It didn’t feel all that different to city of ghosts, or the haunting of Adeline jones and unfortunately for me I read those first where if I hadn’t I might have loved this. While I maintain that it can't be compared to anything else, because it's *just that good*, Sixteen Souls would be perfect for fans of William Hussey, Christine Lynn Herman, Patrick Ness, or Maggie Stiefvater.

At its core this is a beautiful story about friendship and finding the courage to come out of your shelf and embrace who you are.

As a Scot, I loved seeing British culture on page, done well, and the acknowledgement that there are so many haunted/creepy places within Britain, worthy of Charlie's journey. The walls at this point, in York, are high, with a terrible vertical drop, and the pathway slopes treacherously in places.

I have shared a few of Charlie's life experiences, and he was written with such sensitivity, clarity, and realism that it was easy to connect to him right from the beginning. These are the sons of Zilpah, which Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she bare unto Jacob, even sixteen souls. 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.these are the children of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah; and these she bore to Jacob—sixteen persons). Her skill with words is matched only by her passion; I can feel the blood, sweat, and tears she's poured into crafting this story rolling off every page. 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. The premise is incredibly cool - people who have died and come back gain the ability to see and interact with ghosts. Even more so to have characters with those characteristics but that not being the main focus of the plot.