I really loved reading this book. It has a thrilling plot, fascinating world-building and amazing character development. The writing is also great. And not to forget the queer representation. Not only are the main characters queer but also a bunch of the side characters. Our loveably endearing cast of characters helped with that too. Aside from the obvious villains and a few of the Mouldy Oldies (old spirits who essentially govern the city’s ghost residents) , I pretty much loved them all. Particularly Charlie (our reluctant, ghost seeing MC) and his spectral, ride or die besties Ollie and Heather— as well as the highly amusing George Villiers, who won me over with his rather amusing antics. I also liked fellow seer Sam whose adorably sweet romance with Charlie gave me supernatural Heartstopper vibes that I’m excited to see more of. 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. Talbot said: “I’m thrilled that Sixteen Souls has found its home with the incredible team at Scholastic. Their vibrant passion for Charlie’s story, his ghosts and the world of haunted York is electric! I’m very excited to become part of the Scholastic family alongside so many talented authors who I’ve long admired.”

The book title's marketing appendix is “TikTok made me buy it” and this is a good indication of who the target audience is. The plot is very fast and very dense. There's always something happening and barely a time to rest. Maybe I'm already to old but I was longing for some kind of breather chapter every now and then. Reading this book is like riding a rollercoaster twenty times in a row nonstop. It's a little bit exhausting. At least for me. I know of people who would scream for a twenty-first ride. The story is very interesting from the start, I finally had a chance to read about a main character having a disability, and while I'm not an expert I found it very well written and easily embedded in the book without making it too complicated. I'm so so happy Chris introduced me to Rosie and to her marvellous book! I absolutely can't wait to read the sequel and return to these wonderful characters I love so much. Hurry up, Rosie, hurry up!

Your debut novel Sixteen Souls was spotted by publisher Yasmin Morrissey at Scholastic after generating more than 250,000 TikTok views. Do you have any tips for writers who want to delve into the world of Bookstagram and BookTok but don’t know where to start? All of the representation was brilliant, some of the sweet and gentle moments made me tear up. If you're looking for great disabled rep (as well as lots of wonderful queer and trans rep) then this is the book for you! Interesting enough, but I wasn’t looking to read a legal thriller. For various reasons, I do not particularly like reading legal thrillers. I devoured this book! I loved every second of the story as we delved further and further into the mystery. It's incredibly atmospheric, I could feel the ghosts of York all around me. It was also (mostly, I believe, because of its amazing cast of characters) immensely comforting. It perfectly incapsulated that feeling that comes in the colder months, when the skies grow darker and there's a bite to the air and snow begins to fall and rain lashes at the windows, but you're safely wrapped up in a blanket and sipping at hot chocolate in front of the fire. To put it plainly, it feels like the warmest of warm hugs.

these are the children of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah; and these she bore to Jacob—sixteen persons).These are the children of Zelpha whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and she bore these sixteen souls to Yaquuv. These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah; and she bore to Jacob these sixteen persons.