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Dec 27, 2011

Lora rated it:

If you know me then you know I love books set in this period. For that reason and others, I believed I would enjoy this. I wanted to enjoy this, I truly did. The premise sounded good; the prologue, however strange, intrigued me. But it didn't take long for me to realize that I wouldn't be able to read over 300 pages of Briony's narrative. It is undoubtedly the strangest I've ever come across. So strange, in fact, that I'm not sure I can describe it properly. It's like an odd mix of pessimism, se More...

10 comments like (28 people liked it)

Aug 28, 2011

oliviasbooks rated it:

How happy I am that I spontaneously gave in and ordered this odd, little jewel ....
It was dark, strangely compelling and utterly beautifully written ... and completely different from what I had expected.

It’s the turn of the century in rural England. The Industrial Revolution with its affluence of metal and electricity has forced most of the Old Ones, elemental spirits, bogs, brownies, fairies and the like, to disappear. But in Swampsea and other mucky places magical creatures More...

16 comments like (25 people liked it)

Dec 21, 2011

Joe rated it:

After the whole Shine/Chime National Book Award Debacle, there was no way my book club could ignore Franny Billingsley's Chime. We had already read Shine and were completely confused and underwhelmed by it. Perhaps the National Book Award committee was wrestling with similar feelings, and that is what led to the gaffe. I dunno. I'm still confused.

The first couple distinctions between these books are glaringly obvious by page 12 of Chime.

1. Franny Billingsley can write c More...

8 comments like (24 people liked it)

Mar 26, 2011

Tatiana rated it:

This book received a starred review from basically every professional reviewing publication - School Library Journal, Booklist, Kirkus - and here I am, unable to even finish it.

While I acknowledge Chime's originality and high quality of writing, I believe this is a novel that will appeal to only a very specific type of reader who is looking for some eccentric fantasy. The whole cast of characters, the world, the interactions are all what you call "quirky," but many (I) would More...

15 comments like (27 people liked it)

Aug 15, 2011

Catie rated it:

It’s hard to describe my reading taste precisely. Describing my favorite writing style is a bit like playing Goldilocks: too simple and it feels shallow, too overdone and it feels exaggerated. Either way the writing ends up falsifying the characters and story for me. With nothing that feels real, no point of reference, I can’t put myself in the shoes of the characters. I can’t buy in. Somewhere in the middle is the writing that speaks right to me. It feels beautiful and descriptive withou More...

27 comments like (22 people liked it)

Jun 28, 2011

Cillian rated it:

I don't know when I'm reviewing this, I have too much to think about... Meditate, consider, speculate, contemplate, deliberate, muse, ponder, etc...

To quote my good friends Ryuk and Anila (my vocabulary would suffer terrible heartburn choking on itself without you guys), this book is BOSS.
Billingsley created a whole new genre of inventiveness, creativity, originality, epicness and a certified kick-ass main female character, beautiful lines (I could quote this book forever More...

14 comments like (16 people liked it)

Aug 07, 2011

Paige rated it:

Also appears on The Screaming Nitpicker.

Two months and three days. That's how long it's been since Stepmother died and Briony will not let herself forget it, just like Briony won't let herself forget that she's a witch and that her powers harmed both Stepmother and her twin sister Rose. Her plans once involved going elsewhere for school, but now she has resigned herself to staying in the Swampsea, caring for her younger sister, and pretending she can't hear the Old Ones begging her t More...

7 comments like (7 people liked it)

Jan 10, 2012

Marg rated it:

This was a rather unique book that may not appeal to everyone's tastes. I will admit that it took me a bit of time to become fully engaged in the story and to appreciate the unique writing style and unusual characters. The writing was certainly of high caliber, and as I read on, I could see the thought and care that went into the crafting of each line.

As beautiful as I thought the lyrical/poetic prose was, I still had a bit of a difficult time immersing myself in the story, particul More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jul 21, 2011

Minli rated it:

I loved Chime so much I do not have words. I stayed up late to finish it, and I re-read parts of it the next morning. Don’t let the cover fool you, it’s not a paranormal romance, nor is it about a goth girl playing Victorian dress-up…it simply does not do justice the sheer poetic loveliness of the novel. Chime feels like a retelling without being based on a fairytale: the whole timbre of the book is tale as old as time, but set in 1910s England. The closest comp titles I can think of are Juliet More...

