t have much of a purpose. They just… drifted around and occasionally acted protective of Olivia. I kept waiting for a twist that would tie everything together, but there was nothing. What you see in the synopsis is it. Gallant doesn’t feel complete. My original opinions of each character never changed because nothing happened that would make them change. It was so unsatisfying. Gallant, by V.E. Schwab is my seventh book by this author. I didn't really have high expectations when I went it to it, as the premise didn't grip me as much, but I had not anticipated to dislike this book so much. I had hoped it would at least be a 3 star read, but the book left me completely uninterested and unbothered. I did not enjoy it at all. This book really is the definition of pretty writing, bland story. Like sure the writing was very descriptive and fancy but??? I was bored out of mind?? I could care less about the characters, story, plot (haha what plot) and everything else. I don't care if you have the most beautiful writing in the world. If the story doesn't capture my attention, then I don't like it. Wow! This is a compulsively readable YA fantasy/horror novel that grabbed me from the beginning and didn't let go. Gallant doesn't have a rich plot, but it does have well-developed characters. Oliva Prior, a non-verbal teen is trapped and abandoned in an orphanage after the death of her mother. She has no one, or that is what she has been told. When she receives a peculiar letter from a long lost relative telling her to come to live with them, Olivia is perplexed but also relieved. Finally, she gets to have a family, someone who will love her.

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But there are lower powers, stranger ones, and there in the dark, behind the door, she prays to them. And dreams can never hurt you. That’s what her mother said. Of course, she knows now it isn’t true. Dreams can make you hurt yourself, dreams can make you do so many things, if you’re not careful.” You can watch me talk about all the books I read in February as I set up my reading journal here: https://youtu.be/NY7bgSmoggM Olivia Prior has always hoped for a place to belong and a family that cares for her. Instead, she’s isolated at Merilance School for Independent Girls, with its strict matrons, shunned by students who ostracize and torment her for being mute. Olivia uses sign language, taught to her by a now-departed matron (although nobody else signs); treasures the journal belonging to the mother she doesn’t remember; and can see ghouls. When she receives a letter from her uncle, Arthur Prior, inviting her to live at his manor, Olivia leaps at the chance. However, instead of the big, welcoming family she imagined, the opulent yet run-down Gallant only holds Matthew, her irritable cousin, and kindly caretakers Hannah and Edgar. Olivia unravels the ominous secrets of both her family and the house, where ghouls lurk around every corner and the dilapidated garden gate calls to her. The evolving relationships between Olivia and her found family shine, and themes of freedom, the self, and belonging are well depicted. The gripping writing and effective incorporation of horror elements, including haunting, inky artwork, are satisfyingly spine-tingling. Olivia’s use of sign language and her artistic talents, part of the exploration of the importance of communication, are skillfully incorporated into the overall story. Olivia and the main cast are White.

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