Book Review of Gallant by V. E. Schwab

Read Gallant if you enjoy:

Gorgeous cover, formatting and illustrations

Lovely writing

Disability rep

Creepy, gothic settings

Simple plots

Middle grade fantasy

I surprised myself when I picked up, perused, and ultimately purchased Gallant at my local bookstore. I’d read two of Schwab’s books (The Near Witch and A Darker Shade of Magic), and found them somewhat bland. I’d decided not to read anymore of her books, until I happened to read an intriguing snippet of Gallant on her SM, and then couldn’t resist the beauty of the book itself. (The dust jacket is textured! Oh, so nice!) It is gorgeous – the cover, the color scheme, the formatting, the illustrations. The aesthetic really elevated the reading experience for me.

I enjoyed the setting of the book the most. Creepy old houses with secrets and history will always capture my imagination. Olivia Prior, the orphan main character, is mute, but she can see and communicate with ghouls, which Schwab describes rather brilliantly – almost like a foggy image where some parts of their appearance are prominent, and other parts are missing. This gave me nice shivers, and it felt fresh that Olivia wasn’t afraid of them. The ghouls were part of her life, and she learned from them. I loved that dynamic. Olivia’s disability and the poor way she’s treated at the boarding school she’s lived at all her life makes her relatable as a character. It was enjoyable experiencing her seeing Gallant House for the first time, and meeting her cousin, Matthew, as well as housekeepers Edgar and Hannah.

Solving the mystery of the darkness plaguing Gallant, revealed gradually through the journals, was mostly satisfying, despite being predictable. I experienced an increasing feeling of disconnection from Olivia (and frustration with Matthew) as the story continued, which is consistent with my experience with Schwab’s writing. But had the threads of the story been wrapped up and explained, I might not have minded. However, I’m left not understanding some of the plot: how alternate Gallant came to be, who/what Olivia’s father actually was (if he was a bone creation of the master how could he have produced life himself?), and who the master actually was. The enslavement of Gallant itself, which eventually ensnares Olivia, was pretty oppressive and dark, lethal to the Priors. At the conclusion of the book (not to give too much away), it appears that nothing about this darkness plaguing Gallant has really been changed or improved. A sad, futile, and disappointing ending, without much closure. Ultimately, this sunk the experience for me.

3 stars for the book design, setting, and prose.