Bone Gap by Laura Ruby

Pages: 345

Intended Audience: Teens and up

Genre: Magic realism

Notes for Parents: Contains some coarse language, sexuality, and mature scenes.

The Back Cover

Everyone knows Bone Gap is full of gaps.

So when young, beautiful Roza went missing, the people of Bone Gap weren’t surprised. But Finn knows what really happened to Roza. He knows she was kidnapped by a dangerous man whose face he cannot remember.

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

This novel was a National Book Award Nominee for Young People's Literature (2015), Michael L. Printz Award winner (2016), Rhode Island Teen Book Award Nominee (2017), Lincoln Award Nominee (2017), and Andre Norton Award Nominee (2015)

What’s good?

Roza is missing, Finn is falling for Petey, and there’s a mysterious horse in the barn. Bone Gap is an enigmatic little town and is home to brothers Sean and Finn, left alone after their father died and their mother moved away. Finn is the town oddball with a reputation that only deepens after he sees Roza’s kidnapper but can’t describe him. The premise is thought-provoking and the pace is steady. The characters are well-drawn and appealing, even the minor ones like Charlie Valentine, the Rude brothers, and Petey’s mom. There’s mystery, romance, and adventure surrounding a poignant story about relationships.  

Best Part: College essay questions

What isn’t good?

I can’t help but feel like this would have been a better mystery without the magic realism. The world-building surrounding the “gaps” is very weak so there’s a big disconnect between the real world and what we’re supposed to believe is a magical world accessed by the gaps. It’s not clear if everyone in town knows about the gaps but regardless, their existence doesn’t seem to impact the town beyond a couple of missing pets.

Worst part: The constant reminders that Roza is beautiful, Petey is ugly, and Finn is spacey.

Recommendation ☺☺☺ (3/5)

This is a very odd but intriguing story. I loved the characters and the writing style, but there was something in the storytelling that was off. The premise was strong and it started out as a good mystery, but then it got weird. There were a lot of things that didn’t quite make sense until the end. The end, however, was well done and ultimately I enjoyed the story. Recommended, but with reservations.

Ruby, Laura. Bone Gap. New York: Balzer + Bray, 2015.