Overview

Answers lie buried beneath a grave marker. Only it happens to be her own. Something was missing. Lexxie easily buries that niggling sense. After all, she's had all the love and protection a young woman needs. But when the man she thought to be her father spews a fever-pitched confession-that she was taken from her real family as an infant-her contented and isolated life ends. STIRRING... EXTRAORDINARY... UPLIFTING... Angry and heartbroken, Lexxie leaves the people she loves, following a mere hint-her true father lives in Vereiteln Dorf, two villages over. There, she's drawn to an unconsecrated graveyard. But the locals have secrets to keep and no answers to give. The more she probes, the more her presence threatens this superstitious village-and the more she gives credence to the voice in a pit of ashes. Now amid a 1688 witch hunt, the perils of a noose lie heavy on her shoulders. In the same village years earlier, young Meginhardt succumbs to a vicious attack. Ethereal beings take him on a time-traveling journey to conquer his perception of unworthiness. But when he learns some woman named Lexxie-not him-is chosen to carry forward his father's descendants, his dreams incinerate, and jealousy rises from their ashes. Now frantic to ensure this undeserving woman's demise, he delivers Lexxie a message, face-to-face. In apparitional form. Here lyeth more than buried secrets. Can Meginhardt and Lexxie resurrect the past and breathe life into their future? Set in fictionalized 17th century German-speaking villages, the settlements in Here Lyeth are ruled independently. Notably, one of them is notorious for its witch trials. Like gold threads in a tapestry, themes of faith are woven into the narrative.

Full Product Details

9781738290703

Table of Contents

Reviews

Reviewed by Julie Upshur for Reader Views (01/2025) Two characters born in tragedy forge their own fates Johanna Frank's Young Adult fantasy ""Here Lyeth"" is a tale of mythic proportion. Simultaneously, it is a close and intimate look into the complicated dynamics of a family visited by tragedy in the forms of prejudice, cowardice, malice, and poor character. Frank handles the story and each complicated character with great tact and care. No character can be dismissed as ""misguided"" or ""too cowardly"" to be worth the reader's full and compassionate consideration. This is no mean feat, given the depths to which some characters stoop. The story begins in a Germanic town called Vereiteln Dorf, and we land directly in a physical altercation between young Meginhardt, an abused son, and his father Witford, the abuser. But that's the only moment of normalcy because immediately supernatural forces come into play. Frank paints a masterful version of a vaguely Judaic heaven, with ""King""-ordained messengers and a soul-sorting system. Have no fear if faith is not your cup of tea. It serves as a fascinating fantasy world if that is how you prefer to see it. Frank's handling is subtle and story-forward. Once we have a handle on Meginhardt and understand that he has choices to make for his afterlife - for he's lost the altercation with his Pa in a final way - the novel switches gears. It takes us to meet the also young but tender and naïve Lexxie some years in the future, who we will eventually come to find is connected to Meginhardt in a surprising way. Lexxie has just discovered that the gruff but loving man she believes is her father, and the similarly gruff Grossmutter who she believes is her grandmother, are neither one who they say they are. She is actually a child who was stolen away from Vereiteln Dorf. They refuse to tell her more. She refuses to accept this. So begins a harrowing journey for Lexxie to discover the truth of who she is. Meginhardt, now a soul unable to interface with the physical world, plays a part behind the scenes. He struggles with the choice of being a help for Lexxie, who he views as a rival; or satisfying his own Pa-like desire for vengeance against an unsuspecting person. The teeter of good versus evil, forgiveness versus vengeance, and faith versus self-reliance push Meginhardt and Lexxie towards a harrowing climax that had me frantically flipping pages to see how it all ended. The happy ending will leave readers satisfied, but with some curiosity for Frank's other interconnected though not interdependent stories. It is written with adorned prose; Frank is clearly a lover of a unique turn-of-phrase, and the language itself is like a character. ""Here Lyeth,"" A Lifeline Fantasy Novel book 1, is a fantasy novel with a cozy feel to it, perfect for readers who enjoy intergenerational family dynamics, hidden histories, and specifically supernatural, not just fantastical, elements.

Author Information

Tab Content 6

Countries Available