Author: Franny Billingsley Publisher: Dial
Published: Mar/17/11
Genre: Young Adult Before Briony's stepmother died, she made sure Briony blamed herself for all the family's hardships. Now Briony has worn her guilt for so long it's become a second skin. She often escapes to the swamp, where she tells stories to the Old Ones, the spirits who haunt the marshes. But only witches can see the Old Ones, and in her village, witches are sentenced to death. Briony lives in fear her secret will be found out, even as she believes she deserves the worst kind of punishment.
Then Eldric comes along with his golden lion eyes and mane of tawny hair. He's as natural as the sun, and treats her as if she's extraordinary. And everything starts to change. As many secrets as Briony has been holding, there are secrets even she doesn't know.
Review
What would you do if you knew you were different and somehow responsible for the bad things that happened to your family like the death of your step mother and your sister’s accident that left her damaged?
This is what Briony has to deal with as she hides her secret from everyone knowing that if the truth about who she really was came out she would be headed straight to the gallows. But when a deadly illness hits her town and her home, Briony knows she has to make the ultimate choice that could end her life.
Chime was an interesting story that peaked my interest after I read the synopsis. What worked for me within the story was the lyrical writing style which Franny Billingsley possessed. There was great detail which drew me into the scenery and story. While I didn’t completely connect with Briony, I understood the guilt and the sadness she as going through. At times she had me wondering if she was as evil as she thought she was.
What could have worked better was the pacing; I wished it could have been a bit faster. While the writing was interesting the plot wasn't as clear as I would have like which left me confused at times. trying to figure out what was really going on. Things really didn’t start to get clear and interesting for me until around the end when the truth started to reviled itself.
Overall Chime was an interesting story filled with mystery and folklore told in a lyrically compelling way, readers interested could give Chime a shot.
