Humble. Heartfelt. Haunting. 

Gallant is my second Schwab book that I have read and it did not disappoint. Gallant is a book that had my heart throughout. As a protagonist, Olivia is daring, passionate, and felt so real despite the setting being a completely different time. The side characters also had their own arcs; I did wish for a little more from Hannah and Edgar at the end but am satisfied with what I got. For a small cast of characters and the limited setting the book has a complete and satisfying story. Schwab’s formatting strays a bit from the usual book; something that was in Addie LaRue as well. Being broken up into sections/parts seems to be a consistent theme; felt like the titles gave a sneak peek to what was to come and set the tone well. I also love intermingling the drawings and the extra POV was beautifully crafted and executed. It felt like I was with Olivia! The worldbuilding – both the history and the spooky magic – was so well put together. Revealed in an intriguing and engaging pace, I kept wanting more.

I also loved the representation within; both Olivia’s disability, Matthew’s and how their accessibility needs conflicted. Schwab made Olivia’s disability relevant but not the only interesting part about her; a perfect balance between it being part of her identity while not consuming her as a character.