The mute girl can’t, for instance, say things that others can, but she certainly sees things that others can’t. Readers of Neil Gaiman, Holly Black, Melissa Albert, and Garth Nix will quickly lose themselves in this novel with crossover appeal for all ages.Olivia Prior’s life is a strange collection of missing and mismatched parts. An eerie, stand-alone saga about life, death, and the young woman beckoned by both.

Schwab crafts a vivid and lush novel that grapples with the demons that are often locked behind closed doors. Olivia has always wanted to belong somewhere, but will she take her place as a Prior, protecting our world against the Master of the House? Or will she take her place beside him? Now Olivia sees what has unraveled generations of her family, and where her father may have come from. The manor is crumbling, the ghouls are solid, and a mysterious figure rules over all. When she crosses a ruined wall at just the right moment, Olivia finds herself in a place that is Gallant-but not. Olivia knows that Gallant is hiding secrets, and she is determined to uncover them.

But Olivia is not about to leave the first place that feels like home it doesn’t matter if her cousin Matthew is hostile, or if she sees half-formed ghouls haunting the hallways. Yet when Olivia arrives, no one is expecting her. Then, a letter invites Olivia to come home to Gallant. Olivia Prior has grown up in Merilance School for Girls, and all she has of her past is her mother’s journal-which seems to unravel into madness. The Secret Garden meets Crimson Peak in this stand-alone novel perfect for readers of Holly Black and Neil Gaiman. Schwab weaves a dark and original tale about the place where the world meets its shadow, and the young woman beckoned by both sides.

A seam, where the shadow meets its source. And as with every shadow, there is a place where it must touch. “Unsettling and intriguing.”- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred review)Įverything casts a shadow. “Gripping worldbuilding, well-rounded characters, and fantastic horror.”- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) which fuses Shirley Jackson’s gothic horror sensibilities with the warmth and dark whimsy of Neil Gaiman.”- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Gallant by V.E. Schwab