Learning to Live (Again)

Faerie Winter by Janni Lee Simner

First Look:

Just like the first one, this cover is beautifully stark (and lacks a fancy gown, hurrah!), somehow managing to convey an unsettling feeling while sticking with a nature theme.  Bottom line: I love these covers.

Note: this is the second volume in a series: spoilers below!

Jacket Copy:

The long-awaited sequel to Janni Lee Simner's breathtaking YA fantasy debut, Bones of Faerie.

Liza is a summoner. She can draw life to herself, even from beyond the grave. And because magic works both ways, she can drive life away. Months ago, she used her powers to banish her dangerous father and to rescue her mother, lost in dreams, from the ruined land of Faerie.

Born in the wake of the war between humanity and Faerie, Liza lived in a world where green things never slept, where trees sought to root in living flesh and bone. But now the forests have fallen silent. Even the evergreens' branches are bare. Winter crops won't grow, and the threat of starvation looms. And deep in the forest a dark, malevolent will is at work. To face it, Liza will have to find within herself something more powerful than magic alone.

Here at last is the sequel to Bones of Faerie, for all those fans of dark fantasy and dystopian adventure who thrilled to Janni Lee Simner's unique vision of a postapocalyptic world infused with magic.

Worth Reading?

Look, I hate saying it this way, but if you like this kind of thing, you'll like this kind of thing.  I don't care about whatever awesome thing the Lakers just did because I don't care about the Lakers, or NBA, or televised sports in general, but I do like this book (See Favorite Things listing for why)!

Sequel?

Yep, this is part of a Dreaded Trilogy.  The thing is, I don't think everything should be a trilogy, but a good trilogy is really cool.  This is a good trilogy (one of the best signs of that is that the second volume has its own plot and isn't just a lame connector between the first and third--Faerie Winter delivers)!

Favorite Things:

Scary Fae!  I love a story with faeries who are not Tinkerbell-ified.

Post-Apocalypse!  After the apocalypse comes the slow rebuilding, and I love to read about it.

Straightforward, Direct Writing!  Simner doesn't often indulge in large amounts of metaphor or other fancy literary devices that you learned about in high school English class.  This isn't always a Favorite Thing, but if your plot is strong enough, you don't need the window dressing.

Elaboration:

Liza is a great heroine: she's smart and decisive when she knows what to do, but not always very confident that she does know what the right thing is.  She doesn't even always know who (or what) the enemy is!  A lot of issues are dealt with: her relationship with her mother, her mother's past, her relationship with her boy friend/boyfriend, and with the rest of the village, as well as what to do about the dying earth.  For such a simply written book, Simner has packed it full of food for thought.

Disclosure:

Borrowed.