City of Ghosts Book Review

Author: Victoria Schwab 
Pages: 304
Genre: Middle Grade Science Fiction & Fantasy
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Photo Credit: Scholastic.com

Where to buy: Amazon|Barnes & Noble|The Strand

 

Synopsis:
Ever since Cass almost drowned (okay, she did drown, but she doesn’t like to think about it), she can pull back the Veil that separates the living from the dead . . . and enter the world of spirits. Her best friend is even a ghost.

So things are already pretty strange. But they’re about to get much stranger.

When Cass’s parents start hosting a TV show about the world’s most haunted places, the family heads off to Edinburgh, Scotland. Here, graveyards, castles, and secret passageways teem with restless phantoms. And when Cass meets a girl who shares her “gift,” she realizes how much she still has to learn about the Veil — and herself.

And she’ll have to learn fast. The city of ghosts is more dangerous than she ever imagined.

Review:

“Watch and listen, see and know, this is who you are.”

In the City of Ghosts, we meet Cassidy Blake, a young girl who cheated death and now has one foot in the living world and one in the world of the dead. With Jacob, her ghost friend and hero, they explore the veil much to Jacob’s disapproval at times when that tapping feeling overcomes Cassidy’s resistance to avoid it. Through her adventures and a trip to Scotland for her parents TV show, Cassidy learns more about who she is and how being who she is not always safe for her.

This book was amazing. From the descriptions and plot, it was a hit!

We are introduced to two worlds as mentioned above. Victoria created the veil as a hauntingly beautiful world. It was desirable , yet dangerous. I cannot express how much i enjoyed the descriptions of the veil and of Edinburgh. It felt as if the reader was heading on the journey themselves and can feel the crisp air or hear the call of the veil.

Cassidy and Jacob are the perfect duo. Both friends, Jacob is also responsible for Cassidy being alive today. This supernatural save allows both Cassidy and Jacob to be intertwined with each and allow both to co-exist in the others world. I loved Jacob and his role as being the voice of caution to Cassidy’s adventurous spirit. Each time Cassidy felt the tapping from the veil, Jacob would be there to talk reason into why she shouldn’t answer the tapping. Although not success in his attempts, I appreciated the human element Victoria gave to Jacob’s character. I also Enjoyed Lara’s character. She was a spunky ghost hunter who had the same ability to walk both worlds as Cassidy. What I enjoyed most about Lara was her ability to be a ghost hunter but still have a certain ghost she knew. Since this is going to be a series, I would love to see more of Lara’s backstory because I think it would be an interesting one.

Although the plot started off a bit slow, it did pick up during the second half of the book and it was not a dissappoint. The second half of hte book was filled with paranormal action. As a reader, we come face to face with the Raven in Red, a powerful ghost who steals thesouls of children to gain strength. Her backstory adds so much to her diabolical behjavior as a ghost. Cassidy, Jacob and Lara fight between a battle with the Raven in Red as the ethereal being threathens Cassidy’s life and ability to return back home. I wanted to see more development towards the end point. The first half focus most of how Cassidy came to be which made the second half feel rushed. However, the author allowed myself to continually stay engaged with ech page turned.

This was just a ghost story. It was a story of friendship, discovery and grand adventures. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a lively ghost story.