V.E. Schwab Takes Us To “Gallant”

When V.E. Schwab writes a book, the internet gets buzzy. Thems the rules of book world. This time, Gallant is the one getting all the attention.

Gallant starts out in an orphanage, following a girl named Olivia who can’t speak, but does see fragments of dead bodies, which she calls ghouls. As you can imagine, that all goes well for her and the only thing she has left of her mother: her journal. Olivia reaches the point where it’s time for her to leave the orphanage, and a letter from a long-lost family member arrives just in time. The orphanage puts her in a car and ships her off to her uncle.

But when Olivia arrives at the house, she finds her uncle isn’t alive and the house is named Gallant… which is a word from her mother’s journal. Specifically, a warning saying Olivia is safe as long as she stays away from Gallant.

Oops?

Olivia quickly learns there is more to Gallant than meets the eye, and most of it is lurking in the shadows.

Gallant is beautifully written, as is the usual when it comes to Schwab’s books. She’s got a magic touch for crafting sentences that paint a detailed picture of what’s going on, without being so over the top that you feel like you’re wasting your time just so the author can reach their word count goals. However, the story just wasn’t my jam. I don’t know that there’s anything wrong with it other than it’s not my vibe. You win some, you lose some. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is a hard act to follow.

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