V. S. Schwab's Gallant is an engrossing, dark tale that takes the reader to a journey to the other side. The novel introduces us to Olivia as she tries to fit in and find a family. She soon discovers dark family secrets that make her reexamine how she sees herself.

This was an enjoyable novel that I would recommend to my students.

Thank you for the advanced copy,

The writing is beautiful and magical let's get that straight.
Writing aside let's be honest, I had a lot of unanswered questions at the end of finishing this and my understanding is that this is a standalone so idk if my questions will never be answered or if the final copies will have more info regarding my questions I'm just....unsatisfied.

Ok, I get that the master of the house is supposed to be like the embodiment of death but my question is why is he doing the things? Just for the sake of being death? Or is there a bigger reason that I didn't get or understand.
Also, why this family? Is there a specific reason or just bad luck that they chose the house?
I'd like more backstory on hannah and Edgar and how they got involved.
Probably just more backstory overall. Finally, I'd like more information on the ending, maybe an epilogue so as to explain if the wall ever breaks or if Olivia's children carry on the tasks.

The characters were great, the setting magical, the prose beautiful and the plot while I did have questions, it held through to keep me entertained and gripped.

Thank you as always to the publisher for the advanced copy!

Spooky and eerie, readers will be drawn to Schwab’s newest book. Olivia Prior was abandoned by her mother at a home for girls when she was a very young child. Now in her later teens, she is invited to go to the family home called Gallant. But she’s not welcomed by the only living relative who lives there. Matthew, her cousin, is angry at her arrival and wants her gone.

Is it that he won’t share the family legacy or is there something else going on? When mysterious things start happening, Olivia is drawn to the property’s secrets. There are ghosts and a mysterious wall that beckon.

Schwab is masterful at creating a world with alternate realities. She transports readers with her tale of impending doom. This book will add to her standing as a gifted writer of paranormal entities and passageways between the real and the spirit world.

<i>Gallant</i> is Victoria Schwab's latest young adult book. The story centers on Olivia, a young mute orphan at a school that trains girls to be servants in well-to-do houses. Olivia's misery is the school is shortlived when she receives a letter from a long-lost uncle who invites her to come to the family home called Gallant. However, when Olivia arrives no one is expecting her and the uncle who sent the letter has been dead for years.

This is a delightfully spooky book for young adults. It would be a great intro for preteens who want to venture into horror but aren't quite ready for really scary books. Like Schwab's other books, she really creates an encompassing world for her characters. I read this one over Halloween weekend and it was a real treat.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC of this book.

Another wonderful (but different) ghost story from V.E. Schwab. It was amazing that because Olivia never speaks a word we have a more intimate window into her thoughts, impressions and observations. Olivia's character development was outstanding and we really come to care about her and her feelings of loneliness, desire to belong, and longing to know what happened to her mother.

The story was gripping and at times nail biting. It was full of mystery and secrets that kept me engaged.

My only disappointment is that this is a stand-alone novel, as I wasn't happy at Olivia's fate at the end of the book. I hope the author will consider writing a sequel.

3.5 Stars Rounded Up

Beautiful Cover.

Another beautifully written novel by V. E . Schwab. The story itself reminded me of Coraline meets Secret Garden. While I found Gallant to be enjoyable, I didn't love it and found the ending of the story to be a little pointless. I wanted an expected more from it, especially after The Invisible Life Of Addie Larue.

This is a Schwab book through and through. It's clever, creepy, and bittersweet. I found it so clever that Olivia never said a word, and yet I found myself forgetting that detail entirely.

Such a good read. Spooky and atmospheric. I loved the characters and the family history, and the way everyone came together. Everything about the story was so interesting and the journals/drawings really added to the plot. Very well done.

This has been the first book by this author that I did not enjoy. Generally love everything else by this author.

As I expected, the writing is full of description and color. Schwab makes her settings come to life.. This book reminds me of The Secret Garden, but traveling over the wall is not always a good thing. It is a haunting, well written, rich book. The protagonist grows up in a school for girls. She is invited to come home through a letter, but when she arrives, no one expected her. She knows Gallant, her home, is hiding something. We follow her journey to unlock the secrets. Maybe sometimes locked doors are best left locked.. maybe not.

V.E. Schwab is a masterful storyteller. I love this teaser and cannot wait to put this into students' hands. Wonderful YA fantasy set up, also, beautiful illustrations.

A very spooky and atmospheric, almost gothic tragedy, with very spooky and atmospheric accompanying illustrations. I only wish it was a little less tragic!

This latest offering from V. E. Schwab does not disappoint. Dark, shadowy, and Gothic, the book weaves a web of intrigue that keeps the reader turning the page. Olivia Prior is a heroine to root for, her character strong and relatable. The book discusses the concepts of family, belonging, and the complex circle of life and death. It's slow burn suspense that makes the reader want to venture just a little further into the dark.

I wanted to love this book. There may be an argument to be made that I am not the target audience for this novel, and so maybe it was always going to fall short because of that, but there are so many YA and middle grade novels that I do truly love so it may be the story itself.
Schwab's writing is, as always, a delight to read. Her turn of phrase makes even the darkest things feel alluring and knows how to spin melancholy things into something rich and almost tantalizing. But the plot feels underdeveloped leaving a lot of questions and an ending that kind of makes you wonder what was the point of the whole thing.
SPOILERS:




Who built the houses the Priors and Death each live in? Is there an entire reverse world besides the alternate house, like the upside down? Why is the seam between shadow and light only an issue at this particular juncture of land? If Death lives behind this gate in the countryside, then what is death in the greater world? Not to get too technical about aspects of a fairytale, but how did an undead being impregnate a woman? I shouldn't be hung up on shadow sperm but I am! And I might have been able to set all of that aside if it didn't feel like it was a story about the futility of fighting death which feels grim for a book at the young end of the YA spectrum- because this does read more like middle grade than YA.

