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Bones of Faerie was on the Spring 2009 Children's Indie Next List, was a 2010 Best Books for Young Adults nominee, and is a 2011 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults nominee. “This book has one of the best first chapters I know—and the rest of the book more than lives up to its promise. Pure, stunning, it is impossible to put down or forget.”
“With its dark, sharply imagined world, this will appeal to readers of Holly Black and Cassandra Clare.”
“The plotting is strong, and readers will want to stay with Liza until her questions are resolved.” “The mood is strikingly dark, and questions regarding mankind's tendency toward suspicion and xenophobia will loom large in readers' minds. ”
“The faerie elements blend seamlessly with the post-apocalyptic setting, and the resulting fantasy and science fiction hybrid will easily appeal to both audiences.”
“This book is just wonderful ... Simner does an excellent job with the world-building, designing this devastated place in the United States that still has enough remnants of today to make it familiar.”
“This title is intriguing from page one, and by page ten you'll be so completely hooked by Liza's story that you won't be able to put it down. Bones of Faerie is absolutely unforgettable.” “... think of it as a cross between a Neil Gaiman fairy tale and apocalytpic fiction.” “Part post-apocalyptic adventure tale and part folklore, Bones of Faerie is definitely built on familiar ground, until the ground sprouts vines that try to eat you ... part of what makes Bones of Faerie such a compelling read is that that Simner completely inhabits Liza's point of view, and her constant wariness and her confusion and anger at generosity give the book an emotional punch.” “Simner creates a fresh, compelling novel in a highly saturated fantasy market. The beginning resonates with tension and pulls the reader into a finely written, multilayered story ... They will also be satisfied by an ending that is optimistic yet not akin to a fairy tale.” “Simner perfectly captures the sense of danger with her stark prose and ratchets up the tension as readers slowly begin to unravel the terrible truth of what happened to the land of Faerie during the war. The characters are well drawn, and the resolution is deftly handled, being both satisfying and firmly grounded in Liza's emotional reality. Fans of Lois Lowry's trilogy, which includes The Giver (Houghton, 1993), will thoroughly enjoy this novel.” “Simner makes the most of her darkly clever conceit. 'Bones of Faerie' has plenty of action, but it is most affecting in its quieter moments ...” “Bones of Faerie lingers in the mind, like any good fairy tale, where it slowly reveals layers of meaning.” “Janni Lee Simner has created a completely original world that you will not be able to leave until you turn the last page.” “This is a lovely, quiet, sombre book about fear, war, and the possibility of healing, and some of the magic in the book is not actually magic; it's in the glimpses of abandoned cars and distant, crumbling architecture, the ghosts of a past that are our present. Simner makes it strange, and real, with her economical, graceful prose and her understated world-building.” “Janni Lee Simner makes an impressive debut with her first novel for young adults, Bones of Faerie. With graceful prose, primal tragedy, and a rigorous avoidance of teen angst ... Simner brings her complex characters quietly, yet vividly, to life.”
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