Review: Chime by Franny Billingsley

Chime by Franny Billingsley

Series: None

Published: March 17, 2011

Publisher: Dial

Pages: 361

Briony has a secret. 

It is a secret that killed her stepmother, ruined her sister's mind, and will end her life, if anyone were to know. She has powers. Then Eldric comes along with his golden lion eyes and a great mane of tawny hair. He is as natural as the sun, and he treats her as if she is extraordinary. And everything starts to change...

Chime is a haunting, brilliantly written novel that will stay with you--its magic, its romance, its world like none other.

I've been steadily working my way through a pile of books, and when I got to this, I definitely did not stay up past that time that is neither today nor tomorrow, into the wee hours of the night. Nope, definitely not ^_^

Franny's voice took me back in time, to times when I read Austen and Dickens, to the works of Shakespeare, to that beautiful epic poem, The Lady of Shallot. Imagine my surprise at the interview in the back, conducted by none other than Libba Bray, the very lady who introduced me to many things, including that epic poem. No squealing was present in the reading of that interview. Especially not when Jane and Rochester were mentioned.

You see, I loved Jane Eyre, and by all means, I shouldn't have loved it. Normally, I enjoy strong, independent characters, such as those of Tamora Pierce. Yet, here comes Rochester, trademarking everything I despise. And I did despise him. Until the end of course; because if there is one quality I love more than strong characters, it is redeemed characters. Which certainly explains my love for Snape.

Yet, I do not find Briony [MC] and Rochester similar. Quite the contrary; I found Rochester weak for embracing his emotions without temperance. Briony did not love herself. She hated herself. Naturally, she is a passionate person, and I saw the hate as a sort of temperance. For she did not feel, she thought. She knew of the idea of happiness, not the feeling. And while I may view self-hatred as despising and, well, hateful, I believe it takes strength. And because Briony had so much hatred for herself, I found that I really couldn't add my own hatred to that burden. She is not a hateful character. All I can do, is urge frustrated readers to keep on reading, even when they might be incredibly annoyed of the mystery of it all!

This book has wonderful influences, but is also set apart from those influences. Anyone could pick this up and understand. And, in my opinion, this story is one of the more redeeming types out there - I don't just mean that a character loses grace and finds it again, I mean that the entire story will throw you for a lope, but end with closure. It's an amazing feeling and experience that I encourage everyone to try.