I remember the exact day I found Chime. I had been at a festival because of my violin class, and I had wandered off to a booth that had stacks of books all around. There was a lady there who explained that these were all old library books that- for one reason or another- had been given away. I remember sitting there for at least an hour, carefully searching through those stacks for something good. I walked away that day with four books.
A Kiss In Time by Alex Flinn
The Lost Sun by Tessa Graton
Shadowfell by Juliet Marillilier
And Chime, by Franny Billingsley.
I'm sure I considered more books than that, but this happened years ago. I remember however, that I started with A Kiss In Time, but Chime quickly became my favorite. If you had asked me then, I probably would have told you that I loved the fantasy. It read like a fairy tale. I loved it then, and I love it now.
However, asking me now? I love it because of the way it's written. Metaphor upon metaphor, and the descriptions were beautiful. I felt each word in my soul. The feeling in this book, it's raw. You can feel it as if Briony is right there, whispering her story into your ears. This is the book that made me want to write.
I wanted to write like this, have these mixed-metaphor characters and paint pictures with words. I can thank Chime for being my tutor, and I wouldn't trade this book for any in the world.