Review: Sixteen Souls by Rosie Talbot

What: Sixteen Souls by Rosie Talbot

Who: Scholastic Australia

When: December 1st 2022

How: A copy of this novel was provided by Scholastic Australia for review.

In York, haunted souls are being hunted.

When sixteen-year-old Charlie Frith realizes dark forces have taken one of his ghostly friends, he must put aside his reclusive existence to protect them from a fate worse than death. He teams up with Sam Harrow – the new seer in town – and a ragtag group of spirits to unearth the chilling purpose behind the disappearances.

As Charlie’s romantic feelings develop for Sam, he will have to risk his life and his heart if he is going to save the afterlife.

Here are four things I think you should know about Sixteen Souls:

1 – The MC is gay and disabled

I didn’t know that Charlie was disabled – an amputee who uses prosthetics and a wheelchair – until I started reading Sixteen Souls. This was really exciting because disabled MCs are still far too rare in YA, especially in fantasy/paranormal books like Sixteen Souls. So to have a queer and disabled boy at the helm of this book was awesome.

2 – It’s set in England

I need to say this because it was integral to the story, and also I’m really tired of every YA book being set in America. The setting was very visceral, and I loved that the publisher kept the York-specific slang and speech because oftentimes authors are forced to change that to cater to American audiences. This way, the setting felt more real because the characters were acting like they would in the location.

3 – There’s a sweet romance

Charlie’s love interest is a trans boy!! He’s a great character in the book, and even though Charlie and Sam’s romance isn’t perfect they are just babies and learning how to be in a relationship and think of someone else’s wants and needs. I’m really keen to see the two of them develop in the second book. Sam and the other side characters also had their own lives, relationships, and problems aside from being Charlie’s friends, which I really liked. There’s nothing worse than cardboard cut-out supporting characters.

4 – It’s the first book in a duology!

We are getting more ghostly gay stories *cheers* I will most definitely be picking up the sequel to Sixteen Souls as I had a really good time reading it. It was exactly the kind of story I gravitate to: spooky and diverse. Rosie Talbot is an author I have my eye on now!

© 2022, Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity. All rights reserved.

trigger warning