Ponte di Anime: the review of the third volume of the series "Cassidy Blake"

Ponte di Anime

Seeing spirits wandering in our world could drive anyone crazy. But not Cassidy Blake, a girl who, after having only touched death, returned to the "aldiqua" with the gift of being able to transit between the two planes that make up the world: that of the living, real and tangible, and that spirits who have not been able to go "further". Victoria Schwab leads us back into Cassidy's strange life with a new novel that sees her once again the protagonist together with her best friend Jacob, a young ghost who accompanies her in her spiritual adventures.

Ponte di Anime is in fact the third novel of the series dedicated to Cassidy Blake, who this time travels through the lively and pulsating streets of New Orleans together with her parents and the television crew that follows them in search of places of mystery: a journey that, however, could be the last for the young “Traversante”. A third chapter that involves and takes us into the noisy and magical world of mysterious New Orleans, through stories and legends that are intertwined with an adventure that will certainly be missed when you turn the last page. That's why read Ponte di Anime, a supernatural young adult adventure signed by Victoria Schwab and published in Italy by Mondadori.

A new journey, a new supernatural adventure

After following the Fantadetective parents in Edinburgh and Paris (in City of Ghosts and Tunnel of Bones) and having literally sent them to the other world spirits who did not want to leave this earthly plane of existence, Cassidy Blake finds herself once again traveling with mom and dad, busy filming their television show. On the hunt for historic places that appear to be haunted by ghosts, Cassidy's parents take her with them to New Orleans, where life and death seem to intertwine in strange ways. Accompanying the young Traversante, the sly cat Grim and his best friend: Jacob, a drowned young man who nevertheless saved Cassidy's life when the latter risked sharing an identical fate.

In this city where jazz is played on every corner of the streets and it is easy to find shops selling voodoo items, another presence follows Cassidy however. A terrifying skeletal-faced figure under a black hat, which has a sinister message for the little girl: "We're coming for you." She once escaped Death, it seems that she now wants to claim what she is due and she has sent an Emissary to hunt Cassidy. For her who manages to cross the Veil between the earthly world and the one populated by spirits, moving away this "cloth" this time can make the difference between living and dying. Helped by ghost friend Jacob and Scottish Traverse Lara, Cassidy will have to outrun death. Or turn to face it once and for all.

A Bridge of Souls in the most haunted city in America

Victoria Schwab has chosen so far, for her series of novels dedicated to the adventures of Cassidy Blake, locations with a mysterious charm, in which the aura of legends built between their foundations has created a blanket of inexplicable and arcane attraction. No less is New Orleans, the setting where Ponte di Souls takes place: with its 42 cemeteries, haunted historic buildings, a restaurant (Muriel's) where séances are held for a "sparkling" after dinner, the chilling stories related to slave trade that has sadly been taking place for decades in this city. The real history and culture of the place, combined with the popular beliefs that live vibrant within the local population, become the perfect terrain for Ponte di Anime, which thus makes use of a slice of the world to give life to an engaging urban fantasy tale. : a true supernatural adventure that arouses interest and excitement.

It is no coincidence that New Orleans is called the most haunted city in America and following Cassidy through its streets, its buildings populated by spirits and countless cemeteries, it creates a real bond that makes us feel almost as if we were there, on the spot. Over everything, there is also an aura of mysterious magic thanks to the presence of the voodoo element (strongly felt in the locality) able to come to Cassidy's rescue in her escape from Death itself (so to speak). Magical, penetrating, with a hint of horror that certainly doesn't hurt given the subject matter, but that doesn't overwhelm the general atmosphere of supernatural adventurousness. Bridge of Souls is feeling the chill of the spirit world that Cassidy Blake enters every time she crosses the Veil; hold your breath and feel your own, sincere terror of her every time the Emissary of Death manages to find her; but also to experience the adrenaline of an adventure that involves three young people (although one of them is a ghost) in the exciting style that only the cinematic stories of a few years ago could give.

Ponte di Anime is in fact also and above all this: a young adult novel involving three twelve-year-olds, committed to keeping up with Death itself when they do not wander from one plane of existence to another. The story therefore takes place from the point of view of Cassidy, who narrates her events in the first person, in the present, making us immerse in her strange life but at the same time lightening the tone by at least a notch (for example, when she makes her numerous references to world of Harry Potter). In fact, if it is true that Ponte di Souls deals with supernatural themes and wanders through macabre and dark places, it is not burdened by an unnecessary solemnity and does not pretend to terrify us to death, but rather to arouse the tension necessary to immerse ourselves in such an adventure. engaging that can be widely appreciated by any type of reader.

What lies beyond the Veil

The paperback format of Ponte di Anime in the Italian edition of Mondadori is one of the reasons for which is impossible not to always carry with you the urban fantasy novel by Victoria Schwab, but as mentioned it is almost a must to turn one page after another, thanks to the level of involvement it arouses. However, Ponte di Souls also leads us "to the other side": that of those who have looked death in the eye and managed to detach themselves from it to return to the living. The point of view here is that of the protagonist Cassidy and supporting partner Lara, young people who narrowly escaped a fatal fate (also obtaining the gift of "passing" from one floor to another). It is their near-death experiences, their memories of what was about to take them away from their families, that arouse a further, strong emotion, especially when you think that they are young lives.

There is no it is superficiality in talking about it, in Ponte di Anime, but an adequate sensitivity, despite the fact that it is still an urban fantasy adventure. What is somewhat perplexing, however, is the language with which certain issues are sometimes addressed by the protagonists: Cassidy, as well as Lara, are 12 years old, but in certain passages it seems that they are talking to more mature or even adult girls. It is true that a near-death experience can be the vehicle of a sudden maturation, nevertheless certain dialogues clash with the suspension of disbelief that such a story should contain. Ponte di Anime, however, is no less beautiful and exciting for this reason. His is a story full of emotions, a journey to a place as magical as it is frightening that it will be difficult to forget. A novel that can certainly be read even without having read its predecessors, but which certainly makes you want to recover the two previous books and be reread again and again.