Bone Gap by Laura Ruby (2015)

It’s all Finn’s fault that Roza is missing. At least that’s what Finn, and most of the town of Bone Gap, thinks. Right in front of him, Roza left with a strange man, and while Finn can remember the man’s overall demeanor, he can’t remember his face. While everyone else thinks that Roza left at her own will, Finn know the truth: Roza was taken, and he’s determined to find her. But there’s also a whole nother world the Finn has outside of Roza. There’s Petey, who refuses to acknowledge she’s beautiful, especially if the compliment’s from Finn. Then there’s this horse that suddenly showed up in Finn’s horse who takes Finn on mystical adventures at 2 in the morning. Finally, Sean, who’s hate for Finn is growing, even though he’s Finn’s brother and legal guardian. But Finn must let everything go- including himself- if he has any hope of finding Roza.

First of all, I read this twice. Once when it first came out and once this past June. The first time I read Bone Gap I completely disliked it. I couldn’t understand the writing or the plot, and was just starting to grip the idea of magical realism. The second time I read it, however, I really enjoyed it. I came to appreciate the quirkiness of it and went it to it expecting nothing, which is really the key here. Don’t expect anything from this book, because I guarantee you’ll get the opposite of what you think it’ll be.

I definitely loved Finn, who was probably one of the most unique characters I’ve read. To me, he seemed to be so full of wonder, even though his circumstances were less than wonderful. The way he interpreted, as well as accepted things was really peculiar, and in the end that was probably the reason why he was the only one able to find Roza. I had a really hard time with Roza, though. Throughout the novel, we’re given bits and pieces of her life to try to figure out how she ended in Bone Game. However, her life was just so tragic, I think that was the whole point of her in the story. To be this tragic, beautiful, dainty thing. In a way, I felt the same way about Sean. He was both angry and tragic the whole book, and was terrible to Finn.

Bone Gap is a book of magical realism, which basically means there were unnatural aspects of this book in a typically realistic setting. That being said, some things are just crazy to understand in this book. In fact, some things I still don’t understand from this book, and I think that’s part of the wonder of it. I feel that the town of Bone Gap had a little bubble surrounding it that kept the town in a state of trance and the unusual. Really, that’s what I felt like reading the entire book.

One of the most original books I’ve read Bone Gap is something to be read not for ease, but for fascination.

4 Stars