Briony knows she is a witch. She knows that she is guilty of hurting her beloved stepmother. She also knows that, now her stepmother is dead, she must look after her beautiful but complicated twin sister, Rose. Then the energetic, electric, golden-haired Eldric arrives in her home town of Swampsea, and everything that Briony thinks she knows about herself and her life is turned magically, dizzyingly, upside down.
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Praise for The Folk Keeper:
‘A minor masterpiece of compression: sharply written and highly engaging for 10 to 16-year-olds' (TES)
‘A most enchanting, original and compulsive fantasy. The reader is fascinated, drawn in from the very beginning . . . The language is rich and expressive and the emotional involvement with all of the characters is developed with consummate skill and craftswomanship. Highly recommended' (School Librarian)
Praise for Chime:
‘Had me gripped from the first sentence . . . from the fantastic opening line onwards, Billingsley's writing just gets better and better' (Writing from the Tub)
‘An amazing, fascinating heroine and a swoon-worthy romance . . . I loved it, I loved it so much I want the entire world to know about it . . . I loved this book with the force of a thousand supernovas' (The Book Smugglers)
‘A minor masterpiece of compression: sharply written and highly engaging for 10 to 16-year-olds' (TES)
‘A most enchanting, original and compulsive fantasy. The reader is fascinated, drawn in from the very beginning . . . The language is rich and expressive and the emotional involvement with all of the characters is developed with consummate skill and craftswomanship. Highly recommended' (School Librarian)
Praise for Chime:
‘Had me gripped from the first sentence . . . from the fantastic opening line onwards, Billingsley's writing just gets better and better' (Writing from the Tub)
‘An amazing, fascinating heroine and a swoon-worthy romance . . . I loved it, I loved it so much I want the entire world to know about it . . . I loved this book with the force of a thousand supernovas' (The Book Smugglers)
Book Description
A unique gothic romance with an enticing undercurrent of fairytale and darkness. Perfect for teen girls
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Shelagh
Format:Hardcover
Chime is a story of in-betweens. It is set in an in-between time - where folklore and modern technology still coexist. And it has in-between characters - who discuss Freud's theories of the mind and modern engineering while still keeping a wary eye out for the Old Ones who walk the land. I loved this blend of ideas and it gives Chime a unique feel in the YA genre.
There have been some beautiful book covers released so far this year and for me Chime's must be near the top of the list. The shades of brown used bring to mind the swamp that plays such a large part in the story and reminded me of old sepia-toned photographs. The roots and grasses are further reminders of the swamp and I love how some appear like gnarled hands - a visual reference to the folklore of Chime. The model was well chosen and her serious gaze holds your attention. My compliments to the design team at Bloomsbury for a striking cover.
Franny Billingsley is an immensely talented author. Chime is set in the early nineteen-hundreds and Billingsley has successfully incorporated phrasings and rhythms of speech that are appropriate to the era without making the book difficult to read. It feels as though you have been transported back in time to enjoy a contemporary story. Billingsley's descriptions are delicious - she places you firmly in the story and once inside there is no way you want to leave.
Chime's plot is, on the surface, not particularly complicated. But it's the subtle layers of story that slowly shift and realign to form new ideas that make this a book worth reading.
Briony is a complex character. She has an older person's world-weary view of life that is in direct and sharp contrast with her twin, Rose's, more innocent outlook.... Read more ›
There have been some beautiful book covers released so far this year and for me Chime's must be near the top of the list. The shades of brown used bring to mind the swamp that plays such a large part in the story and reminded me of old sepia-toned photographs. The roots and grasses are further reminders of the swamp and I love how some appear like gnarled hands - a visual reference to the folklore of Chime. The model was well chosen and her serious gaze holds your attention. My compliments to the design team at Bloomsbury for a striking cover.
Franny Billingsley is an immensely talented author. Chime is set in the early nineteen-hundreds and Billingsley has successfully incorporated phrasings and rhythms of speech that are appropriate to the era without making the book difficult to read. It feels as though you have been transported back in time to enjoy a contemporary story. Billingsley's descriptions are delicious - she places you firmly in the story and once inside there is no way you want to leave.
Chime's plot is, on the surface, not particularly complicated. But it's the subtle layers of story that slowly shift and realign to form new ideas that make this a book worth reading.
