Janni Lee Simner
Author of Bones of Faerie
About the Author
Image credit: author's website
Series
Works by Janni Lee Simner
Wishbook Days 1 copy
Alien Promises 1 copy
Virginia Woods 1 copy
Three Wish Habit 1 copy
Raising Jenny 1 copy
Crossings {short story} 1 copy
Bra Melting 1 copy
Stone Tower [short fiction] 1 copy
Tearing Down the Unicorns 1 copy
Associated Works
Moving Targets and Other Tales of Valdemar (2008) — Contributor, some editions — 665 copies, 14 reviews
Bruce Coville's Book of Nightmares: Tales to Make You Scream (1995) — Contributor — 232 copies, 1 review
Bruce Coville's Book of Nightmares II: More Tales to Make You Scream (1997) — Contributor — 50 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1967-11-03
- Gender
- female
- Occupations
- novelist
short story writer
young adult writer - Agent
- Nancy Gallt
- Relationships
- Hammer, Larry (husband)
- Nationality
- USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- USA
Members
Discussions
Name That Book: Children's Scary Story about Moon in Name that Book (May 2017)
Reviews
Tiernay Markowitz, a.k.a. Tierney West, isn’t about to let being in elementary school stop her from emulating T. J. Redstone, the adventurer heroine of her dad’s novels. Dragged along to dinner with her mother, her mother’s boyfriend, and the boyfriend’s son Kevin (who’s in Tiernay’s grade), she happens to overhear the couple at the next table talking about the possibility of Revolutionary War gold in Tiernay’s small Connecticut town—and the game is afoot.
Tiernay is a funny, show more resourceful, likeable heroine, full of humorous observations. Forced to get dressed up for the dinner, she thinks,
Later, when she wants to rescue Kevin from a kid at school who’s teasing him, she thinks,
She doesn’t let that stop her, though: she relies on time-tested skills: I stretched out my foot and tripped him.
Each chapter starts with Tiernay’s imagination of the T. J. Redstone-type situation she’s in, and then opens up into the actual reality. Chapter 8, for instance begins with our heroine scaling a sheer cliff:
Reality is a little different, but still quite challenging:
Tiernay’s pursuit of Revolutionary War gold turns up a riddle, a stolen sword, and surprising revelations about her own ancestors. Kevin, unwilling to get involved at first, grows into the role of sidekick, and although he’s not as good at scaling a bluff as Tiernay, he does have a handy way with a flashlight in a dark pinch. All in all, a great read for middle-grade adventurers. show less
Tiernay is a funny, show more resourceful, likeable heroine, full of humorous observations. Forced to get dressed up for the dinner, she thinks,
T. J. Redstone wouldn’t be caught dead in a skirt and dress shoes. She probably wouldn’t be caught alive in them, either.
Later, when she wants to rescue Kevin from a kid at school who’s teasing him, she thinks,
In the karate class I’m taking, there are hundreds, maybe even thousands, of ways to disable your opponent. Unfortunately, I’d only been to one class so far, and all we’d had time for were warm-ups and going over the rules. I hadn’t even gotten to kick anything yet.
She doesn’t let that stop her, though: she relies on time-tested skills: I stretched out my foot and tripped him.
Each chapter starts with Tiernay’s imagination of the T. J. Redstone-type situation she’s in, and then opens up into the actual reality. Chapter 8, for instance begins with our heroine scaling a sheer cliff:
The cliff wall was a mile high and sheer as ice. Tiernay West carefully felt for every handhold, every possible foothold, however slight.
Reality is a little different, but still quite challenging:
I set a foot into the face of the bluff. The foot sank into damp earth, making a foothold where there hadn’t been one before. I reached up, grabbing a root with one hand, more mud with the other, and I started scrambling up, hand, foot, hand, foot. It was a lot like climbing a tree, only squishier.