4 comments like (11 people liked it)

Apr 26, 2011

Erica (daydreamer) rated it:

Keep your secrets, wolfgirl. Dance your fists with Eldric’s, snatch lightning from the gods. Howl at the moon, at the blood-red moon. Let your mouth be a cavern of stars.

This is the story of wolfgirl, a witch living in her dark lies she keeps hidden from the world, and lionboy, a boy-man with golden hair and lightning eyes, who sees through wolfgirl’s hardened exterior. Chime tells the strange story of these two, and the unlikely bond that slowly forms between them, despite Briony’s More...

6 comments like (7 people liked it)

Jun 25, 2011

Hirondelle rated it:

"If I were an author, I´d write about people who sit on the floor. About people who look at mouse droppings and don´t care. About people who only feel a black hole inside."

This is a very good book, though it does not start too pleasantly. Bryony is full of hate and guilt, and we must go along with her and figure out the whys of it. The writing is beautiful and sharp, there are many layers here of plot and clues, some of the characters are fascinating and the setting interes More...

19 comments like (9 people liked it)

Jun 16, 2011

Kathryn (Beastie Books) rated it:

The idea behind Chime was a very original one and had a lot of potential. Unfortunately it wasn't my cup of tea.

There was so much going on in this book that it was hard to keep up. The plot seemed choppy and there were a lot of different things going on. Between finding out who killed Briony's step-mom, who was trying to kill her, and everything else, some things got lost. I found myself looking back at previous pages to see if I'd missed something because I would frequently get lost. More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

May 28, 2011

Isalys rated it:

This may be one of the most challenging reviews I've ever had the joy of writing simply because this book is so wonderfully unique and cleverly written that it's nearly impossible to put into words why it's so unique and clever. It's one of those "you have to just trust me and read it for yourself" books to truly understand the complexity of this story.

Chime is the story of a wicked girl named Briony who does wicked things, who loves no one and feels no emotion. She is a w More...

8 comments like (5 people liked it)

Mar 27, 2011

Angela rated it:

I received a free arc copy of this book from Penguin Group (USA). Thank you.

Normally, after I've read a book, I sit down and write the review in a passionate rush. Whether I loved a book or frankly hated it, my fingers just itch like crazy to get all my feelings out at once. After reading Chime, I had a completely different experience. My mind just needed time to process. To allow the story to wash over me. Much like coffee, my brain needed a lil time to percolate. And while I still More...

6 comments like (5 people liked it)

Oct 30, 2011

Melissa rated it:

This is really a 2.5 star book. I grabbed it from the library to preview for my own because I'd heard a lot of buzz about this one. It was, in fact, named to the National Book Award shortlist the day I finished it. But that doesn't actually mean it's any good. The whole thing felt "off" to me.

**SPOILERS from here on out**

The mixture of "normal" speech in the narrator's head, formal speech within her family and several friends, and the public dialect w More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 17, 2012

Becky rated it:

I should start this off by pointing out that this book took me approximately two weeks to read. Since I'm usually a pretty fast reader, anything that takes me more than a few days to finish is usually a red flag that something is amiss. Yet I loved, loved this book by the end. So why did it take me so long to finish it?

Simple. The pacing.

The first half of this books drags, and I mean drags, by. Briony is a sharp and witty narrator, and the prose itself is amazing. As in, More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 18, 2011

Alyssa rated it:

I'm not sure if there are words to express how much I loved this. Well maybe one: atmosphere. Franny Billingsley certainly knows how to set a mood and create a world. It's a fantastic world with its own set of verbs and noises/onomatopoeia. The entire time I read the book I thought of nothing but sneaking through snickleways and wading through the slough (it helped that it's been a bit overcast and rainy too).

And don't get me started on Briony and the epic-ness of her voice! There More...

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 28, 2011

Kelly rated it:

I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH THAT I AM BUYING IT BEFORE I EVEN FINISH READING IT. The author has a magical, unbelievable grasp of language...I wish everyone talked like Briony.

OK, so I finished this book and I adored it although, again, I'm not even sure what was happening half the time. Franny Billingsley is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

4 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 17, 2011

Kelly added it

After 88 pages I gave up, because I had no clue whatsoever about what was happening.

Chime was odd to say the least. It was peculiar from the get-go, but intrigue carried me on. But 88 pages in, my clueless feeling still intact, said intrigue was chased away by confusion, which was eventually bested by boredom. It's a shame really, because I do enjoy the author's writing. It's quirky. I do enjoy being dropped into a story, having to deduce along the way what's happening. In other wor More...

