Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne

Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne

Teen Fiction

Kyra is a thief. And she’s a pretty good one. She’s incredibly stealthy and can climb better than anyone in the city of Forge, which means she can get by on her own even though things aren’t always easy.

Despite her early beginnings living on the streets, she has made a relatively nice life for herself. She rents a room in the Drunken Dog and has a makeshift family consisting of her friend Flick and Bella, their quasi-surrogate mother, who works as the cook at the Drunken Dog. Kyra is determined to help two young girls living on the street in the same way that Flick helped her, but her devotion to these girls makes it more and more difficult to make her coin last from job to job.

The promise of a steady and lucrative income from the mysterious and handsome James makes an offer to work for the Assassins Guild impossible to resist. Once Kyra joins the Assassins Guild, she is eager to prove herself. She performs each job–breaking into the Palace undetected and stealing information–quickly and well, not thinking about the repercussions of her actions.

Meanwhile, Tristam, a young Palace knight, has made it his life’s goal to rid the city of Forge of the Demon Rider barbarians whose giant cats wreak havoc and terror with every new attack. As the Demon Rider attacks increase and their complex pattern is revealed, Tristam realizes he must also thwart the Palace thief who is sharing information with the enemy.

Told from the alternating third person perspective of Kyra and Tristam, “Midnight Thief” is an action-packed series opener. Descriptions of Kyra’s exploits, Tristam’s encounters with the Demon Riders, and life in Forge are vivid and compelling. Blackburne’s character development is a strong-point in the book. Kyra’s status and struggle in Forge are fully realized. Once she and Tristam meet, the juxtaposition of their lives gives both characterizations strength and credibility.

I read both the bound book and the audiobook. The audiobook version of “Midnight Thief,” narrated by Bianca Amato, is well done, though it took me some time to get used to (and like) her narration. Amato differentiates character voices well especially considering half of the book is from Tristam’s perspective. I appreciated her talent with accents since Kyra and Tristam have lower and upper-class accents (respectively) and the Dragon Riders’s speech is described as “slightly accented.” This helped me visualize the events and the characters even better.

“Midnight Thief” is recommended to fans of fantasy set in a feudalist society. Readers of Tamora Pierce’s Beka Cooper series will like this one as well.

Skink: No Surrender by Carl Hiaasen

Teen Fiction

Richard and his cousin Malley often meet on their Florida beach at night to walk and talk–they’ve grown up together almost as brother and sister. They also use this time to look for loggerhead turtle nests so they can help wildlife conservation authorities mark it for preservation and protection.

On the night our book opens, Malley is a no-show and Richard begins to worry. After dozens of texts and calls, Malley finally replies with an implausible reason for standing Richard up. Not knowing what else to do, Richard pushes back the niggling worry and stays on the beach for a while longer.

There, through an amazing series of events that involve a fake loggerhead nest and a drinking straw, Richard meets Skink, the former (and presumed dead) governor of Florida.

When it becomes apparent to Richard that Malley has run away with someone she met online, he alerts the authorities. Amber Alerts are issued, Richard and his parents are interviewed, Malley’s parents are interviewed, security footage is gathered, hotlines are set up, and leads begin to go nowhere.

Feeling desperate, Richard heads back to the beach to find Skink. When he is finally successful, Richard helps Skink get passed police unnoticed after Skink beats up a man who tried to steal loggerhead turtle eggs (which is illegal as loggerhead are endangered).

Thus begins Richard & Skink’s amazingly Hiaasen-esque journey to find Malley and bring her home unharmed.

If you’ve never read a Carl Hiaasen book, here are some things you should know:

They’re all set in Florida. They all contain incredibly strange (yet believable) characters. They all feature really outrageous events and coincidences. They’re all pretty darned funny.