Tiernay’s pursuit of Revolutionary War gold turns up a riddle, a stolen sword, and surprising revelations about her own ancestors. Kevin, unwilling to get involved at first, grows into the role of sidekick, and although he’s not as good at scaling a bluff as Tiernay, he does have a handy way with a flashlight in a dark pinch. All in all, a great read for middle-grade adventurers. show less
Simner's vision of a post-apocalyptic world due to the clash between faerie and mortals is one that rides the border between intriguing and horrifying. PLants have come to life and gone rogue in their quest for human blood, turning the world into a possible death trap and forcing humans to fight to even harvest enough food to eat. Any child or person with a trace of magic in Liza's town is quickly "dealt with," so when our young protagonist begins to have visions she is justifiably show more horrified. Fleeing her town in the company of a shape-shifting boy (Matthew) has unexpected consequences, as Liza discovers that many people have magical skills and are accepted for their talents in other towns less judgemental than her own. Liza's discoveries seem to be meant to turn the world upside down, since she is able to cross to the Faerie world through the magic of her visions and to bring back a faerie seed and call it into growth. This causes a return of the seasons to the mortal world, and seems to be the first step in restoring balance to both worlds. show less
I don't know what I expected of this book, but whatever it was, it wasn't what I got. Liza--the protagonist--fails to fit the role given to her of a strong-willed, skillful teen, who just wants to make things right. I failed to find any depth or sincerity in her emotions and feelings, and felt like they were just words on a page. Nothing more. I don't think I knew enough of her before I was suddenly told that she conveniently possessed the perfect skills needed in any situation. Hunting, show more knife wielding, stealth, surviving the wild, calling people back from the dead, and traveling through visions; all of these skills seemed to be brought up exactly and only when they were needed. Also, after Liza is whipped by her father, runs away, and falls in the river, the supposedly excruciating pain from the lashes is conveniently not a hindrance. In fact, it isn't even mentioned until after it is already healed by Allie. That's the thing that really got to me about this book: things happened too conveniently for my taste, without a lot of explanation or foreshadowing. Plus, where was the excitement? Where was the intensity of not knowing the outcome? In every situation the characters were put through, I never worried because it was clear that someway, somehow, Liza would pull a wildcard out of her pocket and get them all through safely. Besides fetching a rabbit for dinner, what was the point of having Matthew along? Yes, he was able to guide them through a few feet of the road, but I expected a bigger role for him. I mean, he's a WOLF! And don't get me started on Allie; Yes, she healed Liza, but after that her glory was in drowning and allowing Liza to find out that she could call her back from the dead. I also wish there had been more explanation about the war. Aside from a few hints, we are never really told what went on during the war, and what happened to the other billion people on the planet. Did this spread to other states or countries? All we know is that humans and fae didn't like each other and they fought because of it. It is hinted that Liza's mother returning to the human world may have had something to do with the war, but what was the actual instance that set off this massive war that tore apart both worlds? Aren't fae supposed to be a little smarter than that? And are Caleb and Karin the only ones left from the faerie world? There are so many questions left unanswered!I really think this book could have been much better had the author chosen to allow some of the other characters' powers shine. Or maybe if she had made the task seem more impossible, instead of allowing a straight path to their destination; one where--mysteriously--the trees and plants couldn't touch them. Or, even, if she hadn't given them all such a happy ending where Liza got everything she hoped for...except for the cat, but I think tallow was really just a pet to keep Allie occupied. show less
War between Faerie and the humans devastated both realms. A generation later, teenaged Liza and her town are barely surviving among the wreckage. Liza's father has kept the town alive though ruthless destruction of anything touched by magic, so when Liza starts having visions she knows she has to leave immediately--or be killed by her own father.
I was fascinated by the post-apocalyptic world Liza lives in, where "good" plastic is prized and even a single dandelion is dangerous. The magic show more seems appropriately powerful and scary. And I loved reading Liza's progression from cringing believer to a purposeful problem-solver. This is a dark book--Liza is abused by her father for years, andher little sister is sacrificed and then comes back as a ghost baby. But it's not unrelievedly dark: Liza has allies against her father and eventually deals with him; her relationship with her ghost baby sister is actually really sweet. show less
I was fascinated by the post-apocalyptic world Liza lives in, where "good" plastic is prized and even a single dandelion is dangerous. The magic show more seems appropriately powerful and scary. And I loved reading Liza's progression from cringing believer to a purposeful problem-solver. This is a dark book--Liza is abused by her father for years, and
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