Thank you to Greenwillow Books for the advance copy of Gallant for review!
All orphaned Olivia Prior knows of her past comes from her mother’s journal, full of thoughts and words quickly descending into madness. Perhaps Olivia is mad too; she’s always seen things others can’t, and the other girls at Merilance School for Girls are scared of her.
When a letter arrives from a long-lost uncle calling Olivia home to the family estate she never knew, she seizes the chance to meet her kin. When Olivia arrives at Gallant, however, no one is expecting her. Worse, her uncle is missing, her cousin is hostile and the half-formed ghouls follow her to haunt the hallways.
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Determined to uncover what Gallant and its residents hide from her, Olivia crosses a ruined wall in the garden. She finds herself in a twisted and strange version of the manor. Shadows move without hosts, the ghosts are solid and a mysterious figure rules everything. Will Olivia claim her place as a Prior and in Gallant, or will she lose herself to the darkness like so many others?
Marketed as The Secret Garden meets Crimson Peak, Gallant is an excellent YA follow-up to V.E. Schwab’s The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. Schwab takes what could be a simple haunted house story and turns it on its head. Her talent lies in setting a pitch-perfect tone; the eeriness of the estate and Olivia’s fear are fully realized in a story that’s somehow both Gothic and beautifully magical.
Olivia reads a bit younger than most YA heroines. Still, Olivia fits right in with Schwab’s other fantastic protagonists. At the start of Gallant, she’s isolated among the girls at Merilance, trying to figure out where she fits in without family or friends. She’s mute as well and communicates through writing, signing and art.
As a result, it’s difficult for her to bond with people who don’t try to understand her. Her struggles, however, have made her scrappy and tough; when she arrives at Gallant, she doesn’t take “no” for an answer when trying to discover the home’s secrets.
I’m excited to see Gallant’s final version; there are gorgeous illustrations throughout that can only get better. The book as a whole was almost like a multimedia project, with the art, story and diary excerpts interspersed together, and I’m sure the finished product will be beautiful.
If you’re looking for an atmospheric and spooky YA read, Gallant is perfect for you. Schwab’s writing is lush and haunting, instantly drawing the reader into this world. Fans of Neil Gaiman will especially enjoy Gallant. While it comes out in spring, it’s perfect for reading curled up in front of a fireplace on a dreary day.
Gallant comes out on March 1 and is available for preorder now from your local independent bookstore or Bookshop.org.
TW: ableism/ableist language, blood, bullying, child abuse/neglect, death, graphic animal death, nightmares, strangulation, violence
This book review was originally published on 2/21/22.
https://www.geekgirlauthority.com/5-retellings-of-classic-stories/
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