Chime by Franny Billingsley

What You Need to Know:  This beautifully written steampunkish fairy tale is an antidote to cookie cutter supernatural romances, and one of my best books of 2011. 


Summary:  Briony Larkin is 17 years old and a witch.  She knows that she is evil;  responsible for her sister Rose's mental difficulties.  However, she must care for Rose and that means keeping her ability to hear the Old Ones a secret.  The Old Ones call to Briony, and beg her to tell their stories. 


But the world is changing, and engineers plan to drain the swamp.  This angers the Old Ones, and in retaliation, the children of Swampsea are stricken with a deadly cough.  When Rose takes ill, Briony knows she must do whatever it takes to save her.  Adding to Briony's troubles is Larkin, the charming son of the an engineer, who is determined to puzzle out Briony's secrets.  


What Worked:  Billingsley is one of the most engaging and skillful writers I have ever read.  This book is all about journey -- there are no real surprises here.  However, Billingsley takes familiar tropes and skews them, twisting her story so that plot is secondary to the rich world building and vibrant characterizations.  Swampsea, like Lyra's Jordan, is a world just left of our own, where magic is real and modernity bumps up uncomfortably against the old ways.  The Old Ones of the Swamp, with few exceptions, are dangerous, but not sinister, and Briony's connection to them seems organic and real.  Briony herself is one of the most fully realized characters I've come across.  Unlike many heroines, she is not inhumanly perfect, not a blank Mary Sue, but a real girl, in extraordinary circumstances, trying to do the right thing.  The supporting cast is equally well drawn, from the perplexing Rose to the engaging boy-man Larkin.  Briony and Larkin's romance is sweet and believable, not fairy tale perfect.  


The first word that pops to mind when discussing Chime is beautiful.  Beautiful language, beautiful setting, beautiful story.  


What Didn't:  It's hard for me to find a flaw here.  I do think that the cover of the book fails to do it justice, as the blandly pretty goth-child pictured here comes nowhere close to embodying Briony's spirit and passion.


P.S. -- I read this book in ARC, and then listened to the audiobook with my daughter.   In someways, the audiobook is superior to the novel, as Susan Duerden does a masterful reading, and brings Billingsley's language to life. 

Return of the Dapper Men by Jim McCann and Janet Lee.

What You Need to Know:  This is a beautifully produced, magnificently illustrated graphic novel, that suffers slightly from an obtuse story. 


Summary:  In Andorev, where there is no time, robots live above ground, tending tasks that have lost their meaning.  Children live underground, constantly creating, never asking why.  The robots and the children do not mingle, except for Zoe, a silent girl robot and Ayden, a boy child who asks questions even if there are no answers.

Andorev changes forever with the appearance of the Dapper Men, 314 nattily dressed gentlemen who fall from the sky.  One of the Dapper Men, 41, finds Ayden and Zoe, and shows them what they have forgotten.  


What Works:  This book is breathtaking.  Lee's artwork is spectacular, combining hand coloring with decoupage to create a surreal, intricate landscape inhabited by distinct but similar characters.  Archaia has given this book the deluxe hardcover treatment, and the oversized hardcover does justice to the high caliber artwork on display. 


What Doesn't:  McCann, best known as a superhero writer, is attempting to tell a mythic fable here, and doesn't quite achieve it.  The motives of the Dapper Men, what happened to Andorev, the history of the children and robots are more implied than told.  As a result, this fairy tale story of lost time and eternal children will resonate more with adults than with children, making this an all ages title that most kids will struggle with. 


However:  Adults will adore this volume, it is unique in the graphic novel category, and a good example of an independent graphic novel.  


Who Would I Give This Book Too:  Art lovers, adults, fellow librarians.