Chime
By Franny Billingsley (Dial, March 2011)
I was confused at first because I didn’t automatically get what time period the story was in. I liked the characters and the mysterious swamp that they explore throughout the book. I didn’t like how I couldn’t tell if the main character liked this person or that person because she was so focused on hating herself.
The book is about a witch named Briony Larkin who thinks she has to hate herself so she won’t feel any other emotions towards herself or anyone else. If she does, she is afraid her powers will get out of control, and she might harm someone. The way Briony thinks of herself is a little scary but also familiar because once in a while there’s something that we all keep reminding ourselves about to the point where it’s a bit depressing.
Even though her self-hatred is strong, and she basically traps herself in that little shell, it begins to fade little by little when she meets Eldric. He thinks that she’s full of good and innocence. While battling her inner feelings, a bunch of swamp monsters, and her past, she finds out a lot more then she might have liked to. And it just takes a few weeks.
The love, the mysteries, and the horror all rolled into one make a great book that I recommend to teens 14 and up.
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