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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
- There was a lot of hype surrounding this book, and to me it was a little overrated.
- The book was very different from what I was expecting.
- The writing was very captivating and artistic. The story was interesting and very unique.
- A lot of the symbolism was lost on me. It was just kinda weird to me.
- The ending was very anticlimactic.
- The "magic" was a little weird, and it didn't really fit in with the story. I feel like the characters were on shrooms, absinthe, acid, and any other hallucinogen.
- I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it. I'm kinda in the middle about this one. I can understand why people loved it, but it was underwhelming to me.
- The book was very different from what I was expecting.
- The writing was very captivating and artistic. The story was interesting and very unique.
- A lot of the symbolism was lost on me. It was just kinda weird to me.
- The ending was very anticlimactic.
- The "magic" was a little weird, and it didn't really fit in with the story. I feel like the characters were on shrooms, absinthe, acid, and any other hallucinogen.
- I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it. I'm kinda in the middle about this one. I can understand why people loved it, but it was underwhelming to me.
Bone Gap is an example of seemingly ordinary small town infused with just the right sort of magic; Bone Gap is an example of a seemingly ordinary book infused with just the right sort of magic.
The writing is charming charming charming. In all the ways you wouldn't expect and more. It sucks you into its pages before you're quite aware of what's going on. When the plot does finally emerge, you realize that it was there all along -- whispering and peeking at you from the cornfields.
I loved the various characters and their varied perspectives. In a book about what and how we see a person (a place! a plot!), this character shift was used to even better example. All of the characters are delightful. I loved Finn, his absent mindedness, his dreaminess. Petey with her prickles and her attitude. Roza, just wanting to be seen. The way the author contrasts beauty and ugliness. What matters to the beholder. What matters in what we see of each other.
Did I mention this is also a variation of a Persephone story? Insert two sets of heart eyed emojis here. It's a subtle reinterpretation but it's there nonetheless and done very well.
The writing is charming charming charming. In all the ways you wouldn't expect and more. It sucks you into its pages before you're quite aware of what's going on. When the plot does finally emerge, you realize that it was there all along -- whispering and peeking at you from the cornfields.
I loved the various characters and their varied perspectives. In a book about what and how we see a person (a place! a plot!), this character shift was used to even better example. All of the characters are delightful. I loved Finn, his absent mindedness, his dreaminess. Petey with her prickles and her attitude. Roza, just wanting to be seen. The way the author contrasts beauty and ugliness. What matters to the beholder. What matters in what we see of each other.
Did I mention this is also a variation of a Persephone story? Insert two sets of heart eyed emojis here. It's a subtle reinterpretation but it's there nonetheless and done very well.
AR: 3.5
My first(?) foray into magical realism and this book had A. Lot. going on. I half loved the unexpectedness of everything, half found it a bit too much all over the place. There was talking corn, prosopagnosia, a magical horse that turns out to be p much irrelevant to the plot, bees, cats, goats, exchange students, TV, two separate romances, and in the final third a heavy Greek myth influence.
I was, however, unable to stop reading, had no idea as to how they were going to get to the conclusion, and found the final confrontation very well done in the way that it pulled together a lot of the threads.
All in all, very enjoyable in all its twists, but probably won't pick up again now that I know them.
Warnings: a non-graphic sex scene, and implied fears of sexual assault.
My first(?) foray into magical realism and this book had A. Lot. going on. I half loved the unexpectedness of everything, half found it a bit too much all over the place. There was talking corn, prosopagnosia, a magical horse that turns out to be p much irrelevant to the plot, bees, cats, goats, exchange students, TV, two separate romances, and in the final third a heavy Greek myth influence.
I was, however, unable to stop reading, had no idea as to how they were going to get to the conclusion, and found the final confrontation very well done in the way that it pulled together a lot of the threads.
All in all, very enjoyable in all its twists, but probably won't pick up again now that I know them.
Warnings: a non-graphic sex scene, and implied fears of sexual assault.
I picked up Bone Gap from my library recently, after reading the rather intriguing summary. I was thrilled to find a tightly written, expressive book about a town a little closer to magic than most. I love small town books- if I could move to Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls, I would in a hot second and never look back. So I figured Bone Gap was right up my alley.
This book unfurls slowly, and I have to admit that for the first quarter, I really had to make myself stick with it. I’m not one to enjoy a slow opening, I generally need a really good hook and Bone Gap took it’s time getting to the real meat of the story. Someone with a longer and more dedicated attention span would probably not have noticed this problem, but sadly, I’m rather impatient. Reading Bone Gap was like stepping into a dreamy version of summer, it was beautiful, magical and slightly off kilter. At its core Bone Gap is a mystery, who exactly kidnapped Roza and where was she taken? But most of the book didn’t present itself that way. We knew who took Roza thanks to the switching POVs, so most of Bone Gap is spent just trying to convince the town that she was kidnapped in the first place.
