January 2017 Book of the Month | Winner of the 2016 Michael L. Printz Award | In a Nutshell: Unconventional magic realist thriller | A entrancingly unique novel about a boy’s search for a young woman who’s disappeared from their eccentric small town.
“Bone Gap had gaps just wide enough for people to slip through, or slip away, leaving only their stories behind”. That’s what the townsfolk of Bone Gap believe, and so none of them are shocked when beautiful Roza vanishes, as mysteriously as she arrived. Well, not quite none of them. Finn is certain that Roza was abducted, snatched by “the man who moves like a cornstalk in the wind”, but since he’s considered “a little weird”, no one believes him. Then, as he searches for Roza, he finds an ally in Petey, who describes herself as looking like a “giant bee”, and reckons Finn is face-blind, only able to recognise the most distinct of faces. As they become close and discover truths about themselves, so light is shone upon Roza’s vanishing.
The sequences with Roza and her captor possess the sublimely sinister atmosphere of fairy tales. “You'll love me one day”, her captor insists, over and over, while extolling her to be the most beautiful woman in the whole world. And perceptions of beauty, and how we interpret what we see, are central to this enthralling genre-defying novel. ~ Joanne Owen
| Suitable For: | |
| Other Genres: | |
| Recommendations: |
Everyone knows Bone Gap is full of gaps - gaps to trip you up, gaps to slide through so you can disappear forever. So when young, beautiful Roza goes missing, the people of Bone Gap aren't surprised. After all, it isn't the first time someone's slipped away and left Finn and Sean O'Sullivan on their own. Finn knows that's not what happened with Roza. He knows she was kidnapped, ripped from the cornfields by a man whose face he cannot remember. But no one believes him anymore. Well, not quite no one. Petey Willis, the beekeeper's daughter, suspects that lurking behind Finn's self-loathing is a story worth uncovering. And as we, like Petey, follow the stories of Finn, Roza, and the people of Bone Gap - their melancholy pasts, their terrifying presents, their uncertain futures - the truth about what happened to Roza is slowly revealed.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed Bone Gap and determined it is suitable for children aged 15-18 years old
Bone Gap features in the following genres: Books of the Month, Recommendations, Books Reviewed by our Reader Review Panels, Fantasy / Magical, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Romance / Relationship Stories, Thrillers, Adventure Stories, Recommended Children's eBooks, Featured Books for Young Adults
Bone Gap is available in Paperback, Ebook
Bone Gap was written by Laura Ruby and published by Faber & Faber
£4.99