A book about life, death, family and what makes a house a home and I was hooked from page 1. There are two Gallants, neither of which Olivia knows anything about until a mysterious letter arrives at the orphanage where she has lived her who life. Olivia is never speaks the whole book but her voice, her determination and her will speak loudly enough that even Death hears her. Equal parts ghost story, fantasy and heartwarming tale, Victoria Schwab has done it again with her engrossing settings and fantastic characters. Read this book and spend time in her world!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of Gallant.

"You will be safe as long as you stay away from Gallant."

One line, one warning, in her mother's journal, which means, of course, Olivia Prior, outcast orphan, heads to Gallant at her first opportunity, Who can blame her? Left on the steps of Merilance as a toddler, she has one thing from her past- her mother's journal, full of mysterious words and drawings. When a letter arrives from an unknown uncle, beckoning her home, she has no choice but to go.

Gallant. In which we meet her cousin Matthew, tormented by dreams, Hannah and Edgar, caretakers of the home, and we slowly learn the history of the Priors and Gallant, the curse that binds them.

I love when authors create a place that is a character in itself, and Gallant certainly is that. Full of ghosts and oddities, locked up at dark, the spooky atmosphere that Schwab creates is wonderful.

I absolutely love Victoria Schwab and will happily devour any of her fabulous creations, and while I enjoyed Gallant, I felt like the last fourth of the book was maybe slightly rushed? I wanted more . . . something. I felt the ending was 100% perfect, I just wish we'd gotten a bit more in the moments before that.

Schwab is a phenomenal storyteller. In my humble list of favorites, her writing and storytelling ranks up there with Rothfuss, Okorafor, and Becky Chambers for me. I don't always love the stories she tells (sorry, I'm one of those that was very "meh" on Addie LaRue) but she could tell me the story of how she bought spinach at the grocery store last week and I'd stick through to the end just for the descriptions.

Gallant was different. It didn't waft through centuries exploring personal connection and sacrifice. It stared down the deepest parts of youthful vehemence and the need to belong and challenged you to confront yourself. The story drags you along into battle to understand what it means to form a family and fight for it.

It is the tale of Oliva, whose father died before she was born and her mother left her at a home for independent girls as a young child. She has no voice, sees a few ghouls, and thoroughly hates where she has ended up. She finally is given a chance at a real home when a long-lost uncle writes and invites her home.

This book is a gutsy, emotional ride through self-discovery when all you have fought for is hanging in the balance. If you are looking for the teenage child of Coraline meets Shades of Magic.... this will not disappoint. If you are seeking another taste of the storytelling that only somewhat saved Addie LaRue, this is for you.

Now I know everyone seems to love this book, and yes, the writer does have a wonderful way with words, but in a way that's part of my problem with the story. Here's this rich, dark fantasy (that I would never in a million years let a child read, they'd be traumatized for life, it's that darkly atmospheric and cruel), that seems to have a story to tell, but then... doesn't. It takes you through pain and torment to... nowhere. Is it a story about finding a family of sorts and a home? Um, not really.
Spoilers -
Olivia simply takes the place of her cousin, and everything is exactly as it was before at Gallant. Olivia may have a place to call home, but she has a far worse tormentor than she had before. Is this progress?
Reminds me of the dreary pointlessness of Philip Pullman's The Amber Spyglass. I was very disappointed with both.

Another hit from V. E. Schwab! The writing is lush and beautiful, and exactly what I wanted for an October read. Thank you for the early copy!

Crimson Peak meets The Secret Garden in this ghoulish tale of traveling over the garden wall.

I will read anything and everything that Schwab throws my way. She has a magical way of telling a story that automatically grabs you in its clutches and never let's go. There is also a special place in my heart for books that have things that go bump in the night or in this case ghosts that sit on your bed as you sleep. I've been there, seen that, and I don't recommend it.

This one intrigued me from the start. We meet Olivia who resides at an all girls school, she can't speak with words but can see ghouls hiding throughout. Then a mysterious letter arrives from a long-lost relative who has been searching franticly for her and invites her to move into his estate. Once she moves into the estate, things get weirder from there. Behind every door is a secret and Olivia is determined to find the answers to long ago questions.

I really enjoyed this. The pacing was great and made for a quick unputdownable read, the cast of characters, ghouls, and Death were all amazing, each one held their own as the story progressed, the haunted estate was eerily tempting, and the mystery was the glue that held this all together. It was all so fantastic but there was just something missing that her other books offered. I'm just not sure what was the missing link.

The one main thing that held me back was the quickly wrapped up ending. It was a typical ending to a haunted/deathly tale. I was expecting something big and shocking but we got something that has been done many times before and that was disappointing. It did take a bit away from the story. I'm not in any way saying that I disliked this because I didn't. I loved it, I just wish the ending had a little more oomph.

Gallant was a hauntingly brilliant read. Fans of The Secret Garden, The Haunting of Hill House, and The Books of Elsewhere will love this eerie story. The writing is beautiful and the story was wonderful. Schwab creates the perfect atmosphere for this beautiful gothic tale. It's one that I know I'll read over and over again and fall in love with each time.