Briony is a complex character. She has an older person's world-weary view of life that is in direct and sharp contrast with her twin, Rose's, more innocent outlook.... Read more ›
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I had really high hopes for this book. The synopsis sounded enchanting and the cover art is so striking that I fully expected to end up loving this. However, I have to say that I had quite mixed feelings about it and actually really struggled to finish reading it. I'm still not sure quite why I didn't connect to the story but I'm going to try and sum up my thoughts on the book.
The story centres on Briony and her twin sister Rose. Briony believes that she is a witch who's responsible for her stepmother's death and is convinced that she's intrinsically evil and good for nothing. She fails to see any good in herself at all and is always punishing herself inside for the despair that she feels she has caused to those around her. She's full of self-hatred and believes that she should be made to pay for what she's done. When the mysterious Eldric enters her life she has to consider the question of whether or not she should let him share the secret of who she really is.
When I first read the blurb of this book I thought it sounded amazing. I was excited to pick it up and start reading. The main problem I had was that I just felt disconnected from the story and from the characters. I struggled to actually understand what was happening a lot of the time and I had to go back and read chapters again when I realised I'd finished one but still didn't know what was going on. This may have partly been to the original and unusual style of writing which I found very difficult to read. It was extremely lyrical and just didn't enthrall me at all. Although it picked up a bit in the second-half, I never fully engaged with the characters and what was happening to them.... Read more ›
The story centres on Briony and her twin sister Rose. Briony believes that she is a witch who's responsible for her stepmother's death and is convinced that she's intrinsically evil and good for nothing. She fails to see any good in herself at all and is always punishing herself inside for the despair that she feels she has caused to those around her. She's full of self-hatred and believes that she should be made to pay for what she's done. When the mysterious Eldric enters her life she has to consider the question of whether or not she should let him share the secret of who she really is.
When I first read the blurb of this book I thought it sounded amazing. I was excited to pick it up and start reading. The main problem I had was that I just felt disconnected from the story and from the characters. I struggled to actually understand what was happening a lot of the time and I had to go back and read chapters again when I realised I'd finished one but still didn't know what was going on. This may have partly been to the original and unusual style of writing which I found very difficult to read. It was extremely lyrical and just didn't enthrall me at all. Although it picked up a bit in the second-half, I never fully engaged with the characters and what was happening to them.... Read more ›
By TeensReadToo
TOP 100 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
Briony deserves to be hanged. Or so she desperately believes.
Following the sudden death of her beloved stepmother, Briony and her mentally disturbed sister, Rose, find themselves under the scrutiny of the villagers in the Swampsea. But Briony has a secret. She is a witch, forbidden to go into the swamps she loves so much.
When young Eldric moves into her home, she finds herself with a new friend and secret keeper. Can Briony keep her powers at bay, or will they lead to her demise?
Franny Billingsley provides readers with an enchanting story of a young witch struggling to come to terms with her powers. While at times the plot line can be confusing, fans of paranormal and fantasy novels will consider CHIME a treasure.
Reviewed by: Monica Sheffo
Following the sudden death of her beloved stepmother, Briony and her mentally disturbed sister, Rose, find themselves under the scrutiny of the villagers in the Swampsea. But Briony has a secret. She is a witch, forbidden to go into the swamps she loves so much.
When young Eldric moves into her home, she finds herself with a new friend and secret keeper. Can Briony keep her powers at bay, or will they lead to her demise?
Franny Billingsley provides readers with an enchanting story of a young witch struggling to come to terms with her powers. While at times the plot line can be confusing, fans of paranormal and fantasy novels will consider CHIME a treasure.
Reviewed by: Monica Sheffo
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Whilst I wasn't the biggest fan of this title by Franny, I can see the potential as well as the skill behind the book that Franny has created in order to entertain the reader. The characters are well thought out, the myths behind the tale well researched and the overall writing style is something that a good few will find entertaining. For me however I had a hard time getting to grips with the titles lead character and when I felt that the speech was forced it really made finishing this title a struggle. Don't get me wrong, for a lot of readers this will be a great purchase but for me it just took things a little too far and without being able to associate with the tales heroine I felt lost as well as unenthusiastic about finishing the story.
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