Sixteen Souls: The "TikTok made me buy it" sensation dubbed Heartstopper with ghosts!

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From his struggles with coming out, his aunt going through chemo, his struggles with ghosts, to his balance between prosthesis' and a wheelchair, he had A LOT going on in his life. Yet, he had a positive mentality, with a much-needed realist lurking beneath. He didn't feel sorry for himself or wish his life was different – which was SO refreshing, for a disabled main character – yet, he struggled, fought and embraced his emotions with maturity. This was a wild ride through and through. Rosie Talbot has created a magical world with her wonderful writing and amazingly well fleshed out characters. I had no idea what to expect from the ending, but this absolutely blew me away. Not a bad book by any means but one I just struggled with a lot. I really thought the premise was fun and I enjoyed the disability and trans rep but I just couldn't bring myself to care.

That comment goes for the approach to disability rep as well. We don’t see disabled MCs nearly enough, and disabled MCs done well are even rarer, so the minute Charlie is introduced with the main thing bothering him about his prostheses being the glitter polish his little sisters had taken to them, my heart sang. Reading little things like Charlie’s opposition to push handles on his wheelchair told me how much Talbot got it, and was so affirming. Just like his queerness, his disability is not a plot-point in itself, something he has to overcome, something that makes him special or gifted, something that’s forgotten about as soon as the action gets going, or any other kind of trope, it’s simply a consistent part of who he is. Again, the power in this character just boldly existing, and NOT feeling the weight of representation, blew me away. It feels like this book has the ability to teach people so much without them even realising it’s happening, which is something truly special. A captivating take of loss, friendship and love that had me gripped from first to last.” - Menna van Praag, author of The Sisters Grimm Interesting enough, but I wasn’t looking to read a legal thriller. For various reasons, I do not particularly like reading legal thrillers. This book was just the perfect Halloween surprise for me. I was approached by one of my fellow team members at Fantasy Fellowship asking me if I'd like to interview the author, Rosie Talbot, with him. She's big on BookTok, he says, you have a lot in common with her, you both like spooky things, are both bi, and both share the same values when it comes to LGBTQIA+ and disability/chronic illness issues. I will confess that at the time, I felt a bit put upon, what with being in the middle of the Battle of the Five Worlds readathon, having already mapped out my TBR, and having already very recently done another video for the fellowship (like, within the same week). I also had a very very short window in which to read it between release day (Thursday) and formulating questions to send off to Rosie on the Friday. The interview itself would then take place on a Saturday.

I did a sensitivity read on this just over two years ago and I’ve NEVER STOPPED THINKING ABOUT IT. I’ll write a proper review after I buy a finished copy (who am I kidding, several, to force upon my loved ones), hold it in my hands, scream, do a reread, scream again, take 5-7 business days to process my feelings, scream some more, then collect my brain cells and get on goodreads. For now, suffice to say, YALL ARE IN FOR A TREAT WITH THIS BOOK. I’ve yet to visit York (the setting for Sixteen Souls) myself but Rosie Talbot’s beautifully atmospheric world-building and wonderfully descriptive prose really brought the city and all of its rich, uniquely haunted history to life. When sixteen-year-old seer 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.

These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah, and these she bore to Jacob, sixteen persons.

The writing is rich; the characters sharply drawn.” - K.D Edwards, author of The Tarot Sequence Series Many of our students form writing support groups. Are you still in touch with any of your course mates? These were the sons of Zilpah—whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah—that she bore to Jacob: 16 persons.

These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she bare unto Jacob, even sixteen souls.Being trans FTM, Sam is a character with a lot of layers, yet he doesn't let being trans define him or become a huge plot point, even when Charlie unwittingly makes it a big deal. I love how confident he is, that he's uncaring about weird looks or judgements, and that he's emotionally strong and prepared to take responsibility, even when it shouldn't lie on his shoulders. The humans – Leone and Mitch, primarily – were once Charlie's friends, until they misunderstood his experience in a ghostly deathloop (reliving that person's death, with real physical consequences) as a suicide attempt. At first, you wonder about their motives and how they fit into the story, and you share Charlie's mistrust of them. But, just as Charlie does, their real motives and personalities are revealed in a way that allow us to see the situation through Charlie's eyes, with a new understanding. Someone is stripping Europe’s most haunted city of its spirits. When self-destructive, 16-year-old seer, Charlie Frith, realises that one of his own ghostly friends has gone missing, he must put aside his own safety – and reclusive existence – if he is to find them. A gorgeously written debut that had me absolutely gripped. Rosie Talbot has created a deliciously creepy world with characters that you’ll fall in love with.’