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A review by librarymouse
Skeleton Song by Seanan McGuire
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The foreward to "Skeleton Song" ends with "adventures are always interesting, but they’re not always happy." As that might suggest, I have complicated feelings about this story. I do not like the prevalence of stories written for young adults, in which young teens are encouraged to make/are lauded for making life altering decisions - or in this case, life ending decisions - based on the love they feel in extreme circumstances. Thus, I really enjoy how Seanan McGuire handles that situation in this story. In Mariposa, Christopher is seen as a creature, unlike the people the residents consider themselves to be with their "proper, honest bone[s]" visible; not hidden by flesh. His bed is a pile of rags, and as the only one in the world who needs to eat, he does so sparingly during the day, when it won't impact his ability to spend time with the skeleton girl. "Skeleton Song" reveals that for Christopher to become a resident indivisible from the rest of their community, the skeleton girl needs to kill him with their marital knife, so his bones can free themselves from the remains of his flesh when the abeulas sing them awake, come sunset.
Christopher's "be sure" moment to bring him to his door home comes from him questioning whether he is ready to die, whether he is ready to never see his family again. While it's tempting to root for the hero, to have Christopher returned to the skeleton girl to be killed and revel in his (after)life in Mariposa, I am glad that McGuire chose to give him a moment of pause, pausing the snowballing adventure in its tracks for a breath that lasts years. He wants to return, but much like Lundy, there is a draw to the world of his birth that keeps him from being able to be fully sure. Change in these books is often irrevocable.
I wouldn't want to be in Mariposa as anything other than a tourist. It seems beautiful, but I also find the soft animal of my body to be an integral part of myself. That dissonance from my own comfortability with that of Christopher's sense of home is what makes these books so special. These worlds are tailored for the children who are pulled into them. Christopher's story is unique, because what he needed and found in Mariposa was his health. The skeleton girl pulled the cancer to a single bone and then pulled it out of him, turning it into a flute with which he could join in their song. He found love, yes, but that love and the need for his world may have only been situational. His devotion so far in the series says otherwise, but I look forward to seeing more of his story. The further this series goes, the more complexity is added to the need to be sure.
Christopher's "be sure" moment to bring him to his door home comes from him questioning whether he is ready to die, whether he is ready to never see his family again. While it's tempting to root for the hero, to have Christopher returned to the skeleton girl to be killed and revel in his (after)life in Mariposa, I am glad that McGuire chose to give him a moment of pause, pausing the snowballing adventure in its tracks for a breath that lasts years. He wants to return, but much like Lundy, there is a draw to the world of his birth that keeps him from being able to be fully sure. Change in these books is often irrevocable.
I wouldn't want to be in Mariposa as anything other than a tourist. It seems beautiful, but I also find the soft animal of my body to be an integral part of myself. That dissonance from my own comfortability with that of Christopher's sense of home is what makes these books so special. These worlds are tailored for the children who are pulled into them. Christopher's story is unique, because what he needed and found in Mariposa was his health. The skeleton girl pulled the cancer to a single bone and then pulled it out of him, turning it into a flute with which he could join in their song. He found love, yes, but that love and the need for his world may have only been situational. His devotion so far in the series says otherwise, but I look forward to seeing more of his story. The further this series goes, the more complexity is added to the need to be sure.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Child death
Moderate: Terminal illness
Minor: Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Blood