“Skink” is no different from Hiaasen’s typical, grown-up books except that his main character is a teenager. Hiaasen does a great job surrounding Richard with fully fleshed-out adults who react to his sudden road trip in typically responsible adult like ways. Richard’s mother is a lawyer who is understandably worried–threatening to call the police about his road trip with Skink. Richard wants to do the right thing by her, but also needs to do something to help find his cousin and best friend.

Hiassen also gives us plenty of strange secondary characters who are completely believable despite their strangeness. If you’ve watched any reality shows on the History Channel, you’ve seen enough to know Hiaasen isn’t being overly hyperbolic in his characterizations.

Despite the mystery of tracking down Malley and the adventure of traveling with a presumed dead ex-governor, slogging through swampland, and helping to save his cousin (who is pretty capable of saving herself), “Skink” is truly a coming of age story. Richard has a lot going on in his head and this journey helps him to identify for himself who he is and who he wants to be. Even Malley matures through this process.

Overall, “Skink” is a great choice for teens and adults alike. It will help satisfy several hours of reading for this year’s Teen Summer Challenge. It even satisfies some of the requirements for our Adult Summer Reading program.

47 Ronin by Mike Richardson and Stan Sakai

Lord Asano has been called to the Shogun’s palace to receive the Emperor’s emissaries. Because he is not familiar with the ways of the court, Asano is assigned to the court official Kira who will give him a crash course in court etiquette before the emissaries arrive. Kira is a corrupt official who demands a bribe in order to help Asano effectively, but Asano is a true samurai and follower of the bushido code. He refuses to pay more than the customary gifts to Kira.

And thus begins Asano’s undoing. Because of Asano’s refusal to bribe Kira, Kira begins mistreating and intentionally miscommunicating with Asano. Asano stoically bears this mistreatment and discourages his friend from responding to Kira in a negative way. Asano’s stoicism expires when Kira begins to insult him in front of the emissaries. Asano, in direct violation of the rules in the Shogun’s palace, draws his sword on Kira and slashes his face. Both offenses are punishable by death.

Asano is ordered to commit seppuku, his lands are taken from his family, his name is disgraced, and his retainer samurai are disbanded to become “ronin” or masterless. Kira, despite his provocation of Asano is complemented by the Shogun.

When word of Kira’s involvement in Asano’s ruin reaches Oishi, Asano’s chief retainer, a plan is made. Oishi calls all of Asano’s samurai and asks them abide by the Shogun’s ruling and not go after Kira immediately. This is hard for many of the samurai to take–they’d rather avenge their master’s death and die than have the dishonor of being truly ronin. Ultimately, only 46 other samurai trust Oishi enough to follow his plan.

Little do the other samurai know, Oishi’s plan is only to pretend to be ronin. They spend over a year convincing Kira’s spies that they have nothing more to think about than drinking and debauchery or manual labor and that avenging their master’s death will never happen.

Once Oishi is fully convinced that Kira’s guard is down, they infiltrate his newly built estate and exact their revenge.

“47 Ronin” is based on true events that happened in 18th century Japan (you can even visit the tombs of Asano and his most loyal retainers) and is one of the most enduring legends in Japan, so I feel confident telling you most of the story. There are numerous plays, books, movies, and other adaptations of this story in both Japanese and American culture (including a 2013 movie with the same title starring Keanu Reeves).

This iteration of the story is wonderful. The script by Mark Richardson (with editorial consulting by Kazuo Koike) is impeccably researched and the art evokes the amazing woodblock prints of Japan while giving the story a life and style of its own. Sakai’s art also portrays each character’s depth and emotion while giving readers an accurate and fascinating view into 18th century Japanese architecture and costuming.

Despite the fact that many murders take place within its pages, “47 Ronin” isn’t a very bloody book. Yes, you know people are being murdered (or are committing seppuku), but most of the deaths (and bloodshed) take place off camera.

I would highly recommend this title to anyone interested in Japanese legend or history as well as anyone who enjoys stories about loyalty and subterfuge.

