Bones of Faerie

Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner

ISBN# 978-0-375-84563-5

Available now

Published by Random House

Format: HC, 247 pages

Genres: YA, fiction, post-apocalyptic fantasy

While this seems to be her only YA novel she's been in several anthologies for teens and adults including Elf Fantastic, Sword of Ice, Crossroads and Other Tales of Valdemar, Gothic! Ten Original Dark Tales, and many more that you can find a list of on her website.  She's also written a few children's books and been in quite a few more anthologies.  If you want a peek into the world of this book or liked this book and want more there's a free short story available here.  I imagine that her setting would be quite beautiful and awe inspiring as long as you were not a human trying to survive in it.

It's been 20 years since the war between our world and Faerie.  The human realm is now almost unrecognizable and no one's even sure if Faerie or its inhabitants still exist.  What magic still exists seems aimed at hindering and attacking humans at every turn.  Plants are now sentient beings with trees throwing seeds at passing humans and weeds trying to uproot houses.  Even harvesting has become dangerous since whatever is planted groans and tries to fight back.  Big cities now lie rusting and abandoned, more museums to the past than anything else.  Human civilization has been set back at least a hundred years by the loss of technology and the rampant suspicion that anyone at any time could be hiding magic.

In the village of Franklin Falls, Liza believes everything her father ever told her about magic being bad, including that it must be cast out where ever it is found.  She believed until the night her sister was born with the telltale translucent hair and silver eyes of Faerie, and was left out in the forest to die by their father.  Soon after, her mother slipped out of the village without a word to anyone and hasn't been seen since.  Now it's Liza's turn because her magic has awakened and it's showing her visions of her mother surrounded by an awful, blighted landscape.  She is followed by Matthew who has quite a few secrets of his own along with a crush on Liza.  They are soon under attack by vines and trees when a woman who reminds Liza of what her sister could've grown up to look like rescues them.  She brings them to her village, which is unlike anything Liza has known or been told, for healing by magic.  This village does have answers for her many questions, but is she ready to accept them?

I loved the post-apocalyptic setting where rather than your overdone wasteland and poison air you have things growing out of control, fighting back.  I thought Liza might have been a little too stubborn at times, but when you take into account the kind of parents she has you may wonder why she isn't even more screwed up.  I'm really hoping for another book set in this world, but if it does happen it will probably be with different characters since this story does have a pretty nice conclusion.  The only thing I really want to complain about is the length, there could've been another 50 - 100 pages easily without messing up the pacing.  There is some violence and child abuse in this book so parents will have to judge if their child is ready for this book or not, but I think ages 14+ will love this book.  I loved it and I think other adults will too.

Zhye