Chime in Mock Newbery 2026

Mar 14, 2011 Katieb (MundieMoms) rated it really liked it

Shelves: mundie-moms-review, 2011-100-book-challenge, arcs-i-own

CHIME is a very unique, original, YA historical, paranormal story, and unlike anything I've read before. There's not another book I can even compare it to. It's turn of the century setting in England, it's cast of characters ranging from mortals to the "old ones" like witches, the Chime Child, a Brownie, the Bogey Man and Muckey Face, and the prose in which Franny wrote it in make this a most fascinating read.

Briony is a broken, yet strong character. She's someone who's grown up being taught to CHIME is a very unique, original, YA historical, paranormal story, and unlike anything I've read before. There's not another book I can even compare it to. It's turn of the century setting in England, it's cast of characters ranging from mortals to the "old ones" like witches, the Chime Child, a Brownie, the Bogey Man and Muckey Face, and the prose in which Franny wrote it in make this a most fascinating read.

Briony is a broken, yet strong character. She's someone who's grown up being taught to hate herself and has come to believe she's a witch, thanks to her late step mother. She feels responsible for every bad thing that has happened to her family and those around her. She also has a gift, the second site and can see the various creatures/characters that live in the swamp surrounding her town called Swampsea. If anyone finds out she's a witch, she'll be hung. My heart broke for Briony. She's a hard character to relate to, as she's not one that opens up at all. I understand why she's so guarded. She has many secrets to keep, she has a fierce devotion to her twin sister Rose, and she has been made to feel she's evil, and unlovable. All that changes when Eldric enters her life and makes her see herself in a different light.

My favorite characters are Eldric and Rose. Eldric is a true turn of the century gentleman and the way he treats Briony and Rose will have readers swept off their feet. He is charming, has a slight bad boy streak, but what I loved most about him his is ability to make the characters feel at ease and open up to him. He is also the only one who really sees Briony and Rose for who they really are. Rose is a character you'd deem as mentally challenged, and slow, but she sees so much more than what people give her credit for. There's so much more to Rose than meets the eye that I loved knowing. While CHIME has a sweet, turn of the century romance, the story is truly about Briony. She's been robbed of so much, and with Eldric she slowly but surely learns she is capable of being loved and loving others. It's so heartbreaking and hopeful all at the same time.

CHIME has a brilliantly written twisted plot. There's a lot that Franny throws into the plot via her characters. There's some characters I enjoyed getting to know and others I loathed. The setting is captivating, as Swampsea is both eerie and suspenseful, and is a character in it's own right. It's so vividly described that it wasn't hard to picture it. The writing, the prose in which Briony talks gave CHIME an older feel which will be appealing to both YA fans and adult readers. The authentic writing style adds character to the story, even though in the beginning it was a little frustrating for me. CHIME wasn't a story I was able to get right into, but it's one that slowly grew on me. It's the second half of the story that I completely fell in love with.

CHIME has a lot of elements in it. The story itself will offer something different to YA readers, and it's the fact that I'm still thinking about it that has made me give it 4 stars. With it's complex storyline, interesting lore, and the way in which it's underlying message is told, make this an unforgettable, unique story. I recommend picking up CHIME tomorrow when it's out on bookstore shelves. ...more

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Oct 24, 2011 Dest rated it really liked it

Shelves: scary, fantasy, british, audio, teen

Flowery writing can be wonderful or terrible. I went back and forth on Franny Billingsley, but clearly some important people were into this, as it was dramatically shortlisted for the National Book Award. Though the subject matter is completely different, I'd say if you were into The Underneath, there's a good chance you'll also enjoy Chime.

There's more mystery to Chime than I anticipated. Briony, our unreliable narrator, lives in a world of self-hate and metaphorical mask-wearing. But I could ...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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Jun 24, 2011 Wendy rated it liked it

Shelves: 2011-award-possibilities

I recognize this as being well-written, but it's far enough outside my comfort/interest zone that I couldn't love it. People who actually like faery stuff should read it.

But to be honest... while I see that it's a good book, I was expecting something astonishing, based on all the buzz I've read. (Whenever I say something like that I cringe, wondering if I sound as unintelligent as people who ask what's so great about When You Reach Me.) I thought it was good, but not a standout.

What I liked best ...more

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Mar 02, 2011 Jess rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, national-book-award-finalist, fantasy

I'm still trying to sort out how I feel about this, even though it's been a while since I finished it. I just put the audio version on hold to give it a second go, which is often my approach when I can't decide. I loved parts of it - I thought the characters were well done, and the language was mostly fantastic. Initially, the language drew me into the story, along with the sense of mystery. The world-building is pretty vivid and goes nicely with the language, although after a while the style al ...more

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Nov 11, 2010 Alison rated it it was amazing

Shelves: writing-to-write-home-about, 2011, high-school, fantasy

Oh, the writing in this book! I loved every word of it.

Lush and strange, rich and sophisticated, incredibly imaginative and deeply wise. This is a terrific read for intelligent mature teens, and fantasy-loving adults. Briony is a fantastic female lead and her relationship with Eldric seems wonderfully adult -- by which I mean that it's not just a teen infatuation, but the real thing. ...more

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Aug 14, 2011 Susan rated it it was ok

Shelves: teen-fiction, teen-fiction-fantasy-sci-fi

This was a very odd book. I wanted to love it after hearing raves about it from lots of people, but just didn't really care for it. I spent 3/4 of the book trying to figure out if this book was a "for real" fantasy or if the main character was simply psychotic.

edited to add that my 8th grader really liked this book a lot, FWIW. ...more

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Nov 30, 2011 Susan Dunn added it

Shelves: audio-books, could-not-finish, ya-fiction

On Lauren's behalf, I so don't want to like this! We shall see...

OK - yay, I honestly didn't like it! Got through about on CD and thought the book was confusing and not that interesting. I'm returning it! ...more

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Dec 19, 2011 Rebekah rated it liked it

Shelves: ya, fantasy, historical-fiction

This book was very hard for me to get into, but thanks to a long car trip, I finally got around to listening to it. I didn't love it, but it had some wonderful imagery, language and descriptions.

"Life and stories are alike in one way: They are full of hollows. The king and queen have no children: They have a child hollow. The girl has a wicked stepmother: She has a mother hollow. In a story, a baby comes along to fill the child hollow. But in life, the hollows continue empty."

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Jan 11, 2012 Chrissy rated it really liked it

Shelves: teen, fantasy

A difficult start, but worth it in the end. The language, while beautiful and well done, is also rather dense, and hard for me to get through. Briony is a great character, but her narration can be confusion because she is not a reliable narrator. I read for a long time before things became clear. However, in the end, all the characters; Rose, Eldric, and the Old Ones are all worth the time.

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Jan 31, 2011 Kris Springer rated it it was amazing

Beautiful, beautiful writing--Billingsley is one of my favorite authors, so I've been waiting a long time for this one!

The humor, sadness, and tone of the writing lift it above the regular teen novel. This one stays for a while. The wonder of how Billingsley created her characters and such a rich setting and plot is impressive. If you enjoy fantasy and romance, read it! ...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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Mar 03, 2011 Michele rated it liked it

Shelves: youngadult-13andup, fantasy

Very stream of consciousness which makes it hard to get into at first and somewhat confusing in the middle, but if you can make it to the end, it's a very touching love story. ...more

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