The Hit by Melvin Burgess

Teen Fiction

Adam and his girlfriend Lizzie have pretty good seats to the concert that sets off a chain of events only the revolutionary Zealots could have predicted. Jimmy Earle, a rock star at the height of his career and popularity, has taken the drug Death. Jimmy has accomplished his elaborate and very public bucket list and is putting on one last concert before the best, drug-induced week of his life ends in his equally public death.

Because that’s what this new drug, Death, does. You take a little white pill, have the most fantastic week-long high, and then die. Very simple. Once the drug has bonded with your brain, there’s no going back. There’s no antidote. No cure for Death. Once you’ve taken it, you’re dead after seven days.

After Jimmy dies on stage in front of thousands of fans, the riots begin. The undercurrent of tension between the haves and the have-nots in Manchester suddenly boil to the surface. Adam and Lizzie get to watch it all unfold making Adam feel like he and Lizzie are bound together by this night. Nothing could be better.

Then Adam’s life begins to unravel. His parents get a mysterious letter from the Zealots telling them his brother, Jess, is dead. Lizzie seems disinterested and angry with him. Suddenly, Adam’s view on his life is much less positive. In a moment of self-loathing and despair, Adam decides to take Death.

Now he’s got a week left to do as much living as a teenage boy can. Like Jimmy Earle, he begins with an extraordinarily complicated and elaborate bucket list. To accomplish this list, his first task has to be to make up with Lizzie and spend his last days with her.

After he and Lizzie reconcile, they become enmeshed with a dangerous drug-dealer’s even more dangerous son. Lizzie gets kidnapped and Adam has to decide whether to use his remaining days to help her or to accomplish his bucket list.

Burgess has created a near future dystopian adventure in “The Hit.” The gap between rich and poor is so insurmountable that home-grown terrorist groups like the Zealots find strongholds with Manchester’s young people and, for some, taking Death seems like a viable option.

Adam and Lizzie deal with a lot of heavy issues in “The Hit.” Burgess does a good job of focusing on the issues his characters face without being too heavy-handed or preachy. The action scenes make you sit forward in your seat. The twists and turns the plot takes are realistic as are the characters.

Every characters’ flaws are exposed and explored to a degree that makes you wonder whether you really like these people. Ultimately, the selfishness and insecurities revealed by Adam are so uncomfortable because they are so true-to-life. Adam behaves exactly as a teenager would–he is at times self-absorbed, reckless, heroic, kind, a genius and a complete idiot.

The premise of “The Hit” is intriguing–what kind of mental process would you go through if you knew in 7 days you were going to die? Especially if the world is about to change and you realize you won’t be around to see or help the change happen. Would the self-loathing and hopelessness you felt when you first took the pill last through your 7 days or would you find a reason to regret that choice?

With sexual content, drug use, and mature themes, this is a good choice for mature teens and adults who like near-future dystopians and flawed characters wrestling with Life’s big questions.

12 Teen Authors to Read in 2015

If you aren’t reading the following Teen authors, you should resolve to start in 2015.

Each of these 12 authors (one per month, for your convenience) has more than one book or series, some of which cross genres, so there should be plenty to choose from.

M.T. Anderson

Anderson journeys into the future in “Feed” and takes the commercialization of society to an interesting and disturbing conclusion. In his “Octavian Nothing” books, he imagines the Revolutionary War that includes an African American boy being raised as part of a science experiment.

April Henry

A new queen of high-interest, teen mystery-thrillers has been crowned in April Henry. Her books are short, action-packed, and terrifyingly fun. Perfect for reluctant readers and those needing a good, quick read.

Antony John

John, a Missouri resident, seems to have a genre-crossing theme of finding inner strength and hidden powers. In the contemporary “Five Flavors of Dumb” Piper has a severe hearing impairment and is challenged with finding the rock band Dumb a paying gig. In “Elemental” and its sequels, Thomas is the only person in his community who doesn’t have the power to control an element, but he may not be a powerless as he feels.

