Holly Bennett,
wordsmith
Holly Bennett, author
I'm the author of eight young adult novels, all published by Orca Book Publishers. My latest novels are Drawn Away and Casting Lily.
My books include: the Bonemender fantasy series (The Bonemender, The Bonemender's Oath, and The Bonemender's Choice), two novels inspired by Irish mythology (The Warrior's Daughter and Shapeshifter), Redwing, a medieval(ish) ghost story, and Drawn Away, a novel that brings together Hans Christian Andersen's Little Match Girl and a contemporary teen. Yes, I do seem to be inexplicably drawn to the magical, the mythical, and the just plain weird!
Click on the "read more" links for more info about
each novel, including an excerpt.
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DRAWN AWAY
One minute Jack's in math class. The next, he's on a dark, cobblestoned, empty street. Empty, that is, except for a skinny girl wrapped in a threadbare shawl.
"Matches, mister?" she asks, and just like that, Jack's life collides with one of Hans Christian Andersen's grimmest tales. And just when he has almost convinced himself it was just a weird dream, it happens again.
Suddenly, Jack's ideas about what is "real" or "possible" no longer apply. While he and his new girlfriend, Lucy, struggle to understand who or what the Match Girl is, they come to realize they must also find a way to keep Jack away from her. The Match Girl is not just a sad, lonely soul; she's dangerous. And each time Jack is drawn into her gray, solitary world, she becomes stronger, more alive...and more attached to Jack.
She wants to keep Jack for her very own, even if that means he will die.
CASTING LILY
Remembering her lines is the least of Ava's worries.
When Ava lands a part in a summer theatre play, she is thrilled. But is she good enough to hold her own in a professional production?
As the rehearsal pressures crank up, Ava struggles with her character, with the vocal demands of outdoor theatre, and with the annoying ego of her cast mate, Kiefer. It's only as she learns more about the real-life Lily on which her part is based that things begin to fall out of place.
But then one bad move jeopardizes Ava's chances of being able to perform on opening night.
An Orca Limelights book for readers 11-14.
REDWING
THE PLAGUE has taken Rowan's family. Alone and grief-stricken, he lives and travels in his family's old caravan, eking out a living by playing his button box in small towns. But everything changes when he meets Samik, a young musician from the Tarzine lands, who claims to be able to see Rowan's dead sister, Ettie. Not sure what to believe, but also not willing to let go of what could be the last link to his family, Rowan forms an alliance with Samik, unaware that he is putting himself in grave danger.
"Holly Bennett has crafted a wonderfully exciting story with great characters that the reader will cheer for . . . The story moves quickly, with many tense moments that will keep readers turning the pages to a surprising and satisfying conclusion." – CM Magazine
SHAPESHIFTER
A WOMAN trapped in the body of a deer. A dark sorcerer in relentless pursuit. A mysterious child, found alone on the slopes of a great mountain.
Set in the wild, magical landscape of Iron-Age Ireland, Shapeshifter is a tale of rapacious evil, quiet courage and the healing power of love.
Shapeshifter is the story of Sive, a young woman from a magical realm who became the Irish hero Finn mac Cumhail's first wife. At first I thought it was a story about fear and lost love. But as I got to know Sive better, I realized that it is really a story about courage, and about love's transformative power. Like any good character, there is more to her than first meets the eye.
THE WARRIOR'S DAUGHTER
WHEN THE GREAT Irish warrior, Cuchulainn, returns from war near death, his daughter, Luaine, takes her first painful steps toward an adult life unlike anything she has imagined.
As she faces loss, betrayal, suffering and fear, Luaine must find a strength that comes neither from the sword nor from her proud parentage, but from her own courageous spirit.
“Luaine’s tale... is a story of loss, betrayal and suffering; but it is also a story of redemption and hope. Holly Bennett becomes, book by book, an ever more accomplished writer of fantasy whose worlds are so real that the reader can see and understand a completely different world, yet sense the same universal gifts of courage, intelligence and compassion that we look for in contemporary settings.”
– Deakin Newsletter
THE BONEMENDER TRILOGY
GABRIELLE IS A BONEMENDER of extraordinary talent. Between her work as a healer and her duties as one of the royal family of Verdeau, her life is busy, comfortable and predictable—until the day a stranger arrives at her gate, desperately seeking help for his injured friend. To Gabrielle's wonder, they are Elves, a people not seen in Verdeau for many years. And they bring news of a coming invasion that threatens the freedom of the entire Krylian basin, Human and Elvish alike.
In The Bonemender, Gabrielle faces the horrors of the battlefield. In The Bonemender's Oath, the threat is more personal, as both Gabrielle and her brother Tristan must fight for their lives and for those they love. The Bonemender's Choice introduces a new generation and a new land, as Gabrielle and her friends seek to rescue two children kidnapped by seafaring pirates, following them to a land where plague threatens friends and foe alike.