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Chime

Franny Billingsley

Start date: May 1, 2011

Finish date: May 31, 2011

Discussion: Mock Printz 2012

Why we're reading this: Has won our poll and received many starred reviews.
[close] Has won our poll and received many starred reviews.

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Mock Printz 2012

* Printz Poll Results are IN!
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last updated Jan 23, 2012 11:20AM

* And The 2012 Winner Is...
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What Members Thought

Oct 13, 2011 Melissa rated it it was ok

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy, crcpl, creepy

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 was really and truly jarring. The author didn ...more

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May 23, 2011 Mary rated it really liked it

Shelves: the-rich-part-of-life

Chime is a complicated book with elements of fantasy, mystery, historical fiction and romance. The characterization is complex with a boogy man, witches, a father who is a cleric, a sister who appears autistic. a dead stepmother, a chime child, dark muses, a girl bearing a huge guilt trip and a love magnet all set in a town called Swamp Sea which is actually next to a swamp. Did I mention that everyone appears to come down with a swamp cough?
Not being a Billingsley fan, since her previous books ...more

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May 10, 2011 Amanda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, high-school, supernatural

"Don't let my face fool you; it tells the worst lies. A girl can have a face of an angel but have a horrid sort of heart." Briony Larkin claims to be evil and a witch, two deadly combinations that will lead to a hanging if the residents of the Swampsea find out. Her memories and actions are riddled with inconsistencies that offer several mysteries. Embedded within Billingsley's mythical world, is an original offering on family abuse. For Briony this means re-learning to identify her love for her ...more

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Jun 24, 2011 Brandi rated it liked it

Shelves: teen, random-reads-column, librandian-blog, 2011

The swamp is full of evil beings, dangerous terrain, and secrets that keep many of the villagers of Swampsea far away. A place of bewilderment for everyone else, Briony knows more about the swamps than most people. She knows the creatures who call the swamp home, sees them with the Second Sight, and knows all the traps and snares placed by the creatures to catch trespassers. In order to keep her secret hidden from the rest of the villagers, Briony stays away from the swamp. Briony is a powerful The swamp is full of evil beings, dangerous terrain, and secrets that keep many of the villagers of Swampsea far away. A place of bewilderment for everyone else, Briony knows more about the swamps than most people. She knows the creatures who call the swamp home, sees them with the Second Sight, and knows all the traps and snares placed by the creatures to catch trespassers. In order to keep her secret hidden from the rest of the villagers, Briony stays away from the swamp. Briony is a powerful witch who has caused many incidents, some resulting in harm towards her family. For her entire life, her Stepmother helped protect Briony from unveiling her secret, but after her mysterious, arsenic-related death, Briony can only help herself and hope she doesn’t end up like the other possible witches; executed by hanging.

Briony is now solely responsible for her handicapped twin sister Rose. No one else understands her fear of strange men and her need for collecting miscellaneous scraps of paper. Briony’s attention waivers with the arrival of the Eldric, a curious, young man, and his father, who intends to drains the swamps in order to build a new railroad. Briony has never let anyone close to her before. Even Cecil Trumpington, a local boy with his eye on Briony, cannot get close to her despite his many efforts. There is something different about Eldric though. Despite her constant deterring, Eldric and Briony form a relationship, though romance or not remains to be seen. The duo forms a Bad Boys Club, complete with their own language and initiations. As their relationship continues to grow, Briony encounters obstacle prohibiting her from having a normal life including a chronic disease caused by a swamp creature that only Briony knows the cure, the increasing persistent advances of Cecil, and a strange woman set on pulling Eldric far away from Briony. When all events reach a climax, it is up to the Chime Child, an old woman half-witch, half-human, to help put things right.

Chime may seem a bit confusing at times, but is entertaining. The characters are wonderfully developed and full of life. Billingsley includes specific names for every danger in the swamp which helps solidify the realism of her setting. The ending may seem a bit predictable, but the components of the story overshadow the inevitable. This turn-of-the-century fantasy novel is sure to delight.
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Oct 23, 2011 Terri rated it it was ok

Finally! I actually got through this book. I wanted so badly to abandon "Chime" by Franny Billingsley. But it was nominated for a National Book Award. There had to be something there that would make it worth continuing. Right? It was supposedly the most critically acclaimed book of the year (according to one Printz Committee member). Admittedly, the ending was good. However, there is no way the bulk of teen readers will stick with this book.