Maureen Johnson

Johnson’s early books (“13 Little Blue Envelopes,” etc.) started as realistic fiction with charming characters. More recently, her “Shades of London” series includes paranormal elements and explores historical mysteries through charming modern eyes.

(If you’re on Twitter, Maureen Johnson is fun to follow.)

A.S. King

A.S. King takes real life issues facing today’s teens (like bullying in “Everybody Sees the Ants”) and packages them with believable and likable characters who deal with these issues in completely relatable ways. King is a powerhouse writer of contemporary, realistic fiction.

Daniel Kraus

Kraus writes about pretty horrible things, but he makes each scene so compelling that you can’t help but keep reading. In “Rotters” the main character takes up the family business–grave robbing. In “Scowler” the main character’s three most precious toys are alive and one of them is murderously evil.

Barry Lyga

From a comic book geek in “The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl” to the son of a serial killer in “I Hunt Killers,” Barry Lyga isn’t afraid to explore what Life can throw at his main characters. Each book’s characters are believable people with complex lives and emotions.

Patrick Ness

The “Chaos Walking” trilogy is rife with characters that Ness makes you love. It’s also rife with gut-wrenching and horrible things that happen to these characters, but the emotional journey is worth it. Promise. In “A Monster Calls” Conor’s mother is dying of cancer. He is visited by a monster (but not the monster of his nightmares) who will tell him three stories and requires Conor to tell the fourth story–Conor’s truth. Prepare to cry, sensitive readers! And prepare for cliffhangers!!

Tamora Pierce

Pierce’s world building is as amazing as her writing. Every detail is fully realized and palpable. I would never have thought a police procedural set in a fantasy world would work, but the “Beka Cooper” series is perfectly amazing.

Neal Shusterman

Like most of the authors on this list, Shusterman explores complex issues and the people embroiled in them. The “Unwind” series, set in the near future, dares to imagine a solution to the abortion debate that would make King Solomon proud. In the “Everlost” books Shusterman wonders what happens if you’re knocked off the path to wherever you go after you die.

Andrew Smith

Smith commands different genres with the best of them. His writing, no matter the genre, is one of the strongest on the list. He’s clever and creepy and completely real.

Maggie Stiefvater

Maggie Stiefvater’s popularity was cemented with “Shiver” during the paranormal romance craze, but she is no one hit wonder. Her subsequent books abound with great characters and even better writing.

This list is missing some great authors, of course. I intentionally left out the household names in Teen Fiction (Sarah Dessen, Scott Westerfeld, etc.) as well as the Books-Into-Movies authors (Suzanne Collins, John Green, Veronica Roth, etc.), so I’m hopeful there are some authors you’re not familiar with. Let me know how you like their books. Even if you don’t like them.

Mister Death’s Blue-Eyed Girls by Mary Downing Hahn

The morning after a party in the park, Nora and her best friend Ellie are hung over and running late for the last day of their Junior year. The two are still not ready when Cheryl and Bobbi Jo come by to walk with them to school. Unwilling to wait (and possibly miss a rendezvous with Cheryl’s new boyfriend), Cheryl and Bobbi Jo set out on their own.

This sequence of events changes everything for Nora and Ellie. It also saves their lives. Later that afternoon the bodies of Cheryl and Bobbi Jo are found hidden in the woods between Ellie’s house and school. Both girls have been shot.

Everyone in town, including Ellie, thinks Cheryl’s brooding ex-boyfriend Buddy gunned the girls down because Cheryl wouldn’t get back together with him. After passing two lie-detector tests and surviving 48 hours in a jail cell, the police let him go. Despite this, Nora is the only one who believes Buddy didn’t commit the crime.

Told from alternating perspectives of Nora and Buddy with an occasional chapter by Mister Death himself, readers are taken through the aftermath of the murders that shake their small town to its core.

