Bone & All; Camille DeAngelis
St. Martin's Press - 2015
Maren's mother realized her daughter was no ordinary baby sometime during that first year of life. One day when she leaves Maren with, Penny Wilson, the babysitter, she returns home to find no babysitter, just her baby daughter and a small pile of bones. Maren, from this early age has had difficulty dealing with signs of affection. If anyone gets too close, she can't resist the urge to "consume" them --"bone & all". The babysitter was just her first, later, there was a boy from summer camp, then the son of her mother's boss, at a party. As a result Maren and her mother moved frequently, yet Maren & her mother didn't talk about the reason.
One day after a special 16th birthday dinner, Maren's mother abandons her. She wakes the following morning to find a note saying that she can't protect her daughter anymore when it's really other people she should be protecting. She leaves Maren her birth certificate revealing the name of her father, and an envelope full of cash. [Maren] --"a birth certificate is sort of a sacred document for the person in question, even a monster like me."
So Maren sets out to find the father she never knew, meets some interesting people along the way, and discovers a bit more about who she is and why she is the way she is in the process.
Bones & All is a somewhat twisted story, and as disturbing as it may seem, it was easy to fall in love with Maren, the flesh-eating protagonist and her story. She is an extremely sympathetic character. She's someone who longs for closeness, yet she feels compelled to consume the people who try to get too close to her. Plus --Maren loves books! [Maren] - "When I read a book I can be somebody else. For two to three hundred pages I have the problems of a normal person--even if that person is traveling through time or fighting with aliens." --I ran my hand over The Master and Margarita. I need books, they're all I got."
I really enjoyed this story and suggest that anyone who loves a story with a strong, sympathetic, female protagonist (even if she does consume flesh), read Bones & All. The ending was great as well and not what I was expecting.
4.5/5 stars
(arc/eGalley)
One day after a special 16th birthday dinner, Maren's mother abandons her. She wakes the following morning to find a note saying that she can't protect her daughter anymore when it's really other people she should be protecting. She leaves Maren her birth certificate revealing the name of her father, and an envelope full of cash. [Maren] --"a birth certificate is sort of a sacred document for the person in question, even a monster like me."
So Maren sets out to find the father she never knew, meets some interesting people along the way, and discovers a bit more about who she is and why she is the way she is in the process.
Bones & All is a somewhat twisted story, and as disturbing as it may seem, it was easy to fall in love with Maren, the flesh-eating protagonist and her story. She is an extremely sympathetic character. She's someone who longs for closeness, yet she feels compelled to consume the people who try to get too close to her. Plus --Maren loves books! [Maren] - "When I read a book I can be somebody else. For two to three hundred pages I have the problems of a normal person--even if that person is traveling through time or fighting with aliens." --I ran my hand over The Master and Margarita. I need books, they're all I got."
I really enjoyed this story and suggest that anyone who loves a story with a strong, sympathetic, female protagonist (even if she does consume flesh), read Bones & All. The ending was great as well and not what I was expecting.
4.5/5 stars
(arc/eGalley)
I would never have picked this up based on its description but you've made it sound good.
ReplyDeleteI know the cover makes it sound goofy, but she is such a sympathetic character.
DeleteI don't think I'll be nibbling on that one!
ReplyDeleteaw shucks - you'll be missing a good one then.
DeleteThis sounds interesting though totally bizarre. I'm intrigued on how the author made Maren a sympathetic character when it would've been so easy to make her unlikable. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteIf she hadn't been sympathetic, I doubt I would have finished this one.
DeleteYou have made it sound tempting...I 'm still a little "creeped out," though. LOL Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteNo need to feel creeped out. I never felt like that at all.
DeleteThis sounds imaginative, though creepy! Since you enjoyed it, I will keep it in mind. :)
ReplyDeleteIt did not feel creepy at all IMO
DeleteIt sounds so odd! I probably wouldn't have picked it up, but you have me intrigued.
ReplyDeleteThe cover and overview doesn't do this one justice.
DeleteThis book caught me eye - not as something I wanted to read b/c it just sounded too creepy - but more as such an offbeat topic! However, you've kind of made me want to read it. I'm adding it to my TBR and will keep tabs as the reviews come out.
ReplyDeleteyay Sarah. I love when my reviews do that for someone who had previously written a book off.
DeleteI'm curious if only because I want to know if I can be sympathetic to a character like that too. :-) It does sound different.
ReplyDeleteLOL - she was easy to feel for, like the way she was just wasn't her fault.
DeleteThis sounds gross and creepy but somehow you've made me want to read it!
ReplyDelete