Book Review: Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner

Book: Bones of Faerie
Author: Janni Lee Simner
Published: 2009

Time: 1:10:36
Number of Pages: 247

When Liza's baby sister was born, they were horrified to discover her clear hair and unearthly beauty. She was touched by Faerie, marked by magic, and before the baby's first night is over, her father abandoned her in the forest.

Now, three weeks later, Liza can't let go. She knows it was the right thing to do. In a world torn apart by war between human and Faerie, any whisper of magic puts everyone in danger. But she keeps seeing the pitiful bones, all that was left of her sister after the wild animals got to her. When Liza's mother disappears, leaving Liza with her increasingly brutal father, she knows that even the certain danger of the world outside has to be better than this.

She sets off to find her mother, accompanied by a neighbor boy with secrets of his own and a young girl with a different view of magic than the one Liza has always known. Along the way, Liza learns that the saying "nothing is what it seems" might apply to herself as well.

Why Did I Hype?: I love dystopic fiction. It's always kind of fun to see how far and fast humanity might crash after the end of the world. Plus, the fantasy element in this dystopia made it stand out.

Live-Up-to-the-Hype Score: 6/10

This book has a fascinating premise, but my problem was that I was never able to connect to any of the characters, and everything seemed to happen too fast for me to follow. Although it's in first person, I felt as if I didn't have the opportunity to get to know Liza, much less Matthew, Allie, Caleb, Tara, or any of the other important people. Maybe because I was still reading at a rollercoaster pace from The Knife of Never Letting Go, I'm not sure.

Still, it does work for those who love dystopias (dystopiae? Or am I just being annoying now?) Simner's world is dark and dangerous, with trees that attack and butterflies that burst into flame, and humans that do hideous things in the name of safety (which for me is one of the most extreme appeals of dystopic fiction). If you love dark fantasy, give Bones of Faerie a try.