Bone Gap in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

May 05, 2015 Abby Johnson rated it liked it

Phenomenal writing. I spent most of the book trying to figure out what the hell I was reading. It's fairy tale-ish with amazingly strong female characters. ...more

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Apr 15, 2015 Renata rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, ya

This took me a little while to get into, but once I got into it, I was HOOKED.

Also I want to re-read it ASAP/

Also normally I kind of hate magical realism soo if I liked it, that's a really good sign. ...more

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Dec 24, 2016 Sarah rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, american-fiction, young-adult-fiction

Review coming soon...

UPDATE: I'm finally getting around to writing a review of this book I read on my Christmas vacation. It's a really good magic realism YA novel with an unusual set of romances. I love magic realism and I don't see as much of it as I'd like in bestseller YA novels - they seem to all be realistic fiction or fantasy. I loved the focus, in this novel, on bodyshaming, slut shaming, and toxic masculinity, all of which are countered in subtle, beautiful, and sensitive ways. My one c ...more

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Sep 21, 2015 Kaitlin rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery, ya, mythology, magical-realism

I picked this book up because it won the Printz and I'm a YA fan, so it seemed like a good bet. I didn't read much about it in advance of jumping in, so I didn't realize that it had an element of magical realism. It threw me off for a bit (the castle was the first hint and really pulled me out of the story to think, what the heck is going on here?) but once I regained my footing and understood where we were going, I enjoyed it.

While I read mythology in elementary and high school many years ago, I picked this book up because it won the Printz and I'm a YA fan, so it seemed like a good bet. I didn't read much about it in advance of jumping in, so I didn't realize that it had an element of magical realism. It threw me off for a bit (the castle was the first hint and really pulled me out of the story to think, what the heck is going on here?) but once I regained my footing and understood where we were going, I enjoyed it.

While I read mythology in elementary and high school many years ago, the story that this pulls elements from, Persephone, wasn't one that stuck with me (the beast, I seem to recall, was part of the plot. I don't remember anything about corn stalks, thought maybe that was part of it? And the gap must have been, but it just didn't light up my memory at all. Maybe bees were part of the myth, too?). Some of those elements that hearkened back to the myth felt either a little forced or just out of left field to me, but I'm sure that was just because I don't remember the finer points of the myths the author was invoking.

I loved the language of this book--it was lush and beautiful. There's a theme of Other People in this book--what do others think of you vs. what do you think of yourself (the Rudes, Sean, Roza, Finn, Petey, Charlie Valentine). It's interesting and something that makes sense to include in a YA book.

The sense of setting was really strong--it's a rural landscape complete with farms, country roads, fairs, chicken's, and bales of hay.

The characters seemed real, if slightly otherworldly/characterized, too. (view spoiler) The story was great, the writing was wonderful, and I did, ultimately, enjoy this book. ...more

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Aug 06, 2015 Leah Fitzgerald rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, 2015

This book was spectacular. Dreamy and magical, full of amazing references (dawn's rosy fingers, pomegranates, a brief sighting of a man on a skiff), and just a wonderful, perfect story. ...more

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Oct 26, 2015 Maryanne rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ya-books

Really beautiful and unique book.

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Apr 11, 2018 Nicole Adrienne rated it it was ok

Shelves: young-adult, fiction, read-in-2018

As much as I love YA, I still can't do magical realism. I'm sure this is a lovely book for those who enjoy the genre. I was just a little cranky that this was billed as a kidnapping story and wasn't that at all. ...more

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