palomapepper 's review for:

Bone Gap by Laura Ruby
5.0

A tale of platonic love and community belonging, steeped in magical realism & mythology. When Finn's brother's girlfriend Roza mysteriously disappears, he's the only witness to the kidnapping - but he's unable to describe the assailant's face, and nobody believes him.

I loved the writing style: snappy dialogue & pacing, a constant sense of movement despite taking place in a sleepy midwestern town. Certain side characters didn't seem quite real, bordering on caricature or fairytale archetypes - and I mean this in a good way - it felt very intentional.

The main characters' interpersonal tensions and insecurities were believable, and the magical realism had clear analogues to real-world issues. I also appreciated the lack of a bullshit love triangle (those are my own pet peeve, I suppose).