City of Ghosts (Cassidy Blake #1)

(Originally posted on kaleyconnell.wordpress.com) The story is fast paced, funny, a little scary, and sweet: all the makings of a good middle grade book. Cassidy is a strong willed female character–and self-proclaimed Gryffindor–with a whole lot of curiosity and even more love to give. She was easy to relate to despite the fact I\’m a much older reader than what this book is \’technically\’ intended for. Her co-star, Jacob, was also a character that was easy to get behind, with his funny quirks and sense of humor. The book as a whole is an easy and fun read. The pace of the story makes sure that things are always happening while also giving readers time to digest the content. As an older reader, I felt like there was too much happening too quickly in terms of time in the context of the story, but for younger readers I think this is just right. The story also has some \’scary\’ parts, but nothing that should keep middle school kids up at night if that\’s a concern. I think my biggest complaint for City of Ghosts is that character development just felt to be really lacking, although given the fact that the book seemingly takes place over three or four days, it\’s a middle grade book, and (I think) it\’s supposed to be a series, this isn\’t a surprise. But it\’s also not a deal breaker when debating on whether or not the book worth the purchase. I would definitely recommend City of Ghosts to others. Maybe not friends who don\’t share a passion for MG books or Victoria Schwab herself, but definitely for those who do, as well as anyone with a child(ren) in the marketed age range. In conclusion: if you like Victoria Schwab, if you like MG books, and/or if you know someone between the ages of 10 and 14, go pick up a copy. It\’s a fun read, and with Halloween steadily creeping up on us, is a great choice for anyone who likes to think there might be something more to our world.

\”Ghost watching is a two person sport.\” 4.5 STARS TW: death (including child and animal death, but not in graphic detail; it\’s ghosts, comes with the territory) Going into this, I knew City of Ghosts wasn\’t going to be my all time favorite Schwab book. It\’s a middle grade book, and I\’m not the target audience. Simple as that, and not a judgment on the quality of the book. That also means the one star I took away was because I felt it was missing something and didn\’t enjoy it as much as I might have if it had had that extra something. A half star off for me not being as invested as I could have been is pretty great, especially considering that I loved the rest of it. It feels exactly like a middle grade novel about ghosts should. It\’s brisk, filled with recognizable references to comics and Harry Potter that an MG audience will have no trouble picking up on (and will probably be excited by), and best of all, it\’s COZY. You wouldn\’t necessarily expect a book about a drowned girl and her best ghost friend to be so cozy, but honestly, it\’s delightful and makes for a perfect autumn read despite the summer setting. You can thank the Edinburgh weather for that. And oh my gosh, I loved the characters. I loved the way Jacob and Cass interacted, the way Lara slowly got pulled into the fold, the little quirks of some of the minor characters like Findlay, the lore behind the big bad. Incidentally, I believe I saw on V\’s Twitter that all the ghost stories of Edinburgh in this book besides the big bad are all based on real stories! I love that so much, because it really grounds this story in a way that\’s a little hard to do when you\’re writing about a girl who can see ghosts and pass beyond the Veil. Seriously, it helps so much with suspension of disbelief. So does that atmosphere! It\’s what I read VE Schwab books for, regardless of the age range. She\’s so good at crafting an atmosphere and pulling you into the setting, and I appreciate it so much, especially as someone who gets nervous about traveling. A book is the next best thing, you know? Anyway, if you like ghost stories and world travel and fast-paced middle grade books that aren\’t too heavy on complex plots, this is probably the book for you! Bonus: there\’s also a black cat lacking in, I quote, \”basic feline dignity,\” so you might also like that as well. Everything is improved with cats, right?

It\’s difficult to begin about City of Ghosts. It is really an amazing book- it reminds me of one of my all-time favorite books, The Graveyard Book. Cassidy drowns in a lake but she is saved by a ghost, Jacob, who becomes her best friend. Since coming back to life she has been able to cross the Veil into the place where ghosts stay when they can\’t move on. Her parents, writers of paranormal books, start filming a new tv show and their first stop is Edinburgh. Just like that, \”two parents, a girl, a ghost, and a ticked-off cat\” are off. This book made Scotland move several spots up my TBV (To Be Visited- can we make this a thing please?) list. I loved the cat, Grim, and details about him make it clear that Schwab knows a thing or two about cats. (Hi Oliver!) There was an unexpected photography element to the story and there\’s enough detail that I wonder if she has a real-life interest in it. Cassidy and Jacob\’s relationship is detailed enough that it brought out some thought-provoking elements, like how they spend time together when he can\’t move anything in her world. There are several perfect examples of why I love Victoria Schwab so much as a writer. On page 103 she writes: \”Mrs. Weathershire is pouring him a cup of tea, the cup so small in his broad hand it looks like she\’s dumping hot water straight into his palm.\” Details like this give such life and imagery to the story that it is impossible not to have your head filled with rolling scenes as you read. I\’m glad I read the second half of this book while outside on a nice day because there were some creeeepy parts. By the way, it\’s so good I read this book in two sittings. This was the perfect book to kick off my September/October holiday reading.

I love Schwab\’s books, her writing and imagine puts her in my top three author. Anything she write is an autobuy for me so while I don\’t read much middle grade I didn\’t hesitate to pick this up. Edinburgh is the perfect hauntingly atmospheric city to set this book in and I enjoyed being able to picture some of the places Cassidy and her family visited. With it being a middle grade it is chilling rather than scary but beautiful and fitting for the story being told. I found the villain interesting and well weaved into the story, she felt suitably dangerous for the age range this book is aimed at. There was enough loose strings and unanswered questions left at the end of the book to leave me eager for book two without being a cliffhanger. I look forward to finding out more about the ghosts, crossing over and just what Cassidy is capable of.

I dont normally read middle-grade books but as Victoria Schwab is an auto-buy author for me, I had to try this one. Of course it didnt disappoint! I genuinely think Victoria could write a phone book and Id love it! Her writing style is so fluid and atmospheric, perfect for a ghost story. As always the story is well thought out, the characters are fun and engaging and the world building is so descriptive you feel like youre there. Is this the scariest book Ive ever read? No but then Im (considerably) older than the intended audience and I knew that going into this book so it didnt bother me one little bit. Another fantastic read from Victoria Schwab and a perfect to read for October/Halloween. 5

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