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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Jennifer Givhan’s writing? Gorgeous. Lush. A little too lush, honestly—like someone seasoning a good stew and just keeps going. The result is a fast-paced, chaotic mystery filled with Mexicali myth, missing women, and mother-daughter drama that’s equal parts haunting and frustrating.
Malamar, our main character, is… a lot. Her behavior had me saying “girl, please” more times than I care to count. Her missing sister, Elena, casts a long shadow over the story, and her daughters, Griselda and Amaranta, try their best to keep things grounded (bless them). I appreciated the commentary on how crimes against women—especially women of color—are often ignored or mishandled. That part hit hard.
But despite all the potential, the story felt like it kept dropping threads it didn’t want to tie up. Clues were scarce, plotlines wandered, and my motivation became mostly “vibes only.” I don’t regret reading it… but I’m not lining up to do it again.
Chaotic, intriguing, and occasionally confusing—Salt Bones is the kind of book you read with a furrowed brow, a raised eyebrow, and maybe a candle lit just in
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The marketing of this book is does this book a disservice. While Salt Bones is a solid supernatural-tinged thriller, a retelling of Persephone and Demeter it is not. While there are some common elements like a daughter who disappears, taken by an unknown force, and a mother trying to bring her back, there is very little else tying it to the myth. I kept looking for more elements of the original myth and was disappointment when I couldn’t find any, and that definitely colored my opinion of the story.
One of my favorite things about the story were the vivid, haunting visions that followed Mal. I loved the way that she appeared at every turn and made the author and the main character question her reality. Was this a real case of supernatural figures luring and taking young women? Or is she a figure of her imagination? Ingrained through cultural mythology and the fears she has from years of trauma.
Unfortunately I did feel like the ending was somewhat predictable. Short of the involvement of a few key players it all boils down to the original hypothesis. Things also, for the most part, work out exactly as you guess they will. There’s also a somewhat throwaway line in the final chapter about inheritances that just seems so…flippant? Like that things would be resolved so easily.
I don’t know why, but this book struggled for me. The characters were messy and I was empathetic with the way their tragedy changed their lives, but it felt as if Mal was completely convicted that her often selfish and bizarre choices about her relationships and her daughters aren’t really criticized. It’s acknowledged that she can be overprotective but never fully gives any credence to the fact that this may not fully be a good thing.
I did appreciate that this story shed light on the way young women who disappear are treated, and how family influence changes how they’re regarded. I think that this is an important narrative, but it wasn’t exactly a top story of the summer for me. 3/5, with thanks to Aardvark for offering so many choices.
One of my favorite things about the story were the vivid, haunting visions that followed Mal. I loved the way that she appeared at every turn and made the author and the main character question her reality. Was this a real case of supernatural figures luring and taking young women? Or is she a figure of her imagination? Ingrained through cultural mythology and the fears she has from years of trauma.
Unfortunately I did feel like the ending was somewhat predictable. Short of the involvement of a few key players it all boils down to the original hypothesis. Things also, for the most part, work out exactly as you guess they will. There’s also a somewhat throwaway line in the final chapter about inheritances that just seems so…flippant? Like that things would be resolved so easily.
I don’t know why, but this book struggled for me. The characters were messy and I was empathetic with the way their tragedy changed their lives, but it felt as if Mal was completely convicted that her often selfish and bizarre choices about her relationships and her daughters aren’t really criticized. It’s acknowledged that she can be overprotective but never fully gives any credence to the fact that this may not fully be a good thing.
I did appreciate that this story shed light on the way young women who disappear are treated, and how family influence changes how they’re regarded. I think that this is an important narrative, but it wasn’t exactly a top story of the summer for me. 3/5, with thanks to Aardvark for offering so many choices.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is a haunting, suspenseful, lovingly crafted, absolutely mournful tale of secrets and hidden truths, set in the desolate landscape known as the Salton Sea. I wanted to read this book because the Salton Sea is a region I studied in university as part of my water rights course and because I’ll read just about anything that speaks to my love of female rage. Let me tell you that Salt Bones is so much more than just female rage and the injustice of the polluted Salton Sea: it’s a fantastic story about intergenerational trauma, racism, colonization, stolen land, parentification, misogyny, greed, the Mexican-American diaspora, and the long-term consequences of factory farming and big agriculture practices.
I know that sounds like a lot to take in, but stick with me. Author Jennifer Givhan has written a rich, complex, diverse tapestry of characters for this novel that help give this story so much depth and dimension. There are families, friends, townspeople, strangers, villains, and all of them have a definite presence on the page, even if they’re only seen for a page or two. When you add the characters to the texture, darkness, and mystery the sea and the Sonoran Desert both lend to the atmosphere, it weaves a mighty spell of a story that edges right up to the line between thriller and horror but doesn’t quite step over. It’s absolutely terrific. 5⭐️
Thanks to the author and Books Forward PR for sending me an advanced copy of this title. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you!
File Under: 5 Star Review/LGBTQ Fiction/Literary Fiction/Magical Realism/OwnVoices/Psychological Thriller/Suspense Mystery/Suspense Thriller/Women’s Fiction