Review: Gallant, V.E. Schwab
Written for Young Adult Materials course.
Schwab V.E. Gallant. Greenwillow, 2022. Grades 8–12.
“Remember this — the shadows are not real, the dreams can never hurt you, and you will be safe as long as you stay away from Gallant.” (p. 20) This quote our protagonist reads from the last entry in her missing mother’s journal haunts this story from start to end. Olivia Prior is an orphan with mutism and the ability to see ghouls at Merilance School for Independent Girls. When she receives a letter from her uncle, asking her to come home to Gallant, she accepts, eager to meet the family she’s been without all her life. Yet upon her arrival, she finds that her uncle has been dead for months and no one is expecting her. Her cousin Matthew wants her gone and the garden wall beyond the house is not what it seems, but despite this, Olivia stubbornly refuses to leave. “Home is a choice” (p.3), her mother’s journal says, and Olivia has chosen. The longer she stays, however, the more she unravels the mystery of her mother and becomes aware of her role as a Prior, the secrets of the manor, and the dark universe that lies just within reach. As Matthew says, “Everything casts a shadow, […] even the world we live in. And as with every shadow, there is a place where it must touch.” (p. 249) Olivia is an enjoyable and endearing protagonist to read from, and her desire to find a place to belong and protect her newfound family motivates her decisions to fight back against a threatening darkness. The chapters are interspersed with journal entries from Olivia’s mother as well as musings from a mysterious villain who is introduced later in the book. An unearthly setting combined with a fast-paced, easy-to-read plot makes this an entertaining read for fans of all things spooky. The atmosphere is beautifully crafted, vividly painting the scene of the decaying house, its decrepit garden, and the world of shadows that lies beyond. With Gallant, Schwab has added another deliciously dark fantasy to her oeuvre, this one in shades of gothic horror.
