What Wakes the Bells

February 15, 2025
When an ancient evil descends on her city, one girl considers the sacrifices required to thwart it. The city of Vaiwyn is alive; the streets are its veins, and its heart beats like a clock. Mina Strauss' family has a long history of protecting both the sentient city and its inhabitants. The city's five Vesper Bells were forged by the Lost Alchemist generations ago to hold back a great evil--if a bell tolled 13 times, that evil would be revived. A Strauss stands guard at each bell, cutting the clappers that grow back every night. Mina inherited her bell earlier than anticipated when her beloved father died of the Talus Pox. Now she contends with the weight of that responsibility--and her cold, distant mother's persistent disapproval. Mina finds solace with Max, the boy she's slowly been falling in love with, and she's with him the night her bell tolls 13 times and unleashes terror upon Vaiwyn. Mina is desperate to save the people she loves from imminent destruction, but there's more to Vaiwyn's history--and her own--than she knows. Despite strong prose, the exposition-heavy beginning and a few overly telegraphed plot twists hamper the narrative's pacing. Still, readers will likely be drawn to the original concept, complicated family dynamics, and well-articulated depth of demisexual Mina's developing relationship with Max. Most characters read white. Though this debut feels unevenly paced, the writing is strong, and the author shows promise. (content warnings)(Fantasy. 13-17)

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March 1, 2025

Gr 9 Up-In the magical city of Vaiwyn, apprentice bell-ringer Mina must guard a magical bell and prevent it from ringing 13 times, which will raise the demonic Bane. In her off-hours, she flirts with gentle City Hall intern Max and tries to avoid the withering scrutiny of her widowed mother. When disaster strikes and the city's statues start hunting citizens at night, Mina must hunt down a human host possessed by the Baneand face her darkest fears. In this gothic, gory story, the central conceit of worldbuilding is the core attraction. In a metaphor made literal through strong writing, Vaiwyn is a living, breathing, changing city with a mercurial personality. Citizens can send messages by pushing letters into the walls; glass windows change according to the city's mood; bodies must be preserved in the underground crypt because Vaiwyn's earth spits out coffins and puts out crematorium fires. Vaiwyn's immune system is its reincarnated Saints, most importantly the mysterious Lost Alchemist. And, like living bodies, Vaiwyn can become diseased-in this case, made rabid by the Bane, a fallen Saint. Mina's scholarly detective-work reveals how Bane was entrapped originally. And when Bane reveals that he has been possessing a person close to her, Mina must reconcile whether she has the strength of will to banish the demon without sacrificing someone she loves. VERDICT A fun, creepy read with a surprisingly gentle end.-Katherine Magyarody

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