What Wakes the Bells

After her father’s death, 18-year-old Mina Strauss, reeling from grief, is forced to take on the mantle as a bell keeper of the sentient city of Vaiwyn before she’s ready. The importance of her position can be overwhelming: if keepers do not cut the perpetually regrowing clappers of their bells, their ringing will reawaken a slumbering evil. Then one day, despite careful maintenance, her bell rings anyway, and Vaiwyn turns against its people. Stone gargoyles and bronze statues throughout the city come to life to hunt citizens, buildings morph to trap inhabitants inside, and the disease that killed her father begins running rampant. Now, Mina; her boyfriend, Max; and the other Keepers—including her often cruel and overbearing mother—must uncover the truth behind what slept beneath the city and how to stop it before Vaiwyn destroys itself. Tesch’s debut is rife with imaginative worldbuilding that renders Vaiwyn with as much humanity as headstrong and likable Mina. While the novel’s denouement retreads well-worn tropes, there is much to love in this inventive adventure, including the clever setting, ominous atmosphere, and complex character relationships. The protagonists cue as white. Ages 13–up. (Mar.)