City of Ghosts – Cassidy Blake #1 – Victoria Schwab

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:

This Halloween I wanted to read a variety of themed spooky books. A classic (Frankenstein), something that would scare me into jumping at every noise (TBD… maybe) and a book that is cozily scary. For that last one I chose City of Ghosts. It was written by one of my favourite authors and features a girl who can see ghosts. Perfect! And it really was! I enjoyed reading City of Ghosts so much that I finished it in one go. At work. Woops.

Cassidy Blake is not your everyday normal teenager. She almost drowned in the river near her home but was saved by a ghost named Jacob. Said ghost was pulled halfway into the world of the living again because of his actions, though only Cass can see him. Since that moment Cassidy is able to ‘pull back the Veil’, like a curtain. When she does that she can enter some sort of purgatory where the dead are stuck re-living the moments leading up to their deaths over and over again. Cassidy and Jacob quickly become best friends and wherever Cass goes, Jacob follows. Cassidy’s parents are also a bit quirky. They call themselfs The Inspectres and write books about ghosts and paranormal occurrences. Her mum is the talented storyteller, fascinated by the realm of ghosts, though utterly unable to see them. Her dad is the ‘scholar’ of the two. He likes to research and discover the history behind the legens. Together they form an unstoppable and popular team. So popular that their books have been opted to be turned into a TV show. For this TV show they will be visiting different cities in the world that are famously haunted. The first one they are visiting is Edinburgh! This is where Cassidy learns that there is much more to her gift then she first thought.

I really liked the sweet friendship that had grown between Cassidy and Jacob. They have a list of rules that they adhere to, something they joke about regularly, which is very cute. They are also utterly devoted to each other, never leaving the other behind and getting anxious when they are not together. Jacob is an interesting character because we don’t know a lot about him. Cassidy too has a lot of questions about Jacob’s past, but Jacob prefers not to talk about it. How did he die? How did he save Cassidy? Will he be able to stay half in the realm of the living and half in the realm of the dead? There so much more to discover about this character!

When Cassidy, who is American, arrives in Scotland there are a lot of things about English/Scottish culture that completely throw her. As a foreigner living in the UK this was so hilariously familiar it made me giggle many times. Though I disagree about vinegar on chips, I can’t condone that being from the country who’s pride and glory is fries. I adored Edinburgh as the setting of this book though. Even though I’ve lived in the UK for almost two years now, I’ve never visited. This book has however made me put it on top of my weekend trip list. I’ll definitely be visiting all the haunted places described in the book!

City of Ghosts is a great book that makes you want more. Victoria Schwab is a master at writing relatable and in-depth characters. It is a fast read that is perfect as a cozy Halloween read. I hope this will be a continuing series as I can’t wait to read more about Cassidy’s adventures and Jacob’s past!

Release Date: August 28th, 2018
Publisher: Scholastic
Age Group: Young Adult / Middle Grade
Pages: 285
Format: Paperback
Source: Bought