The Bone Witch, Book 1
Young Adult Fiction
Sourcebooks Fire
March 7, 2017
400
In the captivating start to a new, darkly lyrical fantasy series for readers of Leigh Bardugo and Sabaa Tahir, Tea can raise the dead, but resurrection comes at a price... Let me be clear: I never intended to raise my brother from his grave, though he may claim otherwise. If there's anything I've learned from him in the years since, it's that the dead hide truths as well as the living. When Tea accidentally resurrects her brother from the dead, she learns she is different from the other witches in her family. Her gift for necromancy means that she's a bone witch, a title that makes her feared and ostracized by her community. But Tea finds solace and guidance with an older, wiser bone witch, who takes Tea and her brother to another land for training. In her new home, Tea puts all her energy into becoming an asha--one who can wield elemental magic. But dark forces are approaching quickly, and in the face of danger, Tea will have to overcome her obstacles...and make a powerful choice. Memoirs of a Geisha meets The Name of the Wind in this brilliant new fantasy series by Rin Chupeco!
Review:
“The Bone Witch” is a satisfying fantasy filled with well-researched mythology and folklore that is exactly what I needed to read right now.
Tea finds out she is a Bone Witch when she accidentally raises her brother from the dead at his funeral. As you would imagine, that was disturbing to anyone witnessing it. The rest of the book is split between her story from that point and on into her training as an asha (witch) and the present, in which she is in a vastly different situation recounting it all to an exiled bard from another kingdom. It doesn’t create confusion, as the story comprises the main chapters and the present is in italics between them.
My favorite part is that much of the story reaches a conclusion, while some remains a mystery, and other parts have foreshadowing you can only guess at what it means. And the ending. Oh man. The ending.
If you love mythology, folklore, revenants, kickass girls who turn into kickass women, diverse characters, just a touch of romance, all-around creepy stuff, and Tom Hiddleston (I’ll leave it to you to figure that one out), then “The Bone Witch” is for you. Highly recommended!
This unbiased review is based upon a complimentary copy provided by the publisher.
Content Warnings:
Language, Violence, Disturbing Imagery
