BUT FIRST. We have some business to get through.
First order of business is a RESOUNDING HAPPY BIRTHDAY a day late (because how else would it be) to the MAGNIFICENT, AMAZING, BEAUTIFUL, TALENTED, EVERY-SINGLE-GOOD-ADJECTIVE Faith Hough! Faith seriously inspires me to no end...I'm so blessed to call her my cousin. It's partially her fault my imagination is so big; she and her sisters were literally the most attentive older cousins ever. Pretty sure they played every single game I ever suggested.
Anyway, it's such a joy watching (albeit from afar, as sadly we're separated by many states) her raise her beautiful daughters. She's literally mom goals and writer goals...actually, just plain person goals. She was a huge help when I started this blog and continues to be throughout my writing journey, providing me with insight and feedback. She's the first person I was ever a beta for, and one of the first people I allowed to read my WIP. She's always been there for me...words cannot even express how much I love and appreciate her. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FAITH!! <3
Second order of business, go check out Jessica Wolf's latest post that is ON POINT. It's all about not buying into writing either strong or weak women, but real women.
There was a third order of business but I forgot it. So you're spared. For now.
Know what that means? It's time. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, PLEASE GET ON YOUR FEET FOR THE INCREDIBLE BONE GAP! No, seriously. You've probably been sitting for a while, anyway, it's good to get the blood flowing.
Okay, you can sit back down now. Because I know you were listening to me. Probably not, my siblings don't even listen to me. Which is stupid, because I'm the oldest. It's really frustrating, you know, like I'm only trying to help, and I get--ANYWAY.
Before I get any further, here's the summary via Goodreads:
Everyone knows Bone Gap is full of gaps—gaps to trip you up, gaps to slide through so you can disappear forever. So when young, beautiful Roza went missing, the people of Bone Gap weren’t surprised. After all, it wasn’t the first time that someone had slipped away and left Finn and Sean O’Sullivan on their own. Just a few years before, their mother had high-tailed it to Oregon for a brand new guy, a brand new life. That’s just how things go, the people said. Who are you going to blame?So. *cracks knuckles*
Finn knows that’s not what happened with Roza. He knows she was kidnapped, ripped from the cornfields by a dangerous man whose face he cannot remember. But the searches turned up nothing, and no one believes him anymore. Not even Sean, who has more reason to find Roza than anyone, and every reason to blame Finn for letting her go.
As we follow the stories of Finn, Roza, and the people of Bone Gap—their melancholy pasts, their terrifying presents, their uncertain futures—acclaimed author Laura Ruby weaves a heartbreaking tale of love and loss, magic and mystery, regret and forgiveness—a story about how the face the world sees is never the sum of who we are.
This book was so absolutely unique. Everything about it was...for lack of a better word, WEIRD. In the best sense.
The setting, for one--Bone Gap. Weird. It was a stereotypical small town (actually kind of reminded me of a somewhat sketchy Avonlea, if that even makes sense) without actually being stereotypical. Sure, there was the typical busy-body, gossipy atmosphere, but it was so different. And weird.
What made it so different, in part, was the characters. Who were even weirder. Every single character, even the side ones, was so well-developed that I could literally guess their responses to situations (on a side note, these characters taught me a lot about writing). The main characters were so...bizarre. Again, in the best sense of the word. Their struggles were struggles that I've never seen any writer tackle before, and Laura Ruby (the author, if you didn't infer that, which if you didn't, shame on you--actually she's a goddess) did it remarkably well.
The story is told from third point of view, which is not my favorite, but it worked very nicely for the story. Also, Laura jumped a lot between different characters. Probably something that wouldn't typically work, but she really worked it.
Another thing that made the town so different was the plot. I was so confused through the majority of it, not due to poor writing, but due to WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON WITH THESE PEOPLE OH MY GOSH THE SUSPENSE IS KILLING ME HOW DOES THIS EVEN FIT TOGETHER. Needless to say, I couldn't put it down. It was weird. However, it was ABSOLUTELY FABULOUSLY weird.
Plus this happened. And made me really happy.
SO GO READ BONE GAP! Right now. I hope you listen better now than when I told you to stand up...sheesh. Have a great week, my lovely readers. Y'all mean the world.
