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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
dark
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
First off - this story as a lot of triggers, starting with domestic abuse and the child sex trade. It doesn’t end there so just be aware. A little draggy at first but the story picked up. It is a well written Christian fiction that showed many levels of belief and doubt.
CW: (I'm going to censor this as a spoiler because it might give some parts of the story away. Only open if there are triggers you're concerned about.)
The characters rely heavily on their faith to get them through hard times, and while I can appreciate that religion also helps many, many people in real life, I felt like it was mentioned a little too often. However, I feel like I should stress that this is an important read, regardless of your beliefs. I identify as an atheist, but I still loved this story and was inspired with how strong the characters were. I was also touched and impressed by the overall meaning- Cantrell's writing really drives the message into your brain: You are loved. Whether that love is coming from your friends, your family, a God, your pets... people need you and care about you more than you realize.
If you're looking for a book about courage, grief, and strength, check this one out.
Spoiler
Child abduction, multiple mentions of rape and/or sexual abuse of a minor, human trafficking, suicide.The characters rely heavily on their faith to get them through hard times, and while I can appreciate that religion also helps many, many people in real life, I felt like it was mentioned a little too often. However, I feel like I should stress that this is an important read, regardless of your beliefs. I identify as an atheist, but I still loved this story and was inspired with how strong the characters were. I was also touched and impressed by the overall meaning- Cantrell's writing really drives the message into your brain: You are loved. Whether that love is coming from your friends, your family, a God, your pets... people need you and care about you more than you realize.
If you're looking for a book about courage, grief, and strength, check this one out.
This book tackles some dark subjects - human trafficking and suicide - and it does so in a moving and thoughtful way. So much so that when the suicide aspect was brought in I just about couldn't handle it, it seemed like to much tragedy to add to an already tragic story. I easily got wrapped up in the life of the main character - Amanda, who is the main narrator of the book. She is on a school field trip with her daughter Ellie and her daughter's best friend Sarah that the tragedies begin. Sarah disappears after a trip to the restroom and what begins as a frantic search turns into a nightmare as she remains missing for months. Even though Amanda is a social worker, she has trouble bearing up under the strain of feeling guilty, trying to help a daughter who has withdrawn into herself, and enduring the verbal abuse that her husband Carl flings at her. Those scenes where he abuses her were some of the really tough ones for me to read, by the way. She seemed to handle things pretty well otherwise but she sure had a blind spot when it came to her husband. I wanted to shake her and tell her to get out of that relationship! Amanda does have a lot of positives in her life - including her two best friends (one of whom is Sarah's mother), a best guy friend she's had since childhood (and yes, possible love interest later on), and her partner in her counseling practice. They all support her through thick and thin, even Sarah's mother. The parents of Sarah come off as pretty incredible people, by the way, not that they aren't hurting they just seem to really have a deep faith that helps them through the tragedy. Amanda has faith too, but hers is a lot more shaky. And she has a lot more trauma to deal with considering the way her husband treats her, leaves her, and then how things turn out with her daughter. That's when I just about wanted to stop but I wanted to see what would happen with Sarah. Sarah is heard from throughout the story in the form of diary entries that she writes to her sparrow - a bird she sees outside of her window that gives her hope. Those were really uplifting parts of the book, Sarah handles her captivity with a wisdom beyond her years and a faith that is amazing. The story does come around to a place with more joy and less darkness at the end, and we get to see Amanda reach out to her friends and to God in the end. This book really makes you think about some tough subjects and it does leave you with hope so I will say it's a great book on these tough topics. Just be aware that it's gong to be rough going and read it when you're in an emotional place where you can handle that.
Audiobook Review
The Feathered Bone tells the story of every parent’s worst nightmare. Amanda is chaperoning her daughter’s class field trip to New Orleans when her best friend’s daughter disappears while under Amanda’s supervision.
You should know up front that this is a work of Christian fiction. If you are put off by faith-based stories, then this book is not for you. Personally, I appreciated the religious messages, but I can see how it might be overkill for some.
Difficult topics are explored, and there are definitely elements that could be considered triggers for some readers. I wish I could say it’s an inspirational story, and I suppose in the end it is, but there’s a pervasive depressing quality that weighs down the story.
The book feels excruciatingly long, slowly paced, and filled with too many chapters where nothing of significance happens. I listened to the audio book version, and perhaps it colored my perception. The narrator’s delivery is not expressive at all. It’s especially obvious given the many emotional moments in the book. I think it contributed to the sluggish feeling of the story. Every character she voices sounds exactly the same. At times I had difficulty figuring out who was speaking.
