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City of Ghosts by Victoria Schawb
Cassidy Blake #1
Release Date: August 28th 2018 by Scholastic
Genre: Middle Grade > Historical Fiction > Ghosts
Source: Bought
Format: Ebook
Summary:
Cassidy Blake’s parents are The Inspecters, 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 Inspecters 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.
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I’ve had Victoria’s titles on my TBR for wayyyyy too long and I JUST now read her work. And I get what the hype is. This book sucked me in big time. I ended up doing the audio book and I don’t regret it at all. I may just do the rest of the series in audio!
The concept of this book was so interesting. I had stopped reading it when I first picked it up cause I’m a wimp and it sounded like it was getting scary. But it’s really not. It’s so freakin interesting. Cass can see ghosts, something about almost dying and being saved BY a ghost saved her life. And because of that save her best friend who never leaves her side is well, a ghost. Named Jacob. How that works is beyond me.
Cass’s parents do things that have to do with the paranormal world. I couldn’t figure out if they really COULD see ghosts or if they really did believe in them? Either way their jobs take them to Scotland and I had no idea Scotland was so… haunted. A lot of weird stuff happens there, but a lot of interesting things as well.
It was a peak into historical fiction, going from what was now to what was then and it was so cool to see the author bind the two together. The concept of what Cass is was also fascinating, the theory is ghosts have a ton of reasons of why they stay behind, and the idea of sending them to the other world is also pretty sad.
I absolutely loved the idea that each ghost who was left behind lived in a constant loop of their last moments or why they’re kept here. As a kid I had a ton of questions about ghosts and the afterlife that I would ask my grandfather. I always wondered if they lived in an eternal loop of their lives or a certain part of their lives. To see that on paper in a book was… I don’t know, refreshing? As a kid people tell you your idea’s or theories are silly or don’t make sense. But honestly some of them have stayed with me my whole life.
I wish we got to know a bit more about Jacob as well. Where is he from? How did he get there? How old is he? I’m really hoping we get to know him more in the next book.
I love a book that makes me question my mortality!