"Chime" takes place in the early 1900's in the Swampse Finally! I actually got through this book. I wanted so badly to abandon "Chime" by Franny Billingsley. But it was nominated for a National Book Award. There had to be something there that would make it worth continuing. Right? It was supposedly the most critically acclaimed book of the year (according to one Printz Committee member). Admittedly, the ending was good. However, there is no way the bulk of teen readers will stick with this book.

"Chime" takes place in the early 1900's in the Swampsea (though this isn't made readily clear). Engineers have just arrived to drain the swamp so that the railroad can go through. This begins a series of conflicts for the already conflicted Briony. Her mentally challenged twin sister has contracted the swamp cough. She believes that this is because the creatures who live in the swamp are angry about the draining of the swamp, so she sets out to save her sister by stopping the drainage of the swamp and appeasing the swamp creatures. Briony's first person narration will be challenging at best, impossible even, to many readers. She believes herself to be a witch - due to the brain-washing and abuse of her deceased step-mother. It isn't until the end, as the secrets of her childhood are unraveled, that we find out if she is indeed a witch. It is the twenty-two year old Eldric,the boy-man of her desire, who helps her discover the truths of her past.

"Chime" is...well...it is part fantasy, part mystery, part romance...it is difficult to categorize. The language it very challenging. After about 200 pages, I started to follow its rhythms and patterns. That is a lot for an author to expect of any reader. As a former English teacher, I appreciated Billingsley's world building through the use of beautiful sensory imagery, particularly when she describes the swamp in passages like: "The sky wrung itself out like a sponge. Rain fell like daggers; I shielded my eyes. The sky flashed white, silhouetting twisted trees. Lightening played darts on the Flats..." If one is patient, the characters all reveal themselves as layered and complex individuals. Briony, Rose, and Eldric are particularly appealing.

Patience is required here on all levels. The plot is slow. The language difficult. This is not an easy read. In the end, for the right reader, that patience will have its rewards, as the ending is very satisfactory. This is not a book I will purchase multiple copies of. But I have one or two readers in mind for this "Chime." This is an extra purchase - not a must have because of its limited appeal and need for hand-selling. This would be a case where I feel the National Book Awards Committee got it wrong. I often wonder if such committees remember who their audience is. ...more

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Feb 25, 2011 Donalyn rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2011-nerdy-book-club-award-nominees, ya-fantasy

I spent the last day of 2011 reading Chime by Franny Billingsley, a remarkable book that my friend, Franki, encouraged me to read last sspring. I started Chime in March, but I never finished it. Other books called to me, so I set aside Billingsley’s strange, beautiful story. Chime wasn’t an easy book to fall into and I wanted a book that expected less of me at the time, I suppose.

Chime is about a girl named Briony who might be a witch. Chime is about a damp, dangerous place called Swampsea. Chi ...more

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Aug 10, 2011 Julia rated it liked it

I listened to this book as an audiobook. Big mistake. Billingsly doesn't differentiate between what her main character is saying using words & her silent mental retorts. Presumably she just uses quote marks in the print version, but in the audio version it's just confusing. Overall I liked the book, but I don't think it's Printz worthy. To be honest I was also underwhelmed by Billingsly's "Folk Keeper" for what that's worth. I thought the ending was predictable, but not in a bad way. Since I per ...more

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Aug 20, 2011 Heather Campbell rated it it was amazing

I've enjoyed Franny Billingsley's other books, so I'm not surprised that I loved this one. For me it was the perfect combination of mystery and romance, eeriness and sweetness. Beautifully written. ...more

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Apr 26, 2011 elissa marked it as gave_up

Shelves: fantasy, youngadult, listened-to, my_10s_reads, capitol_choices_archives

I tried to read this a couple of times earlier in the year, and didn't have any luck at all getting in to it. I heard in December that it was easier for some readers to get in to the audiobook, which I'm definitely finding to be true for me, but I'm still not sinking down in to it. There are things that are interesting, but I just don't think this is going to be one of my favorites of the year. I agree with anybody who has said that it's "over-written". ...more

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May 24, 2011 Gail rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy, 2011

While I wasn't crazy about it in the beginning, I really enjoyed it towards the middle and end. Not a book with a huge audience, because of the unusual voice of the narrator, but certain readers will eat it up. Try it for teens who loved A Curse Dark As Gold. ...more

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Oct 17, 2011 Jenna rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy

I listened to this on audiobook, and loved everything about it. The reader was awesome, as was the story. I'm in love with the characters Briony (what a great name!) and Eldric. This is a beautiful tale of dark magic, mystery, and romance. ...more

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