The book isn’t poorly written per se; however, it is poorly executed. Even the few compelling characters aren’t enough for me to consider this a win.
The Feathered Bone tells the story of every parent’s worst nightmare. Amanda is chaperoning her daughter’s class field trip to New Orleans when her best friend’s daughter disappears while under Amanda’s supervision.
You should know up front that this is a work of Christian fiction. If you are put off by faith-based stories, then this book is not for you. Personally, I appreciated the religious messages, but I can see how it might be overkill for some.
Difficult topics are explored, and there are definitely elements that could be considered triggers for some readers. I wish I could say it’s an inspirational story, and I suppose in the end it is, but there’s a pervasive depressing quality that weighs down the story.
The book feels excruciatingly long, slowly paced, and filled with too many chapters where nothing of significance happens. I listened to the audio book version, and perhaps it colored my perception. The narrator’s delivery is not expressive at all. It’s especially obvious given the many emotional moments in the book. I think it contributed to the sluggish feeling of the story. Every character she voices sounds exactly the same. At times I had difficulty figuring out who was speaking.
The book isn’t poorly written per se; however, it is poorly executed. Even the few compelling characters aren’t enough for me to consider this a win.
A hard book to read from beginning to end, but not for the writing, but instead the issues that Cantrell tackles with this book. From Katrina, child trafficking, spousal abuse, to survivor's guilt, this book deals with it all in the most delicate way and even with all of this in one book, it didn't feel overwhelming.
I can't go on and on about this book because I would probably spoil it, so I will keep this short and sweet, but will say that I loved it. I loved that the author interjected little moments from the child who is missing in the most creative way. I also loved how she skipped time cleverly, but as the reader I didn't feel like I was missing anything. I felt as though I was getting all the right moments in their lives to make a full story.
I will definitely be looking into Julie Cantrell's other works and you may see them here on this blog soon.
I can't go on and on about this book because I would probably spoil it, so I will keep this short and sweet, but will say that I loved it. I loved that the author interjected little moments from the child who is missing in the most creative way. I also loved how she skipped time cleverly, but as the reader I didn't feel like I was missing anything. I felt as though I was getting all the right moments in their lives to make a full story.
I will definitely be looking into Julie Cantrell's other works and you may see them here on this blog soon.
This was a page turner, very easy read but very sad. very few moments of lightness
This incredible story will leave you on the edge of your seat. It is incredibly well written and feels less like a piece of fiction and more like something ripped straight from the news. Once you start reading this book you don't want to put it down, you need to follow this journey. The character development is amazing, these characters are in no way two dimensional and neither are their stories. It is a very intense, very emotionally raw book. Cantrell does not sugar coat it, she doesn't skim over these issues that are often glossed over because they are issues that we often believe could not happen to us. Many of the topics in this book are heavy topics that people only whisper about, she explores these topics and deals with them in a real way.
This is the first book of Cantrell's that I have read and I am hooked. I truly believe everyone high school age and over should read this book. I read this book within a day and is one of the few books that I will reread multiple times. Often Christian Fiction gets categorized as fluff and not in-depth. She has so much going on in this book that it is one of those books that I will have to emotionally recover from; get a grip on reality, while never forgetting the story. The way she tells her story, you can't help but to get lost in it, to be impacted by it, and to walk away changed.
This is the first book of Cantrell's that I have read and I am hooked. I truly believe everyone high school age and over should read this book. I read this book within a day and is one of the few books that I will reread multiple times. Often Christian Fiction gets categorized as fluff and not in-depth. She has so much going on in this book that it is one of those books that I will have to emotionally recover from; get a grip on reality, while never forgetting the story. The way she tells her story, you can't help but to get lost in it, to be impacted by it, and to walk away changed.
A powerful story. Beautifully written! It is hard to imagine the kind of pain that the mothers have to endure. My heart broke for them. It is hard to capture the swirl of emotions I felt in this book. There was pain, great pain, but hope as well. There was great faith and profound strength. It is not a light-hearted book, but the message is powerful and important. I highly recommend this book. It will spark your own faith and hope as you read it.
If I could give this book 10 stars I would!! I loved that it was set in my own parish and town where I live! The story was hard and difficult at times because of the intense storyline that is going on. It will make you cry but other times it'll make you smile and cheer along with the characters. Julie included so many hard circumstances, that are plaguing our society right now and I think we need more books on these situations. I feel like this book could open up so many conversations that need to happen. Many people don't want to deal with the tragedies that befall us but this book could really help them see they are not alone! Our world needs more awareness of these tragic events that are happening. Truly truly loved this book and the message it gave. You are Loved..always remember that people!