A review by leilawoodhouse
Near the Bone by Christina Henry

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

Quite sad I didn't like this! I felt like there was too much going on. The William storyline, the creature, the 3 explorers. I thought they didn't really blend very well. I also thought the characters (mainly the Jen, Griffin and C.P) were a bit 2 dimensional

I thought that Jen and Griffin's deaths were unnecessary. I didn't see what,  especially Jen's, deaths added to the plot apart from showing that the monster was protective of its baby. I thought Griffin was built up quite a bit only for him to be killed quite soon after. The monster was never really explained either. Where did it come from? Why is it here? What is it? In another book that may have added to the mystery and given the world depth but in this book it just seemed rushed.

The ending was so abrupt for me!

we hear alot about Heather but then nothing really happens at the end

I think the creature and the William storyline would have stood much better individually. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Drug use, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Violence, Animal death, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Rape, Torture, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Torture, Emotional abuse, Violence, and Gaslighting

Minor: Drug use, Death of parent, and Animal death