Based on true events, “Mister Death’s Blue-Eyed Girls” isn’t the book I thought it was going to be. Instead of a mystery, Hahn has written a memoir. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but while reading, I kept expecting Nora to turn Nancy Drew and help the obviously ineffective police department catch Mister Death. Instead, Nora spends much of the book overcome by survivor’s guilt. To the point that she begins to question everything from what she wants to do with her life to the existence of God.

Using fashion and music as her main reference points, Hahn firmly anchors “Mister Death’s Blue-Eyed Girls” in June 1956. This choice of time period helps readers understand Nora’s naivete and the behavior of the police and townspeople, but the musical references seem a little heavy-handed at times. It would not be difficult to build a pretty robust 1950s playlist from the songs and artists mentioned in almost every chapter.

By the end of the book, I was still expecting a mystery novel (which may reveal more about me as a reader than Hahn as a writer), so I was a little disappointed. Even though the end wraps things up, there’s no dramatic revelation and no clear-cut “good guys win, bad guys lose” moment. It’s very real life.

I think that was my main problem with “Mister Death’s Blue-Eyed Girls.” I wanted it to be more sensational, creepier, more “who done it?” and less realistic. So, if you’re looking for an account of how a traumatic event can change the lives of those it touches, “Mister Death’s Blue-Eyed Girls” is an excellent choice and can be found in the Teen Department. But if you’re looking for a creepy mystery to escape your real life for a while, this isn’t the book for you.

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

Adult Fiction

Darrow is a miner beneath the surface of Mars. He and his fellow Reds spend their lives underground in a dangerous, unforgiving world so future generations will be able to successfully and safely inhabit the surface of the planet. The Reds are the lowest in the castes of colors. From Red to Gold, slave to ruler, each color serves its purpose.

Darrow is content with his role. He understands that his sweat and blood, his obedience and incredible skill as a Helldiver are necessary to supply the surface with the miraculous terraforming helium-3. He must suffer so others will thrive.

This contentment begins to unravel when Darrow’s mining crew—his family—fairly and rightfully mines more helium-3 than any other. As a reward, the Lambda clan should receive the Laurel—the increased rations and luxuries usually won by the Gamma clan. When the Gammas receive the Laurel despite having been beaten, Darrow’s faith and his obedience are shaken.

Then a tumbling of heartbreaking events lands Darrow on the surface of Mars as part of the Sons of Ares, a terrorist organization that reveals the truth: Mars has been habitable for generations. Huge cities thrive on its surface. Luxuries and amenities abound for people of every color caste except the Reds who are kept both literally and figuratively in the dark.

Now Darrow must decide how far he’s willing to go to bring justice to his people. The first step is to infiltrate the Golds—the ruling caste—by becoming one of their most elite. No matter how brutal that process may be.

“Red Rising” is incredibly good. From the first lines: “I would have lived in peace. But my enemies brought me war” I knew I was hooked. By page 50, tears streaming down my face, I knew this was one of Those Books. The kind of book that, when read at the right time, has the power to impact readers like no other book can.

Darrow starts out as a wide-eyed teenaged boy who is smart enough to know that his society’s caste system is rigged against him, but is naïve enough to believe that it’s serving a greater good. As events unfold, Darrow transforms into an angry and determined man who has but a single focus—vengeance.

Darrow narrates his story, so not surprisingly, he is the most developed character, but his narration gives life to the characters around him and makes his world feel real. The pacing is just about perfect. Slow where it needs to be and break-neck to keep the pages flying. The connections between the characters aren’t as palpable as I would have liked, but they’re still fairly solid. With just a touch of romance, Brown keeps things spicy without making it trite or gratuitous.

