Bones of Faerie

I was sick this week.
The flu hit hard and the teacher sent herself home and right to bed! Wow, did I sleep!!
When I finally woke up and saw that I was indeed still human I delved into a book where people weren't sure if they were 'human' or not!

Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner
Set in a post-apocalyptic world, 20 years after the WAR with faeries and humans, the world is not an overdone wasteland filled with poison gas, but a world where plants have sought revenge, fighting back.

The war between humanity and Faerie devastated both sides. Or so 15-year-old Liza has been told. Nothing has been seen or heard from Faerie since, and Liza’s world bears the scars of its encounter with magic. Trees move with sinister intention, and the town Liza calls home is surrounded by a forest that threatens to harm all those who wander into it. Then Liza discovers she has the Faerie ability to see—into the past, into the future—and she has no choice but to flee her town. Liza’s quest will take her into Faerie and back again, and what she finds along the way may be the key to healing both worlds.

Janni Lee Simner’s first novel for young adults is a dark fairy-tale twist on apocalyptic fiction—as familiar as a nightmare, yet altogether unique.
(Amazon, product description)

Like most interesting stories, this is a personal story of life midst the chaos of the post-apocalypse. Folks have adapted. Change happens. So set with the backdrop of upheaval and global recovery, Liza's personal drama unfolds.

In the village of Franklin Falls, Liza believes all that her father tells her about magic being evil - that it must be cast out wherever and whenever it is found. She even believed it the night her father took her newborn sister out to the forest to die. Her sister, born with silver eyes, translucent hair; born with magic! Yet, she followed him and found that faeries didn't come to claim their own. Liza's mother was next - she just disappeared one day and Liza is left to sort the changes happening in her own life on her own. Now she's not so sure that magic is so terrible. Liza is confused and after a particularly brutal encounter with her vengeful father, Liza leaves her village to protect the villagers she loves. You see, Liza 's own magic is awakening within her and she doesn't exactly know what to do about it or with it. She dares not bring them pain or calamity as her magic becomes stronger.

Maybe it was my flu-induced stupor but I thought Liza was more than stubborn sometimes. I guess when you take into account the events of her life it may be natural, but it was one flaw that did not endear her to me. I did however love several of the sub-characters. The author was deft in crafting their qualities and voice. (Give me Alicia any day!)

I know that others have gushed over this book. By golly, the author herself seems truly awesome; but 4 days later I am still on the fence about this book. Was it too dark? Was I just too sick? I will admit that it read quickly, it was intriguing, but I was never totally head over heels in love with this one...

Will I try the sequel? Well, maybe, but not on a sick day.