The New York Times Book Review - Maile Meloy
…lush and original…The mythological references in the novel are subtle, not overt. There are non-earthly realms here, but it's mainly a rural coming-of-age story and a neurological mystery, set in the small town of Bone Gap, among cornfields and 4-H fairs…It's a novel about actual changes in worldview, and all its science and myth and realism and magic are marshaled, finally, to answer crucial questions about empathy and difference, and the ways we see the people we love.
From the Publisher
It’s a novel about actual changes in worldview, and all its science and myth and realism and magic are marshaled, finally, to answer crucial questions about empathy and difference, and the way we see people we love.” — New York Times Book Review
“BONE GAP marks Laura Ruby as one of fiction’s most original voices. She is capable of moving you to tears, terrifying you on deep and dreamlike levels, and making your heart shout with happiness. This book is magic realism at its most magical.” — E. Lockhart, author of WE WERE LIARS
“Ruby’s novel deserves to be read and reread. It is powerful, beautiful, extraordinary.” — SLJ
“With rich characters, captivating world building, and a stunning secret at its heart, BONE GAP is utterly bewitching.” — ALA Booklist (starred review)
“Cleverly conceived, and lusciously written.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“The real magic in Bone Gap is the discovery of love, an idea many stories misrepresent but Bone Gap explores with the utmost honesty and truth.” — Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) (starred review)
New York Times Book Review
It’s a novel about actual changes in worldview, and all its science and myth and realism and magic are marshaled, finally, to answer crucial questions about empathy and difference, and the way we see people we love.
SLJ
Ruby’s novel deserves to be read and reread. It is powerful, beautiful, extraordinary.
ALA Booklist (starred review)
With rich characters, captivating world building, and a stunning secret at its heart, BONE GAP is utterly bewitching.
E. Lockhart
BONE GAP marks Laura Ruby as one of fiction’s most original voices. She is capable of moving you to tears, terrifying you on deep and dreamlike levels, and making your heart shout with happiness. This book is magic realism at its most magical.
Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) (starred review)
The real magic in Bone Gap is the discovery of love, an idea many stories misrepresent but Bone Gap explores with the utmost honesty and truth.
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2015-01-10
A teenage boy wrestles against forces real and imagined in a small, rural town named Bone Gap. Finn was the only one to witness the kidnapping of brother Sean's beautiful girlfriend, Roza, at the spring festival. But when he looks at mug shots, all the faces look frustratingly similar. Meanwhile, a tall man with eyes like ice who demands her love traps Roza in an ever changing netherworld. But Roza is determined to find her way back to Sean and Finn's backyard, no matter what the cost. Told from the viewpoints of multiple Bone Gap citizens, this inventive modern fable whimsically combines elements of folklore, mythology, romance and feminism. Finn starts out as a daydreaming cipher, but when he discovers he has a condition called "face blindness," his vague character comes into sharp focus, and his mission to battle the tall man becomes clear. Both Roza and Finn's love interest, Priscilla, develop over the course of the magically real journey into strong women to be reckoned with, while the secondary characters, including a sassy beekeeper, wise chicken farmer and self-aware horse, are charming and memorable. And if the transitions between reality and fantasy are a little rocky and the worldbuilding occasionally a little thin, it can be forgiven due to the sheer ambition of the refreshingly original plot. Cleverly conceived and lusciously written. (Fantasy. 13 & up)
