Title: City of Ghosts
Author: Victoria Schwab
Publication: August 28, 2018
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
Genre: Childrens Books, Science Fiction, Fantasy
Pages: 272
SYNOPSIS: (From Goodreads)
Cassidy Blake’s parents are The Inspectres, a (somewhat inept) ghost-hunting team. But Cass herself can REALLY see ghosts. In fact, her best friend, Jacob, just happens to be one.
When The Inspectres head to ultra-haunted Edinburgh, Scotland, for their new TV show, Cass—and Jacob—come along. In Scotland, Cass is surrounded by ghosts, not all of them friendly. Then she meets Lara, a girl who can also see the dead. But Lara tells Cassidy that as an In-betweener, their job is to send ghosts permanently beyond the Veil. Cass isn’t sure about her new mission, but she does know the sinister Red Raven haunting the city doesn’t belong in her world. Cassidy’s powers will draw her into an epic fight that stretches through the worlds of the living and the dead, in order to save herself.
REVIEW:
**A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.**
When I first received the request to read this book I didn’t really want to. I am not a horror/thriller/scary story person. If anything even has a whiff of it I usually end up getting nightmares… yes I know I am a 33-year-old mom to 3 but I am overly sensitive. I am now glad my editor talked me into it by saying “how terrifying can a YA novel be”? Well, guess what, she was right!
Cassidy would like to think that she is a normal teenage girl. However, she knows she isn’t, at least not since she had her accident. It all happened when she was riding her bike on a bridge. A truck came hurtling across the bridge towards her. She swerves out of the way and crashes over the wall and falls through the ice below. She remembers the cold and the blackness of it all. After that, she remembers being taken out of the water and wrapped in a warm jacket. Ever since that day, she can see ghosts. Her best friend is a ghost. His name is Jacob. Jacob is also the one that saved her life. With Jacob by her side, she has adventures in the other world. She can part the veil between two worlds and travel between them. She can now see ghosts everywhere: at school, the park, the store. She can feel the tap-tap-tap as she gets closer to them. She is looking forward to going to the beach this summer as her family always does. For some reason, there are no ghosts there and she can finally get some peace. But her plans are turned upside down when her parents tell her that their paranormal books are being turned into a TV show and they are going to Edinburgh for a few weeks instead. Will Cass learn more about her veil traveling when she gets to Edinburgh? Will the events that unfold after she gets to Edinburgh allow her to leave the veil once she enters?
If you read one YA book this year, this one has got to be it. I absolutely loved this book. I was pretty leery about reading it since it was a ghost type story. Honestly, it didn’t really even read that way. I mean aside from the fact her best friend is a ghost and the main character having the ability to see them. It wasn’t spooky in the slightest. The book has action, adventure, travel and is a gripping page-turner. I loved the character of Cass. She is funny, adventurous and seems to have taken being able to see ghosts in stride. Jacob is hilarious, sarcastic and there is more to him than what meets the eye. I can not wait to read the next book in the series.
STAR RATING: 5/5
Pick up your copy of City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or your local book retailer. You can also add it to your To Reads list on Goodreads and leave feedback for the author when you are finished. You can check out many more books by author Victoria Schwab on her website!
