skin & bones: a novel

by Renée Watson

Overview

Best Book of May 2024 by New York Post. Finalist for the 2024 Westport Prize for Literature.

A plus-size single mother struggles to fit into spaces not made for her in this soulful, lyrical novel that explores what ultimately gets passed down from one generation to the next

With her wedding weeks away, Lena Baker feels excited for the next chapter. She’s built a steady life in Portland, and between wine nights with her two best friends, a loving relationship, and a rewarding job, she’s happy—until a devastating confession from her fiancé on their wedding day shakes her world. Unmoored and grieving, Lena questions everything she thought she knew about love, friendship, and motherhood.
 
In this stirring exploration of who society makes room for, one mother resolves to teach her daughter self-love even as she herself struggles with it—and learns how to shine her bold, brilliant light in a world that wants to dim it.
 
“An exquisite love letter to Black women.” —Deesha Philyaw, author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
 
“Renée Watson’s writing is divine.” —Kwame Alexander, author of Why Fathers Cry at Night

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316570893
Publisher:	Little, Brown and Company
Publication date:	05/06/2025
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Renée Watson is a #1 New York Times bestselling author. Over the past decade she has authored fifteen young adult books, which have collectively sold more than a million copies. She received a Coretta Scott King Award and a Newbery Honor for Piecing Me Together and high praise for 1619 Project: Born on theWater. Watson is on the Council of Writers for the National Writing Project and is a member of the Academy of American Poets’ Education Advisory Council. She is also a writer-in-residence at The Solstice Low-Residency MFA Creative Writing Program. Renée splits her time between New York City and Portland, Oregon.

Editorial Reviews

“A beautifully poetic meditation on race, history, and parenthood. Renee Watson is brilliantly unafraid, and the reward of that fearlessness is on these pages.”—JACQUELINE WOODSON, National Book Award winner

“A refreshing read, this lyrical story of love and loss is spiritually rejuvenating. Renee Watson’s writing is divine.”—KWAME ALEXANDER, author of WHY FATHERS CRY AT NIGHT

“A compelling portrait of personal struggles, self-love, and the journey of healing; an indelible testament to the power of family, friendship, and community; a touching love letter to and trenchant critique of one of the whitest cities in America. It’s a dexterous and evocative gift of a novel.”—MITCHELL S. JACKSON, author of THE RESIDUE YEARS

"Lyrical, fiercely affirming, and engrossing, skin & bones is an exquisite love letter to Black women, our mothers, our daughters, and our bodies. Renée Watson writes with her whole heart!"—DEESHA PHILYAW, author of THE SECRET LIVES OF CHURCH LADIES

"A soulful novel that elegantly laces personal and cultural history through the eyes of a larger-than-life Black woman whose responsibilities to herself and those around her push and pull, shrink and expand. It's the kind of work that exposes matters of the heart with softness and guidance instead of melodrama and pedantry."—MORGAN JERKINS, New York Times bestselling author of THIS WILL BE MY UNDOING

“Evocative, beautifully written story of friendship, self-love, and community that has captured my heart and dug into my bones.”—LATOYA WATKINS, author of HOLLER, CHILD, longlisted for National Book Award

"Powerful story where each character shines with the divinity and humanity of Black love. An unforgettable reckoning that defies the boundaries and fears that attempt to constrict Black women's bodies and lives. Wise, real, and wondrous, Watson's genius carries our history––past, present, and future––with formidable grace and courage."—RACHEL ELIZA GRIFFITHS, author of PROMISE

“Watson's writing shines in short chapters, some reading as poetry, as she weaves Portland's Black history into a story that contends with the legacy of trauma as well as the beauty of inheritance. An extremely engaging and lovingly written novel, with a heroine to root for—there's nothing not to like.”—BOOKLIST

“Watson is adept at negotiating the complicated terrain of family, friends, and romantic partnership as they intersect with racism. As Watson weaves bits of history into the narrative, Lena sees herself in the Black people who chose to settle in the whitest city in America—a city that is white by design—and looks to them to teach her how to live in a world not made for her. Both tender and unflinching.”—KIRKUS REVIEWS

“Complex, wrenching exploration of fatness, identity, and generational trauma. Lena's journey is at once a love letter to and an indictment of Portland–and America’s–past and present. Renee Watson's novel belongs here, and everywhere it chooses to go.”—AUBREY GORDON, author of YOU JUST NEED TO LOSE WEIGHT

“Lyrical and poetic…For anyone intrigued by stories that highlight experiences with race, gender, self-love, family and friendship, skin & bones will resonate in more ways than one.”—Chika Gujarathi, BOOKPAGE

skin & bones skillfully examines sisterhood, motherhood, faith, and love.—LYNNETTE NICHOLAS, ESSENCE

“YA author Watson makes her adult debut with a heartfelt…exploration of a Black woman’s reckoning with her identity and self-image. Watson widens the story’s scope with lyrical prose: 'We are the splinter festering in the heart of this city, not easily removed.' Readers will be glad to know Watson’s defiant and loving protagonist.”—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

“skin & bones is a beautiful novel and a brilliant work of art.  Renée Watson's unique style and rich prose delivers keen insight that turns ordinary women into extraordinary heroines.  And in fact, Lena, the heroine of this book wants nothing more than to be ordinary--to have ordinary happiness, to be able to shop in ordinary stores, and sit in ordinary seats.  But, having a larger body makes the "ordinary" a harrowing goal, one worth journeying for through the challenging terrain of other people's perceptions, opinions, and prejudices.  She must find a love, both for herself and shared with a partner, that is worthy of modeling for her precocious daughter Aaliyah who is learning through every bit of Lena's example, both good and bad. After reading skin & bones, I had no choice but to see the world differently and hold more compassion for myself and others.  This is a wonderful book that should be a "must-read" for all lovers of fiction, we have been delivered a treat!”—JAYNE ALLEN, bestselling author of BLACK GIRLS MUST DIE EXHAUSTED

"A stirring debut."—WASHINGTON POST, 10 Notable Books for May

"skin & bones skillfully examines sisterhood, motherhood, faith, and love." —ESSENCE

"This book took my breath away."—AMAZON BOOK REVIEW, Editor's Pick for May 2024

“Lyrical and poetic…For anyone intrigued by stories that highlight experiences with race, gender, self-love, family and friendship, skin & bones will resonate in more ways than one.”—BOOKPAGE

“The magic of skin & bones sank deep into my skin and bones and will stay with me for a long while… This beautiful tale is so rich, weaving together a narrative that is poetic and historical, but yet so deeply real that it was hard, at times, to remember it’s fiction."—NEW YORK POST

“What Watson attempts in this novel is vital. Telling a story that is at once for people like you and for everyone but is a delicate endeavor—one for which Watson has created the necessary space.”—CHICAGO REVIEW OF BOOKS

"Relatable and enlightening, skin & bones will also have particular appeal to Portland-area readers, thanks to Watson's grounding her characters in the city."—THE OREGONIAN

From the Publisher