When you read the cover of “Red Rising,” you’ll see all the comparisons to other, super popular books that “Red Rising” is garnering. They’re accurate comparisons, but “Red Rising” doesn’t really need them beyond the first few chapters. It competently stands on its own in the Science Fiction and Dystopian genres and should, by all means, be read by fans of “Hunger Games,” “Ender’s Game” and the like. Just know that you’re getting something different and new with this one too.

Note of warning: this is the first book in a series. Book 2 is not out yet and “Red Rising” ends with quite the cliffhanger.

The United States of Asgard Series by Tessa Gratton

In “The Lost Sun,” the first book of “The United States of Asgard” by Tessa Gratton, Soren Bearskin is a berserker. He has an innate internal fire, a battle rage that he constantly tries to squelch with self-discipline, exercise, and meditation.

He is so afraid of this fire and his family’s past that he has made himself an outcast with almost all his classmates at Sanctus Sigurd’s Academy.

Then one day, the famous Astrid Glyn comes to school. Astrid is a beautiful and mysterious seethkona — a prophetess — who dreams of Soren. Much to his dismay, Soren and Astrid are drawn together by these dreams and by forces beyond their control.

When Baldur the Beautiful, god of the sun, goes missing, the connection between Soren and Astrid becomes all the more apparent.

Soren and Astrid begin a journey to save their god, confront their pasts and face their future.

In book two, “The Strange Maid,” Signy Valborn, like Soren, has an internal fire born out of her family’s past.

Unlike Soren, Signy embraces her inner chaos and for doing so, is chosen by Odin Alfather to become his next Valkyrie.

Before she can be accepted in this role, however, she must solve a riddle written on the New World Tree. Signy doesn’t feel that she can solve the riddle within the confines of her Valkyrie training, so she leaves to search for answers on her own.

After years of living on the streets and not solving her riddle, Ned Unferth, a mysterious poet who only speaks the truth, appears and offers a glimmer of hope: trolls.

 

Together, Signy and Ned travel North to Canadia to study, track and kill a greater mountain troll as the solution to Signy’s riddle and her ticket into the Valkyrie sisterhood.

If only things were so simple.

Taking place before, during and after the events of “The Lost Sun,” “The Strange Maid” is both a companion and a sequel to “The Lost Sun.” Both books are narrated in first person (by Soren and Signy, respectively) and offer rich and compelling stories. Gratton has seamlessly woven traditional Norse gods and legends with modern life and technology, making her world simultaneously familiar and mysteriously “other.”

My love for this series and the world Gratton creates became easier to quantify when I realized Gratton has firmly positioned herself as an excellent transition from Rick Riordan to Neil Gaiman.

“The United States of Asgard” series has all the action and intrigue (not to mention godly influences) of a Percy Jackson novel but with intricacy and literary quality closer to Gaiman’s works — of course, “American Gods” comes to mind.

With older teen characters doing older teen things, these are books for high-school students and adults.

 

Family Friendly Audiobooks for Summer Road Trips

Summer months bring on summer travels for many families. Audiobooks are an excellent way to keep everyone entertained on a road trip, but finding an audiobook that appeals to all ages and genders is a challenge. Below are some of my favorite “family friendly” audiobooks that will appeal to both girls and boys ranging from elementary school through adulthood (unless otherwise noted). Each audiobook has a superb narrator who is skilled at differentiating character voices. Some so much so that they’re like cartoons for your ears.

“Peter and the Starcatchers”

By Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, Narrated by Jim Dale

Found in Juvenile Fiction

Peter finds himself on a ship (the Never Land) with a trunk of mysterious “starstuff” that gives any who touch it strange powers. He also finds himself among those tasked with protecting the starstuff from the likes of the pirate Black Stache.

This is a fun romp for those familiar with the original “Peter Pan,” but with rich characters, humor and adventures galore, it’s also great fun for those who are meeting Peter for the first time. Jim Dale also reads the “Harry Potter” series which is equally not to be missed on audio.

