The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco

Image courtesy of Titlewave.com
I have received an advance reader's copy of this book
in exchange for a fair review.

The Bone Witch 

by Rin Chupeco

Tea doesn't realize that she is special, until the day she raises her brother from the dead.  That event ignites the beginning of her epic journey to harness her power.  Tea is a "Dark Asha", very rare, and reviled by most.  Her singular job, once properly trained, will be to rid the land of monsters that the people call "Daeva".  But the ability to raise creatures from the dead isn't the only reason others are leery of Tea, her extraordinary gift means that other Asha aren't as powerful as they'd like to be.

I enjoyed getting to know Tea, both from her point of view, and the alternating voice of a young woman (I think) who is interviewing her.  She is a strong, loyal and smart young lady.  However, I had a hard time following the story line.  Chupeco's description of the world in which Tea lives relies too heavily on my imagination.  I didn't have any background knowledge on which to draw and the maps didn't fill in enough blanks for me.

I found myself confused by the characters and which land they came from.  I was also confused by the different abilities various Asha had.  It felt to me as if this book was written to become a movie.  I needed visual cues to help me through the story.  Chupeco writes in detail of the "hua" or dress that all Asha wear.  She describes her characters in detail so that you could practically smell them.  But, I just had a hard time putting it all together.

The ending was also perplexing.  I have no idea why Tea was exiled, why this young girl is interviewing her, what happened to her brother, and why this particular person ends up as her love interest.  I guess I'll have to read the next one to get my questions answered.

In summary, maybe I'm too old to follow the plot lines in this story.  I don't see any reason that it couldn't go in a middle school.  I added it to my book order, we'll have to wait to see if it circulates.  I'm hoping at least one of my regulars will read it so that they can explain it to me!