The Bone Witch
By Rin ChupecoSourcebooks Fire, 2017. 411 pages. Young Adult Fiction/Fantasy
Tea can raise the dead, but resurrection comes at a price...
When Tea accidentally resurrects her brother, Fox, 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.
Chupeco has weaved together a dark, descriptive, and unique tale with a wide array of cultural influences and personalities. The world the author has built is vivid and descriptive but not overly so, and her characters are sexually and racially diverse while also likable and relatable. The culture of the Asha reminds me of the Japanese geisha but with a bit of magic thrown in. This first book of the trilogy is a bit of a slow burn. The author tells the story through two separate perspectives, one from Tea's perspective in the present and one from a bard's perspective in the future. This format keeps the reader wondering how Tea got from where she is in the present to her future self. This decision on the author's part was frustrating at first, but the method was quite effective in luring you forward to the next chapter. This book didn't keep me up reading at night but was still a pleasant diversion. I'd recommend it to those who like books with morally gray characters, a touch of romance, a moderate amount of action, and dark magic.
JJC
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Odessa is one of Karthia's master necromancers, catering to the kingdom's ruling Dead. Whenever a noble dies, it's Odessa's job to raise them by retrieving their souls from a dreamy and dangerous shadow world called the Deadlands. But there is a cost to being raised: the Dead must remain shrouded. If even a hint of flesh is exposed, the grotesque transformation begins, turning the Dead into terrifying, blood thirsty Shades. A dramatic uptick in Shade attacks raises suspicions and fears among Odessa's necromancer community. Soon a crushing loss of one of their own leaves Odessa shattered, and reveals a disturbing conspiracy in Karthia: Someone is intentionally creating Shades by tearing shrouds from the Dead—and training them to attack. Odessa is forced to contemplate a terrifying question: What if her magic is the weapon that brings the kingdom to its knees? Fight alongside her follow necromancers—and a powerful girl as enthralling as she is infuriating—Odessa must untangle the gruesome plot to destroy Karthia before the Shades take everything she loves.
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