 

“Artemis Fowl”

By Eoin Colfer, Narrated by Nathaniel Parker

Found in Teen Audiobooks

Artemis is a genius working pretty hard on adding “evil” to his genius status. When he discovers fairies are real and they have quite the cash pile, he kidnaps Holly Short (an officer with the LEP Recon) to hold her for ransom. Suddenly, Artemis finds himself facing down the entire fairy world and their extensive arsenal.

This is probably my favorite audio to recommend to new listeners. The characterizations are wonderful, their relationships with each other are complicated and fun, and the action is top notch.

 

“The Graveyard Book”

Written and narrated by Neil Gaiman

Found in Juvenile Fiction

As a toddler, Nobody Owens narrowly escaped a murderer and stumbled into a graveyard. There, after much debate of the graveyard denizens, Nobody was adopted, named, and raised by the various ghosts (and creatures) that inhabit graveyards. “The Graveyard Book,” similar to “The Jungle Book” is an account of the many adventures Nobody has during his life in the graveyard.

Parts of this one may be a bit scary for younger readers, but it is well worth the listen. Neil Gaiman makes a surprisingly good narrator.

 

“Howl’s Moving Castle”

By Diana Wynne Jones, Narrated by Jenny Sterlin

Found in Teen Audiobooks

Being the oldest of three girls, Sophie knows she won’t amount to much and is resigned to spend her life working for her step-mother in the family’s hat shop. Unintentionally, Sophie offends the Witch of the Waste who exacts her revenge by turning Sophie into a 90-year-old woman. Knowing things can’t get much worse, Sophie strikes out on her own and finds herself working as the maid for the greatly feared, but perhaps quite handsome, Wizard Howl.

This is a lovely, whimsical story full of fun characters, intrigue and adventure.

 

“Sabriel”

By Garth Nix, Narrated by Tim Curry

Found in Teen Fiction

Life in Ancelstierre is fairly mundane except when the wind comes from the North across the Wall and from the Old Kingdom. Then all technology fails and often, trouble from dead creatures emerges. Sabriel’s father, the Abhorsen, is tasked with preventing the dead from rising and causing trouble for the living. When Sabriel gets a delivery of her father’s tools as the Abhorsen from a dead creature, she knows he has either been killed or is trapped in Death. Thus she begins her journey with a talking cat named Mogget and a dashing but vulnerable young man who calls himself Touchstone across the magical Old Kingdom to find her father.

With some mild blood, guts, and gore as well as undead creatures determined to take over the world, this title is probably best suited for teens. However, Tim Curry is not to be missed as an audiobook narrator, so the younger set might enjoy his readings of “The Series of Unfortunate Events” by Lemony Snicket.

Chime by Franny Billingsley

“Chime” by Franny Billingsley is a book I completely devoured.

Briony Larkin is a witch and must be hanged. Or so she says. She knows her witchiness has caused irrevocable harm to the members of her family and Briony hates herself.

She has an easy time hating herself until Eldric comes to stay. Eldric with his fidgety ways seems to make Briony forget to hate herself. Which is dangerous.

The Boggy Mun (the spirit of the Swamp) has given the town’s children the Swamp Cough and it’s up to Briony to save everyone even if it means being found out and hanged as the witch she knows she is.

”Chime” swept me away. I started with the audiobook and then realized I was making excuses to sit in my car… alone… in my driveway, so I checked out the bound book to keep the neighbors from talking too much.

The mystery of what Briony actually is (because we know from the get-go that she’s not a witch) and why she hates herself is compelling as are the brief mysteries inter-woven within this main plot. The characters are drawn well enough to make your heart swell or cringe at their appearance. And the magic of the Swampsea with its Old Ones is tingly and wonderful.

Mesh all of those elements with writing that is fresh and strange and haunting and you get something that is, simply put, beautiful. If you’re an audiobook listener, you can’t get much better than the performance of Susan Duerden. I may check it out again just to hear her narrate, but I’ll probably wait until we’re going on a road trip.