Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner

From the Publisher

The war between humanity and Faerie devastated both sides. Or so 15-year-old Liza has been told. Nothing has been seen or heard from Faerie since, and Liza’s world bears the scars of its encounter with magic. Trees move with sinister intention, and the town Liza calls home is surrounded by a forest that threatens to harm all those who wander into it. Then Liza discovers she has the Faerie ability to see—into the past, into the future—and she has no choice but to flee her town. Liza’s quest will take her into Faerie and back again, and what she finds along the way may be the key to healing both worlds.

Janni Lee Simner’s first novel for young adults is a dark fairy-tale twist on apocalyptic fiction—as familiar as a nightmare, yet altogether unique.

From the Hardcover edition.

Publishers Weekly

It has been 20 years since the war between faeries and humans destroyed everything. Liza, a teenager living in what was once the Midwest, has always been taught that magic kills. When Liza's mother gives birth to a faerie baby with "hair clear as glass," her father abandons the infant on a hillside to die; Liza's mother then runs away, and Liza begins to have magical visions of her own. Petrified that her powers might cause death, Liza flees into the woods with her friend Matthew, only to be attacked by deadly trees and rescued by a woman with magic. The plot quickens as Liza realizes that the woman is connected to her mother's past, knowledge that propels Liza into a dangerous journey into the land of Faerie, in search of her mother. Debut novelist Simner's style is poetic ("A land of steel and glass, of towers and sharp angles. A sky the color of dried blood"), but she only vaguely describes Liza's world. It's hard to understand how, for example, a faerie differs from humans with magical powers, or what triggered the cataclysmic faerie war. Despite the murkiness, the plotting is strong, and readers will want to stay with Liza until her questions are resolved. Ages 12-16. (Jan.)

VOYA

Fifteen-year-old Liza lives in a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by a war between humanity and Faerie. In Liza's town, magic is forbidden, and when Liza realizes that she has the gift of faerie sight, she flees. Liza takes on the quest of searching for her mother as she navigates her way through a devastated landscape still tinged with hostile magic. Her companion for the journey is Matthew, a quiet teen from her village who also has magic within him. Liza's other companion for much of the journey is a mysterious shadow that follows her everywhere. As the story progresses, Liza and Matthew are brought to a different town that encourages magic as long as it is controlled. Liza's journey ultimately takes her into Faerie where she must rescue her mother and lead her back to the human world. Simner creates a fresh, compelling novel in a highly saturated fantasy market. The beginning resonates with tension and pulls the reader into a finely written, multilayered story. Liza, a level-headed, believable protagonist, comes of age as the novel progresses, and female teens will feel a kinship with her. There are several lulls in the narrative, but these are overshadowed by solid characters and Simner's knack for linking the story's many elements into a cohesive whole. Readers will be surprised by the identity and motives of the "evil" shadow that follows Liza. They will also be satisfied by an ending that is optimistic yet not akin to a fairy tale. Reviewer: David Goodale

School Library Journal

Gr 5-7

Postapocalyptic fiction and faeries seem an unlikely combination. However, Simner weaves these strands together to produce a thought-provoking and thrilling story about a girl at war with herself and her own magical abilities. In her world, the cities are dead, and the towns and villages have reverted to a preindustrial farming economy. Society has been devastated by a war between humans and faeries. The natural world has turned against people and exhibits a malign intelligence that it uses to ensnare unwary humans. As the story opens, Liza, 15, tells of how her baby sister, who showed the clear hair strands of those with faerie powers, is left on a hillside by her father and killed by wild animals. After her death, Liza's mother leaves the family. When Liza realizes that she is able to see into the past and the future, she runs away to avoid hurting anyone else with her powers. She is joined by her neighbor Matthew, who turns out to have magical abilities of his own. Together they undertake a perilous journey as they search for Liza's mother, and, in the process, gain a greater understanding of the war and the possibility of a new beginning. Simner perfectly captures the sense of danger with her stark prose and ratchets up the tension as readers slowly begin to unravel the terrible truth of what happened to the land of Faerie during the war. The characters are well drawn, and the resolution is deftly handled, being both satisfying and firmly grounded in Liza's emotional reality. Fans of Lois Lowry's trilogy, which includes The Giver (Houghton, 1993), will thoroughly enjoy this novel.-Sue Giffard, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, New York City

Kirkus Reviews

Magic in Liza's barren town is verboten due to a disastrous war with Faerie, and those who are magical are thought to be evil. When Liza realizes she can no longer deny her own magic and becomes plagued by visions of her runaway mother, she leaves town accompanied by her shape-shifting friend, Matthew. The two find their way to a community where magic is the norm. There, Liza is encouraged to follow her visions and find her mother in a place that used to be called St. Louis. The setting, characters and plot are ones every fantasy and science-fiction reader has seen before: the dystopian world, evil faeries, a protagonist with extra-strong, extra-special magic, a hunt for a lost mother. Simner keeps things interesting with a fair amount of action and the constant introduction of new characters. The postapocalyptic environment is haunting but not downright scary-the most frightening things are the people, not the magic. With its dark, sharply imagined world, this will appeal to readers of Holly Black and Cassandra Clare. (Science fiction/fantasy. 12-16)

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