10 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 18, 2012

Maggie rated it:

Franny Billingsley knows what she's doing. Exhibit A: I guessed every twist Chime had to offer pages and pages before the big reveal, which is normally a deal-breaker, but in Chime was a deal-maker. Exhibit B: protagonist Briony, consumed by self-hatred, doubt, and guilt, should have by rights been insufferable, but was instead the most distinctive and enjoyable protagonist I read all year. Exhibit C: I couldn't put it down. At all. Ever.

Put it this way: I don't tie just any book with More...

0 comments like

Feb 15, 2012

Sistermagpie rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Feb 08, 2012

Janet rated it:

I love words. When they are put together just right, conveying a thought and a evoking a feeling at the same time, it's lyrical. In Chime, Franny Billingsley finds the lyrical in language. The story is a mixture of family drama, self-discovery, and a bit of the supernatural.

Briony is a twin to her sister, Rose. She feels a profound responsibility for her sister's well-being. She believes it is born out of guilt, but we, as readers, can see from the start that it is truly love for Ros More...

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Feb 06, 2012

Heather rated it:

I adored this book. It wasn't something that I whizzed through, although I did stay up late finishing it. I loved the characters and the setting. Sometimes the storyline was over here- then over there- then it felt like the heroine was slow to figure out what the readers knew for a very long time. This was explained but it did tire me a bit toward the end.

I gave it 5 stars because the writing was too beautiful to receive anything else. The story was so original that I give it a free More...

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Feb 04, 2012

bjneary rated it:

I love my kindle but I wish just with this book, that I was looking at the cover as I read it each day. This cover is revealing and might have helped me understand a little more about what was going on in this supernatural fantasy of redemption, loss, and re-finding oneself. Billingsley does a fabulous job of crafting the odd Swampsea world of seventeen-year-old, Briony Larkin, the narrator, who feels responsible for her twin sister Rose's accident, her stepmother's paralysis, and totally hate More...

1 comment like

Jan 24, 2012

Lauren rated it:

Lovely story. Reminds me of the original Grimm’s fairy tales, gruesome details and all. You know the one where the pigs actually die when the wolf comes knocking. But this one takes it further, because the remaining pig has to go to therapy to deal with the fact that he ate the wolf who consumed his brothers.

This is a story where you have to pay attention to what’s happening, and I promise it will all make sense eventually. Many reviewers have mentioned having trouble following the More...

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Jan 17, 2012

Andrew rated it:

I originally bought this book after listening to an NPR article about how another book, "Shine", was mistakenly short-listed for a children's book award, because the judges panel had read the short list to the award group over the phone and were mis-heard. I bought and read both of them.
While the exact nature of the true villian in "Chime" caught me by surprise, the true nature of the heroine, revealed in the last chapter, was obvious almost from the first. I probably wo More...

0 comments like

Jan 15, 2012

Donna rated it:

I think this book is for a specific type of reader. I can see certain teens liking it, but others having a hard time connecting to it. The prose is beautiful, but different from many "typical" YA writing styles. It took me a little while to get used to the style, but once I did, the story got stronger and stronger for me. It is hard for me to describe, so I'm listing the Goodreads summary here:

Before Briony's stepmother died, she made sure Briony blamed herself for all th More...

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Jan 12, 2012

Liz rated it:

I read this book for the "Time-Out Book Club" for our January meeting, and under Maggie's recommendation. After our discussion, I'm realizing that I really liked this book. Granted, the beginning does seem to drag on...but the overall story is strangely compelling. At times I did find it confusing and had to keep reminding myself that the main character - Briony - was a teenage girl and that her sister - Rosie - was her twin. During the book, I felt like Briony was an older sister More...

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Jan 11, 2012

Sharon rated it:

I started Chime this summer and never finished it the first time. It is a complex and demanding novel, but its strengths are definitely language and voice. Almost every sentence in this novel absolutely glows with the love and delight of language, wordplay, songs, punning, and poetry. It is almost a little too much at times, overwhelming, but it is definitely unique and really quite beautiful and artful, and fitting to the voice of a writer (as Briony is portrayed) Billingsley has some stunning More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 07, 2012

Cheryl rated it:

When I was twenty pages from the end, I wrote on Twitter that I found this "baffling but beautiful -- which means it's probably going to win the Printz Award." Having finished those twenty pages, which included a LOT of explanation, I no longer find it baffling but I do still think it's beautiful, and I am OK with it winning the Printz Award.

One of its most interesting features for me is that it's ultimately a book about self-talk -- the internal monologue in which we narrat More...

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