A review by kleonard
Break the Bodies, Haunt the Bones by Micah Dean Hicks

4.0

On the surface, this is a surreal story in which the living can be haunted and possessed by the dead, create walking, talking, cogent pigs that will slaughter and package up their own kind in a meat factory, there are people who can remove their own hearts to stay safe from the ghosts, but lose their memories as well, and aliens, and all sorts of other supernatural things. Below that surface, though, this is a book about innate talent and what it can give to and take away from those who have it. It's also about race, and how white society, no matter what class, is always on the lookout for the Other, in order to oppose and oppress it. It's also about class and social status and whether you eat this week or fix the car you need for your job. It's about creating underclasses to do the worst work, and what happens when the underclass becomes too successful. It's about domestic abuse and taking or abandoning responsibilities. It's a bit rough around the edges, but it's a book that can be read in a great many ways, and would be excellent as a class read for high school.