City of Ghosts
Ratings106
Average rating3.7
15
Ratings106
Average rating3.7
From #1 NYT bestselling author Victoria Schwab comes a sweeping, spooky, evocative adventure, perfect for fans of "Stranger Things" and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. A New York Times bestseller!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.#1 NYT bestselling author Victoria Schwab delivers a thrillingly spooky and action-packed tale of hauntings, history, mystery, and the bond between friends (even if that friend is a ghost . . .).
Featured Series
3 primary booksCassidy Blake is a 3-book series with 3 primary works first released in 2018 with contributions by V. E. Schwab.
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Cassidy Blake knows what it's like to pass into the world of the dead. The Veil reaches out to her, calling for her to witness the final moments of ghosts trapped in time. Alongside her ghost best friend, Jacob, Cassidy navigates both the worlds of the living and the dead. When her parents have the opportunity to explore haunted cities for their new TV show, Cassidy tags along. But their first destination, Edinburgh, Scotland is a city filled with unsettled spirits. When one known as the Red Raven catches sight of Cassidy in the Veil, she fixates on stealing Cassidy’s life to walk among the living once more.
Cassidy is a character filled with curiosity about the unknown. And while her parents spin tales of ghosts to entertain their viewers, there is a difference between believing in the old stories and Cassidy being able to see ghosts. Jacob on the other hand is ironically a ghost who does not enjoy scary situations. But being Cassidy’s best friend means he’s along for every single encounter with fellow spirits and has to hear about the chilling tales from Cassidy’s parents. Jacob’s quips and smart remarks certainly help to break the tension at key moments throughout the story.
As they ventured from one haunted site to another, Victoria Schwab painted the picture of a historical and haunted Edinburgh in wonderful detail. Being able to observe Cassidy’s parents filming their haunted TV show allowed readers to be introduced to ghost stories from Edinburg without using large drops of information. They are just enough detail for Cassidy when she traversed the veil to see the spirits. And oftentimes her parent’s stories would start the ramp-up of tension that would then amplify as Cassidy witnessed firsthand the ghosts they spoke about.
City of Ghosts is the perfect starting point for young readers and even adults who are interested in ghost stories. There is just enough of a spooky feeling and close encounters to draw readers in but not overwhelm them. Cassidy's friendship with Jacob also has a wonderful comedic relief and their back and forth banter adds a charming touch to the story. This is a fast-paced, enjoyable read and a great series to start during October. I highly recommend this to fans of ghost stories.
Originally posted at www.behindthepages.org.
I looooved the atmosphere of this book, all dark and dusky but the characters were so bright. It was a fun little read :)
I'll read just about any fun ghost YA book, especially when it's from one of my favourite authors, and this did not disappoint. It's not exactly an original idea but the story and characters were really fun. This is definitely a book for the younger reader but, coming from someone walking up that hill, can be enjoyed by all ages. The only issue I was the constant background explainers on language differences (readers from the UK will most likely find this even more annoying than this Anglophile American did) and the constant references to Harry Potter.
This had the same feel as Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book and Neverwhere, and a new podcast out of Scotland (though older than this book's release) The MIddle Below so check those out if you haven't yet but enjoyed this book.
Y'all can thank me, I sold my soul so we can get more Victoria Schwab books in 2018.
Anyways, I have a vague sense that I read this book somewhere before. Perhaps in another book by Schwab. Cough [b:The Archived|10929432|The Archived (The Archived, #1)|Victoria Schwab|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1338729878l/10929432.SX50.jpg|15846509] cough. But there's no Mackenzie and Wesley and it wasn't as good, which is a shame.
Also it's probably a three star book, but my future children's first words are probably gonna be “Victoria Schwab” so I added a bonus star just for that.
