"Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby


1.       Ruby, Laura (2015) Bone Gap. New York, NY: HarperCollins Children’s Books. ISBN: 978-0-06-231760-5
This book really surprised me! I went through half of it before realizing that it is a tantalizing combination of reality and fantasy that is hinted at just enough to keep the reader wondering if they imagined a monster just like the protagonist.  Finn watched his brother’s “girlfriend” (no label involved) be kidnapped and blames himself for not stopping or identifying the kidnapper. It seems like his brother Sean and the whole town of Bone Gap blame him too. The only person who doesn’t seem to blame him is Priscilla, Petey, the local beekeeper’s daughter who is ridiculed herself for being strange. 

It is Petey that realizes that Finn is more than just “Moon Eyed” and actually has a condition in which he cannot identify people by their faces. She spurs Finn to save Roza from a character akin to the “trickster” popular in mythology and lore. This trickster is never specifically identified but his use of magic firmly cements him in the fantasy character category. Throughout most of the novel, we are made to think Finn is just odd when the corn really is talking to him and mystical things really do happen to him and Roza!

It was really satisfying to read such a whimsical combination of fantasy and reality. It is what every young reader hopes for in their own lives: a little bit of intrigue, magic and a happy ending for all. Maybe we’re not crazy, it really is magic!

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