I loved Finn, he was a refreshing POV to experience. I knew about his disability going into the book, and so I was able to revel in the way the author left little hints along the way. Even knowing, the big reveal was like a punch in my stomach and I had to flip back through the book just to enjoy the clues even more. Petey was also great, and while she wasn’t my favorite character (Finn won on that count) she came in at a close second. Her defensive personality made sense. I’ve read so many books where main characters are unfriendly and withdrawn for absolutely no reason, and it was great that she had a loving relationship with her mom. I hate to say that I wasn’t completely sold on Roza- I felt for her circumstances most of the time, but honestly she was rather bland and too perfect for my tastes (I know, she’s basically Persephone, but still she did absolutely no wrong ever). The bits about Sean were interesting, but most of the time he was stuck into the mourning lover role and wasn’t as effective as I thought he could have been. Unfortunately, most of the townsfolk are the usual stock characters you find in small town tales with one or two somewhat exceptions.
Nevertheless Bone Gap is a rather solid read with a story full of mythology, magic, corn and bees- and deserves a solid 4 star rating and all the recommendations I could give.
This book unfurls slowly, and I have to admit that for the first quarter, I really had to make myself stick with it. I’m not one to enjoy a slow opening, I generally need a really good hook and Bone Gap took it’s time getting to the real meat of the story. Someone with a longer and more dedicated attention span would probably not have noticed this problem, but sadly, I’m rather impatient. Reading Bone Gap was like stepping into a dreamy version of summer, it was beautiful, magical and slightly off kilter. At its core Bone Gap is a mystery, who exactly kidnapped Roza and where was she taken? But most of the book didn’t present itself that way. We knew who took Roza thanks to the switching POVs, so most of Bone Gap is spent just trying to convince the town that she was kidnapped in the first place.
I loved Finn, he was a refreshing POV to experience. I knew about his disability going into the book, and so I was able to revel in the way the author left little hints along the way. Even knowing, the big reveal was like a punch in my stomach and I had to flip back through the book just to enjoy the clues even more. Petey was also great, and while she wasn’t my favorite character (Finn won on that count) she came in at a close second. Her defensive personality made sense. I’ve read so many books where main characters are unfriendly and withdrawn for absolutely no reason, and it was great that she had a loving relationship with her mom. I hate to say that I wasn’t completely sold on Roza- I felt for her circumstances most of the time, but honestly she was rather bland and too perfect for my tastes (I know, she’s basically Persephone, but still she did absolutely no wrong ever). The bits about Sean were interesting, but most of the time he was stuck into the mourning lover role and wasn’t as effective as I thought he could have been. Unfortunately, most of the townsfolk are the usual stock characters you find in small town tales with one or two somewhat exceptions.
Nevertheless Bone Gap is a rather solid read with a story full of mythology, magic, corn and bees- and deserves a solid 4 star rating and all the recommendations I could give.
I found myself wishing that this story had either eliminated the magic from it entirely or wove the magic in better. It felt out of place in an otherwise good story.
Another beautifully written YA novel--a unique story that was fun to read and forced you to use your imagination. What a great thing! This book would make a very cool movie.
I was disappointed in this book. Throughout reading this book, my fellow bookclubbers asked of my opinion and I had nothing to say or commit to. Mostly this was because I was waiting for something to happen. For the story to start. Next thing you know, I'm over 3/4 of the way through and I am still waiting. Most of the book felt like 2 different stories which happen to connect due to background details. In one story you have the kidnapped girl dealing with her situation. The other story should be about the boy, her rescuer, but that gets deeply sidetracked as he gets a girlfriend. I felt there should have been more action on Finn's part. Active investigation, Nancy Drew sleuthing, something. All we got was "Maybe it was her choice to go.... but I feel that it wasn't. I'll miss her forever, but look at this hot girl who makes my troubles melt away."
Fortunately I liked Ruby's writing style. Maybe I'll try something of hers but I wasn't feeling this one.
Fortunately I liked Ruby's writing style. Maybe I'll try something of hers but I wasn't feeling this one.
I had no idea what to expect when I opened Bone Gap, and found a story full of bunches of my favorite things. Magical realism! Bees! Sibling relationships! A fairy tale feel in a contemporary setting! Etc!
A few reviewers mentioned Jellicoe Road as a similar read and while I am very bad at remembering story details, I do remember the way I felt about that book, and it was very close to the way I feel about this one.
(four and a half stars)
A few reviewers mentioned Jellicoe Road as a similar read and while I am very bad at remembering story details, I do remember the way I felt about that book, and it was very close to the way I feel about this one.
(four and a half stars)
I have no idea how to properly explain what this book is about. Is it magic realism? YA fiction/contemporary? In fact, it's all and none of the above. All I know is that this audio book completely swept me in. In the small midwest town of Bone Gap, Rosa, a young beautiful Polish girl is kidnapped by a man who is in love with her for the fact that she is perfectly beautiful. And that's what this book is about...the power of appearances. The cost of being beautiful and the expense of not being that way. Laura Ruby does a great job keeping you in suspense because your always right on the cusp of figuring out whats going on and but its always just one step ahead of you. It was creative and unlike any book i've read before. These characters are rich and each have a story of pain, love and family and the perspectives jump back and forth from past to present. I loved the odd, sometimes sinister way the story went. The audio book definitely added to the whole "dreamlike" narrative.