What Wakes the Bells

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.